IKEA Klippan -tutorial

Don't get confused! This is an old project which I moved here because of the renewings the blog is going through. I know it is important to know you can still save your IKEA Klippan sofa for 4 persons by new cover. I destroyed the Sewing site where this was so it can be found here now.

This is an old IKEA Klippan sofa in new clothes and pillows for 4 person. We bought it over 6 years ago. It was on sale and I didn't understand they were going to stop selling it. That's why I bought only one cover for it. Now the life with the cat has lead us to the point despite of desperate seeking I ended up the fact we need new sofa or cover for the old one. It would have been shame to throw the old sofa away because finally now it has got a bit soft and cosy; besides the damages were done just on one corner of the cover. So, I bought the fabric and spent three days with the project. I wasted just 70€ and the result is good. :) 

Making new cover for a sofa is easy. Especially if it is one you can take away and wash easily. This cover & pillows pictured above are my own design but anyone can do the same. You can get the patterns from the old cover. You can cut them out from the old cover by cutting the pieces by the seams. If the cover is symmetric at both sides you need to cut only half out off it. If you are ever again going to make another cover I recommend you draw the patterns on the paper so that they are easier to storage. Save the "whole part" of the half cover as an example of it how you must sew it all to get similar. :) After finishing the new cover you can throw the old away. 

You should wash the fabric before using it to make it shrink (if it will). But still you can add some extra centimeters keeping your eye on shrinking abilities. The fabrics shrinks more to its lenght direction than width. Including a bit extra is important even you had shrink the fabric before sewing. All the shrinking may not happen at one time and later in the future it might happen that you need to try to save the cover by washing it in hotter temperature than allowed to... The easiest way to add this extra is to add bigger sewing allowances but use the normal of them; for example add 2cm but use only 1cm. (If you have ever washed the old cover it have shrunk a bit.)

If you want to make some pillows for the sofa you can use the left over fabric. If you want fat and soft pillows easiest way to make them is to make the pillow cases too small. The pillow cases pictured above are 38cm x 40cm (finished size) and the pillows inside are actually 45cm x 45cm. When the pillow cases are approximately 5cm smaller than the pillows inside they keep up the thick fat soft shape very easily. And believe me -it all fits in there very well. The pillows can have different kind of background so that you can use both sides. I made the pillows which have just jeans blue fabric on the back side. If I feel too striped I can calm down the style just by turning the pillows. :)

Hot day's doings

For some reason when it has been hot summer days I have spent three days on the project sofa. Our IKEA Klippan sofa needed new cover so I had to do something about it. It is not so difficult as it sounds.

Because of the busy sofa project I had not yet time to read the latest issue of Novita magazine which arrived yesterday. I like about the magazine. The year subscription cost 29€ and it includes 4 magazines. 4 is good amount I think. Not too many but enough for each season. Novita manifactures yarns so it is easy when you have same trade mark instructions and yarns. :)

I also visited the local yarn shop despite of the heat weave. We were seeking hair for a new hobby horse. The girl spent a day on a floor with me. I guided her to drawn patterns by herself. She designed it, made the patterns, cut them out from the fabric and now she waits to be able to start the sewing. She was with me at the fabric shop when seeking the fabric for the sofa. She found a fabric and got inspired and told she wants to make a hobby horse of it. I promised to teach her how to. :) Yes, I found something for myself too -woollen sock yarn by Novita.

To be honest I must tell you I got a phone call from my sister in the middle of the sofa project sewing marathon. She wondered what on earth I was doing. She suspected me using a banknote counter! No wonder I feel my new sewing machine acts differently than the old dead one named Poor-Iiris who was born in Sweden. This Helga is born in Taiwan I think. And now I finally know -thanks to my sister- why Helga is not like Poor-Iiris even tough she also is a member of Husqvarna family. They must set in the engine of a banknote counter instead of sewing machine engine!

By to way, talking about sewing machines, I prefer the simplest models. I have simple sewing machine by Husqvarna Viking and simple 3-4 thread seaming machine by Brother. They are very enough for my needs even I sew everything from winter overalls to lace napkins. My seaming machine is about 12 years old and sewing machine about 5 or 6 years old. I have used many different trademark sewing and seaming machines -like Singer, Eva and Bernina. There's no huge difference between them nowadays. If you want advice which one to buy I recommend you to check out for which one you can easiest get equipment, adds, extras and spare parts nearby where you are living. That easies a lot your life.