<p>We have an old sleeper sofa that is actually threadbare. However, it’s the most comfortable thing I’ve ever sat on. We all fight to sleep on it (even the dog!), and I claim that you lay down on it, and it sucks the consciousness right out of you. </p>
<p>I’m thinking about reupholstering it myself. I’m a bit concerned because it’s a sleeper. However, I’m very handy. I have no problem recovering the cushions but am wondering about the rest. I’ve found some sites and videos on-line with pointers, but so far none of them really deal with a sleeper. </p>
<p>My decorator reupholstered a sofa and 2 chairs. Warning: no matter how good the quality it will “sit” differently. Obviously you aren’t getting a new mattress so that should stay the same. I am not familiar with sleeper sofas but in regular sofas they retie or replace the guts…and fix the springs.</p>
<p>I am considering getting a slipcover made for my very comfortable family room sofa … the material is worn, but the sofa is fine. It’s skirted with three cushions and three loose pillows for the back. I want a washable canvas-type material, like Pottery Barn - and I want it made for the sofa, not the kind that just tucks in. Does anyone have a clue about how much something like this would cost? I am almost thinking that it might cost the same to get a new sofa!</p>
<p>The cost of a slipcover is going to depend on the size of the sofa and on the grade of fabric you select. It can cost more to get a sofa reupholstered or slipcovered than getting a new one. However, if the shape of the sofa is one you like and the quality of the frame is good, getting new upholstery makes sense and you have much more selection in fabric than in a typical furniture store.</p>
<p>The advantage of a slipcover over reupholstering is that it can be either drycleaned or even machine washed. Easier than having a cleaner come to the house.</p>
<p>I’m not intending on replacing the “guts” which would probably be a lot harder with the sleeper aspect, anyway. It’s certainly not an antique, just a well-used well-loved piece of furniture. It’s always been cared for and never been in storage. Obviously, I may have to add some padding in places where it’s smashed down. In any event, I figure that whatever I do, it can’t look worse than it already does. </p>
<p>We’ve tried a variety of slip covers (not custom made) and they would never stay put. I have better luck when we have company, just throwing a queen size comforter over it and putting pillows on the arms. I think a big part of the problem is that no one in our family “sits” like you would on a guest sofa. They slouch down, gradually sliding lower and lower to get comfortable with the laptop. Or someone sleeps on it (not with the bed pulled out) or the dog scratches the cover into a nest.</p>
<p>In our area the local CC used to offer “emeritus” classes in things like upholstery, so you might check around. </p>
<p>I’d give it shot, if you really feel you have nothing to lose. I think there are webistes to estimate fabric (I’d do a test run using sheets bought on clearance, to get a feel for things).</p>
<p>Worst case you’ve lost some hours and the cost of the fabric. We had a favorite chair recovered and I was appalled at the cost - more than a new chair. The trouble was I had been looking for a replacement chair and simply couldn’t find anything close. (Small upholstered chair that swivels and rocks.)</p>
<p>Yeah, the cost of recovering pieces was a good amount. But the furniture was from Sloans and Cannell and Chaffin…(old Angelenos will know them) AND they belonged to my parents…so I won’t get rid of them. But the sofa was $2500 and the chairs…$850 each. </p>
<p>This was 10 years ago…but when you love something and it has meaning…you keep it.</p>
<p>We had a sofa bed that we loved too…Stearns and Foster. But after 20 years, two kids, two dogs and a cat, it needed new fabric. We got several estimates for both slipcovers (a bit of a headache for a sleeper) and re-upholstery. At the end of the day, it was FAR less expensive to buy a new sofa…by almost a thousand dollars. Upholstery fabric is very costly and you need a goodly amount for a sofa of any kind.</p>
<p>I have reupholstered several items, including a sleeper sofa. The latter was for my daughter’s apartment, and we actually used some patterned sheets for the job–ended up not unlike something you might get at Ikea—ie not the best quality in the world, but serviceable and cute for the apartment (and awfully cheap–we “inherited” the sofa from my dad and the sheets were not all that expensive).</p>
<p>There are books you can get that will talk you through it. The key when re-covering a sleeper sofa is considering all the moving parts and how you will work around them so it looks great when the sofa is open and when shut.</p>
