DIY: Sew Your Own Ottoman Covers

When we first moved into our house and bought our loveseat something just wasn’t quite right. It’s brand new so the cushions are super firm, it’s also deep so you have to sit allll the way back with your feet dangling off the edge. My solution: kick back with a foot rest. So we bought a pair of cubed ottomans from IKEA. The drab gray cover left something to be desired so I set out to make new ones (I do love a sewing project).

The obligatory before shot:

Underneath the awful gray default cover of the Solsta Pallbo (gotta love the name on this one) was a pretty simple particle board cube with a foam top. Looks unsturdy and uncomfortable but these things can hold any weight, are super comfy to sit on, and perfect to rest your feet on. Impressive!

I bought some fabric at IKEA (the lovely Makjen) and got to work drawing up a pattern for the covers. Basically I needed a 15″ x 15″ square for the top and a 60″ x 15″ piece for the sides. I measured out the fabric, adding an extra inch on all sides for a hem allowance, and then cut it. You can see how they look below.

My plan was to sew straight, 1″ hems on every piece of fabric and then simply sew the larger piece on to the top. Kinda hard to explain, you’ll see.

First, I sewed the hem on the top piece, creating a perfect 15″ x 15″ square.

Someone wanted to “help”:

The end result on the top:

I then took the top piece, matched it up to the hem of the larger piece, and carefully sewed them together on all four sides. I made sure on each corner that the edges lined up perfectly.

The end result was crisp corners on each edge (warning: kitty photobomb!).

When I had sewn all the way around the top, I sewed a straight seam up the side to close it.

I then repeated the whole thing to make the second ottoman cover and, voila, they were done!

A much better match with the tan couch and so much cuter.

This project isn’t over yet though!!

I had some fabric left over and, not wanting to waste it, I decided to whip up a quick curtain for our washer/dryer area. During the saga of getting them, the door had to be taken off the laundry closet so we’d hoped to be able to cover it in some way. Finally!

I quickly measured the door frame (I believe it was 73″ x 24″), cut the remaining fabric down, sewed a 1″ hem on all four sides, and I was done. I got some adorable clips from IKEA and a thin curtain rod at Target to hang the curtain with.

And here it is! It was a super easy side project, a great way to cover the laundry area, and adorably matches our ottomans.

What do you think??? I love small touches like this around the house: the fabric pops, it was all DIY, and adds a lot of personality to our living room.