I am sure you have already met my two buddies – Simon (The Grey) and Sophie (The Skittish).
As you can see, The Cats pretty much took over our old couch. So when we purchased a new one, I knew The Cat’s old habits would be very difficult to break, but I didn’t want my new couch to be destroyed neither!
So short of covering the whole thing with heavy duty plastic, I needed to find a suitable couch cover. I searched all the stores and on-line for a suitable cover. No such luck. I didn’t want something with too loud of a design on it and half the ones I did see were the wrong size anyway.
But how much longer could I look at the fluorescent green fleece blankets that were protecting my new couch?
Obviously, I turned to the fabric shop’s upholstery department for suitable fabric, and then a department store for a twin flat sheet. I found this sturdy fabric – navy blue with light coloured flecks in it (it even matched our carpet). I ran it through the wash right away to ensure that I would be able to launder it in the future, if needed. Remember… The Cats!
To buy the correct amount of fabric, I measured how much of the couch I wanted covered, found the area, and made sure that I purchased enough fabric to cover that area, even if I had to cut a strip off the side or something. The sheet was the correct area, but I had to cut a six inch strip off one side and sew it on to another.
The same with my upholstery fabric. I had to correct the length by cutting a strip off the width and sewing it onto the length.
After all was done I had a double layer couch cover, upholstery fabric on one side with mitered corners and my sheet fabric on the other.
A far cry better than fluorescent green fleece blankets… don’t you think?
And able to withstand whatever The Cats could throw at it!
When was the last time you adjusted your habits or home to accommodate your family pet? I’m sure I’m not the only one!
Before I leave, I am participating in Me Made May again. I think this year I am going to post my daily Me Mades on Instagram and Facebook.
Happy Sewing!
27 Responses to “Just a bit of practical sewing…”
Sadly we no longer have any pets, but I do have a grand who is not supposed to get on the furniture (but does), so I think I’ll be facing this when I get my sofas reupholstered! You have done a great job of your cover – most inventive.
Thank you. I don’t do any re- upholstery. But I have heard with the right tools and some patience anything can be done. (I’m not sure I believe that! 😂) This was a quick and handy solution.
I have a dog. An adorable dog who makes the best running partner. When he was a pup, the breeder told us to buy a blanket and give it to her so she could put it next to the mom. That way the blanket picks up the mom’s scent. It worked really well. When we took our pup home, he didn’t whimper so much being separated from the litter because he could smell his momma’s scent on the blanket until he got used to us. Three years later our little dog now thinks EVERY blanket in the house is his.
Good job on the covers. I’m sure Sophie and Simon approve.
That is such a cute story! I’m glad and I’m sure you dog is glad that he is staying in such a loving comfortable home – even if every blanket in the house is his blankie! 😄
Good idea! I have been thinking of buying a cover – for some reason it never occurred to me to sew one!
You should! It certainly wasn’t difficult!
Awww, what would we not do for our kitties? They really do rule the house and have us as human servants. What is it with cats and settees? I am sure if we didn’t sit on them that they wouldn’t either. What a brilliant solution to tbe fluff problem. It looks fantastic, wonderful fabric. Our adopted stray cat, Mittens is really fluffy and sheds like crazy everywhere. She sleeps under the radiators so mats will be in order. Either that or pinches your seat the minute we get up. Feline power struggle! Xx
Yes, they are special creatures, aren’t they? Thanks for reading and commenting!
A much more stylish solution. We bought sofas the same colour as our cat purposely to disguise the hair situation….
Haha, yes the grey works with Simon, but not with Sophie!
I swear my mother had a plastic protector thing pulled over her first sofa. It looked odd, we kids picked at it and it was miserable to sit on (hot and sticky) regardless of the season. Your solution looks so much prettier. Lucky cats!
I remember those things! Haha, yes they are spoiled, aren’t they?
This makes sense! Our cats have destroyed our sofa. The next sofa we get, I’m covering it!
It was easy make and if you really want to entertain just remove the cover and banish the cats for a few hours! We also have a scratch post right beside the couch and every time they are caught digging in they are moved to the scratch post and their paws and claws are gentle dragged on the post. They usually get the hint that the post is for scratching, not the couch! Good luck with your next sofa!
I hope your cats approve – they are fickle creatures!
They are fickle creatures, but they are young enough still that you can distract them with treats, or the light from a laser pointer, or even move them to a new spot … Well moving them is one habit that doesn’t always stick as they keep coming back. 😃
Hi Linda. Well at least we cat people all know the cats are not going to move from their favourite spot!?
I have put extra pillow cases on certain favourite spots on the beds, and the odd fleecy throw on chairs! Great idea to stop those claws getting the new settee.
Hi Linda! Yes we have to move one of them every time we want to sit. But I’m am thankful that they are not spoiled dogs – just spoiled cats! I was just thinking about the number of ways to say “couch” as I was writing – thanks for providing another! 😃 Hopefully I can collect more as I love hearing the differences in languages, even if they are subtle!
Good idea!
Hope you enjoy Me Made May.
Thanks! I enjoyed it last year, I suppose I will this year too. It makes me think about what I’ve got to wear and what is missing from my home made wardrobe.
Yes, I found it very good for that.