The COUCH

Ok, our big, leather sectional that we've loved because we can pile the whole family on for a movie... because we got it for free years ago... that I was so happy about because if I had to scrub my old couches one more time I was going to lose my mind... has started to look like this:

It almost happened over night- and then, like there was an expiration date and it went bad, just started shedding leather chips in pieces. Abby commented she'd never seen a leather couch just start to disintegrate like that! I actually matched paint to it, and would paint the light spots, if you can believe that! Then it got to the point where I would just dip a rag with the paint and rub it all over. It was a real eye-sore, and I was so very glad Jon agreed it would need to be replaced!
After getting all the holiday packed away and things tidied up, it still felt shabby.

I started shopping around- and finally found a great couch while in St. George with my sisters. I took all these pictures and measurements- they even said they'd ship in exchange for home baked goods.

~ The contenders~

I fell in love with this fabric!

The winner.

 However- I could not stop thinking about how I would recover our beast of a sectional. I could picture each step and how I would figure out the tricky parts. Jokingly, I said to Jon that maybe I'd just recover it. He replied that he'd actually thought of getting it professionally recovered, because he really liked the couch and it fit in our space well. Pay someone to recover it for us??? The thought was offensive! I could recover it just as good as anyone else! (He didn't seem 100% sure.) I started looking at upholstery fabric online. What if I got in way over my head and ruined it? I knew it would work out, though!
I found a fabric I really liked- and it was on clearance! Marked down to like $7 a yard. How often does that happen??? I ordered 16 yards- all that was left on the bolt. Not one more square to spare. Gulp. This better work out! (I knew it would!)
The fabric arrived- a huge bolt. It was beautiful. I propped it up in the breakfast nook and looked at it while gathering courage for a good week or so. Finally, it was time to dive in and do this!

When it's flipped inside-out, I can mark it all up where the seams need to be.

 I worked on it every day, all day for a solid two weeks. I started on the cushions. Again, I wasn't sure if I had enough fabric and figured I'd cover the parts that absolutely needed to be covered, and save the parts I could get away with in a different fabric if I was desperate. (like the back side, against the wall) I used the seams from the existing couch as my pattern- I copied it exactly as I cut and sewed. I sewed double seams everywhere to reinforce.

Already looking so much better!

I found a thick, almost water-proof black fabric from Walmart for $2 a yard that I used for the underside of the cushions. The actual couch recovering was really just a matter of cutting to size, staple, pull as tight as you can possibly pull it and staple some more. Anyone can do that! I really enjoyed the process. I would say a prayer each day before I started. I didn't want to get impatient or cut corners. I know this helped! Once, I had all my layers cut and stacked, lined up to enter the machine. I had the thought to stop and double check everything. Sure enough, I had the sides stacked wrong and would have had a lot of unpicking to do! This happened several times, actually. I don't think I ever unpicked a seam, or had to undo a staple! I can truly say I had help doing this project and felt I received assistance as I went along. I did! It truly was exciting and fun.  I had the house to myself, I would put on an entertaining show or movie while I worked and just kept figuring out the next step. It was fun when the kids and Jon would arrive home each day and marvel at the progress. They were just as surprised as I! They would ask what I would tackle next, or how would I do a certain part. It was really looking good!

 The arm rest pulled tight-tight-tight!

Like I said, I was home alone, but managed to flip that couch all over the place to get to the undersides that needed stapling.

 I started to dream of factories with big tables where you could get to everything easily, tools that made everything work quickly and made it look professional. But, my little living room 

worked just fine.

As I'd flip it on it's side, I could hear all the junk lost inside get dumped to one end. I pulled away the fabric to clean it out and couldn't believe all the stuff lost inside there! I even found my long lost, favorite bracelet Jon gave me years ago. Whenever I've thought about it I get sick. 

And here it was in there all along!  

Hooray! 

Are you ready for the final reveal???

I'm thrilled how it turned out. I would actually buy this beast! Of course, it meant I had to recover all the pillows to freshen it all up.

It has been such a satisfying project. It's been a good lesson to me that if I have the desire to learn, have the time and patience, I can accomplish big things! Hopefully it will last us a few more years.
Oh- and the miracle is, it turned out there was just enough fabric- less than a yard left! I couldn't believe it, because I did make some wrong cuts and wasted a little bit.

Out of all those yards, this is all that was left! Just enough.

And Jon is thrilled he didn't have to buy a big sectional and he has more money for his hiking gear. Happy times all around!

Look at me... sitting back and enjoying my new couch...