Growing up in Wisconsin I had not been exposed to slipcovers but I am always game to try something new; the project was interesting. While making the pattern, I found myself “looking” at furniture for the first time. Obviously, chairs and couches have been a part of my life since birth, but I never really “saw” them before this project.

I started looking at furniture the way I looked at clothing. What is it about a particular styling that makes a jacket or a piece of furniture comfortable or appealing? In fashion you can have comfort and style if you are wiling to pay for it and furniture is the same. I find older furniture to be beautifully constructed and comfortable but often very out of date aesthetically.

One of the most comfortable and solidly built chairs I ever sat in happened to be one of the ugliest I have ever seen. I would never have allowed such an ugly object into my home. It had a limey green, nubby fabric on it that reminded me of Jell-O salad. I considered reupholstering it, but that process is too expensive, you have to commit to a fabric that you hope you’ll like for a long time.

That is where a slipcover has a definite advantage over upholstery. If a qualified person makes a pattern for a slipcover and keeps the pattern, you can have another slipcover made from new fabric whenever you desire (and your pocketbook permits). To make it even sweeter, the labor costs for the second slipcover are less than for the first because the pattern already exists! Some people wait for the first cover to disintegrate before having a new one made; some people have two covers that they switch with the seasons.

How and when did my business go from wedding dresses to slipcovers?

After that first project, I started to make slipcovers for myself and my friends. In 2000, I answered an online bulletin board posting for a slipcover maker. Within 24 hours I had seven slipcover jobs, and a new chapter in my life had begun.

My husband—my biggest supporter—had held my hand through many bride/mother-of-the bride dramas. He and my growing children were elated to see me get out of that business and start to work with calmer (saner) people.

I contacted some fabric showrooms and started carrying fabric lines. I am a tactile person—I love fabric. Fabric can be rich and hearty or soft and delicate. The colors are often deeply saturated and invoke certain moods. Fabrics can calm us or jazz us up; make us hungry, or send us off to sleep. I love being surrounded by different fabrics all day long. Visually, my world is never boring.

Although I appreciate the clean lines of upholstered furniture, I have become a proponent of slipcovers. I like the idea of recycling old furniture and transforming a shabby, tired chair into something fresh and inviting. But mostly I love that slipcovers can be washed or dry cleaned whenever necessary. Honestly, how likely are you to have your couch or chair steam cleaned? When you wash your couch and chair covers in addition to dusting, vacuuming the floors, and cleaning the cobwebs from the corners, the whole room is fresh and ready to be lived in.

As the years have gone by I have added curtains, roman shade, cushions, pillows and bedding to my custom design and sewing work room.
I enjoy helping people choose fabrics and helping them to make their house into a home. And I am thankful for each and every one of my clients who has asked me into their lives. Being a results oriented person; seeing a project through to the end and enjoying the results of change is what I was born to do for my life’s work.

The Process
A successful slip cover begins with the pattern. If the pattern isn't right, the finished slip cover won’t be right. (I can’t stress the importance of the pattern and getting the grain lines falling correctly.)

After we arrange to work together, I will come to your home and measure for the fabric. I use muslin to drape a pattern on your piece of furniture; using pins and markers, I make a pattern. I usually follow the design of the original furniture, keeping as many of the original style lines as possible. But you are the ultimate designer! You can keep the styling or not; fitted slip cover or loose, skirt or no skirt, cording or no cording.
I then take the rough muslin pattern back to the workroom, where I clean up the pattern and sew a sample slipcover, also in muslin.
I then put the sample cover on the furniture to check the fit, marking any adjustments that need to be done. Once the fitting and pattern corrections are made, I cut the real slipcover fabric.

All Slipcovers Include:
Over-locked edges, cording, pre-washing if necessary (there is a chare for this service), delivery of finished product unless otherwise arranged and excellent customer service.