<p>One of the sites I saw recommended taking all the old fabric off carefully to use for a pattern. I think I’ll start it, calculate how much fabric I need and what that’s going to cost. If it’s more than what I want to spend, we can throw it out at that point. If it’s going to be thrown out, whether it’s whole and threadbare or “naked” really doesn’t make all that much difference. </p>
<p>Now I have to clear my schedule and decide when I’m going to dive into it, because I also don’t want a half-finished project filling the living room.</p>
<p>Just wanted to let those of you who posted advice that I recently completed reupholstering the sleeper sofa in question. I took dozens of photos as I removed the fabric which I then used for a pattern. I would actually divide the process into 3 parts.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Taking it all apart. I learned to hate staples. Pulling out all those staples individually (and by the end, I didn’t take them all out, but I did need to have a good surface to reattach fabric to) was a huge pain. I took me 3 good days of work. Before removing anything, I took several pictures, some very close up, and wrote what each piece was on it with sharpie. I also needed my husband’s help to remove the mechanical workings of the sleeper part, mostly because it was hard to access (3 screws on each side).</p></li>
<li><p>Cutting and sewing the fabric. The hardest part of this was the scissors blister I got on my hand. I’m an accomplished seamstress from my high school days, so if you give me a photo and a piece of fabric, I can create it. This was the easiest part for me, even though some of it was time consuming. The new fabric I chose ravels easily, so I had to serge all the edges. I think I spent more time rethreading the serger (a real pain) than sewing. This took another 2 days.</p></li>
<li><p>Putting it back together. This was the quickest part. Once I got the staple gun adjusted to the right force, it went very quickly. This took only one day. Again the hardest part was reattaching the mechanics which took two of us.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>The whole thing was definitely worth it. I spent about $500 on fabric. I bought way too much fabric, so have enough for a few other projects. However, since it was special order, I didn’t dare order too little. I spent $150 on a pneumatic staple gun and air compressor, but this will be around to use for other projects. And I spent about $125 on new cushions because the old ones were smashed down. So it wasn’t cheap, but it was certainly cheaper than a new sofa.</p>
<p>Very impressive.
I have a loveseat that is also a sleeper and well made, but it needs to be reupholstered or a slipcover that fits.
I think I am going to go with a slipcover- where is a good place to get cushions?</p>
<p>Omg, I reupholstered my sleeper and, by the end, thought I would go crazy. I did the piping and all, both sides of 6 cushions. And, it was a jacquard with an obvious pattern and I decided to match everything up. (One of those Martha Stewart moments we have, when we think we’re able to do anything.)
It’s a beaut’. But, I still shudder at the memory. Btw, also a Stearns & Foster - and everyone raves about the mattress comfort. Congrats. Enjoy- and make sure you take credit, let folks know (!)</p>
<p>EK, you can get cushions cut to match at a foam supplier, then use batting to wrap them- poly or down batting- for the comfort level.</p>
<p>Yes, I found a couple of places on line that would cut cushions to size. They’re very nice, but they weren’t exactly cheap. However, they’re much firmer foam than anything I could buy in stores locally. Plus the end cushions had a “hook” on the end to go around the arm, so I didn’t want to try and cut them myself. </p>
<p>I think reupholstering anything that has a lot of gathering, piping, overstuffed elements, etc. for someone who is not comfortable sewing might be too much. The most complex part of the whole thing was sewing the cushion covers and the overstuffed arm rests. If you aren’t at ease sewing odd shapes, that could be a deal breaker. </p>
<p>I watched a lot of youtube videos before I started anything. I didn’t find anyone doing a sleeper sofa, but I looked at regular sofa recoverings and esp overstuffed chairs. I would do it all again, just not very often!</p>
<p>That is indeed impressive reupholstering your sofa…nice job! We had a new sofa that got torn on an arm and we found a retired upholsterer who repaired the sofa beautifully. I remember him commenting that few people bother reupholstering or repairing any cloth furniture anymore…most people just throw it away and replace with new. He said good wood furniture is ‘forever’ though. Again, nice job, I am envious of people who have the skill and patience to do tasks like you did with your sofa.</p>