September 8, 2015

Reupholstering a Round Ottoman - With Almost No Sewing!

Yesterday I posted all the changes I had made in our living room.  The kick-off was finding a beautiful blue plaid faux silk and deciding to reupholster our round ottoman.

I bought this ottoman several years ago at a second hand store. Recently I had it slip covered with a simple cover that I made from drop cloth fabric.  But I knew that was temporary.

I did this project without much sewing at all!   You could do this by sewing only 3 short seams and using fabric glue or iron on adhesive for your hem.


I only had to order two yards of this fabric as it was 110" wide!  That's twice the normal width so half the normal fabric order.  I got this fabric at warehousefabricinc.com for only $19.99 a yard.  (not a sponsored post)  You will probably need about 4 yards of 54" fabric.  This will give you some left over fabric to make a couple of matching pillows, which I always like to have.

You will need:
4 yards of 54" fabric
ball fringe
matching thread
a measuring tape
scissors
straight pins
fabric glue
iron on adhesive (if you don't want to sew your hem)
staple gun and staples

I first cut a piece to cover the top of the ottoman.
I then stapled my fabric onto my ottoman.  Using a staple gun, I first stapled opposite sides, then opposite sides again, so that I had staple the four corners of the ottoman.  I then gently worked the gathers into the fabric and stapled all around as I went.  Then I trimmed off the excess fabric.

I measured from the staple line to the floor to get my length for the skirt, about 11" and then added enough for hem.  I then measured the circumference of the ottoman and cut 3 lengths of fabric 13" wide, about two and a half the length of the circumference of the ottoman.   I sewed the ends together so I that I had a continuous length, that made a circle and was 13" wide.

I put a hem in one side so that my skirt would have a finished hem.  You can use iron on adhesive for this step.  I do that often when I'm making slip covers or doing reupholstery because your seam is invisible.  Because I had such a busy pattern, I hid my seam easily.

I stapled the fabric to the ottoman in one spot.

Then I went to the opposite side of the ottoman.  pulled the skirt fabric until I found the exact middle and stapled that middle spot to the exact opposite on the ottoman of the first staple.  I now had my fabric evenly spaced around the ottoman.

I went to the 1/4 spot and found the middle and stapled.  I went to the opposite side, found the middle and stapled.

I repeated that process until it looked like this.
I then took a section of fabric and folded it like this and stapled it down.
I repeated this process all around the ottoman.  Because each section was the same size, it was easy to make my pleats even.
I went all around the ottoman again, stapling continually, making sure everything was attached securely.

I used the staple gun to attach my fringe.  When I turned the gun so that staples went on vertically they disappeared into the pattern of the fringe.  You may want to use fabric glue for this step if your staples are showing.  I used fabric glue at the end of my fringe, turning it under so it won't fray, and stapling it down.


It only took me about 3 hours to finish the whole job.  My daughter, who doesn't sew, read my tutorial and said, "I think even I could do that!"

I've always liked this ottoman when it's upholstered because I think it looks like a giant pin cushion! lol

Have a great day!

love and blessings~


"But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. " 1 Corinthians 2:14

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8 comments:

  1. Thank you. You did a beautiful job!

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  2. Lynda,
    Amazing transformation!!!
    Great tips and tutorial, dear friend!!!
    Fondly,
    Pat

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  3. Great job! Thank you he tips! It sure helps.

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  4. Really very nice job, your whole room is gorgeous!

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