Strip quilt couch cover

I mentioned this project once or twice before, and now it is finished!

As you can see, our couch (which I built a few years ago) is more like a daybed; the seat is a single slab of foam. The fabrics are polyester, thrifted, with a touch of tea dye to unbrighten the color just slightly.

Design:  A strip quilt is relatively quick to sew.  To mix the five fabrics, I chose to put them into a sequence and sew them strictly in that order, similar to how words in a sentence on a page are laid out from line to line.  For the width of the strips, I looked at the boards in the back of the couch (barely visible in the upper right corner of the picture) and picked a width that was neither too narrow nor too wide in relation to them.

For the length of the fabric pieces, I set a maximum and a minimum length for each fabric piece, so that each strip across the quilt would have from two to five different fabrics in it.  My minimum and maximum lengths were 7 inches and 32 inches for my couch. I left myself the freedom to choose the length of each fabric piece as I sewed it in, so that I wouldn't get too bored with the project as I sewed it.

I also added 1/2 inch to each edge, for a seam allowance.


I planned to put a backing fabric on it after finishing the top, for strength and to keep the fabric edges on the back from catching on each other in the wash.


Cover shaping:  there is the basic rectangle for the seat, plus an overhang in front, plus an identical overhang in back (to tuck underneath the cushion and hold it in place; it also makes the cover reversible front-to-back).  There is also an overhang at each side, each of which ends in a wide flap that also tucks underneath the cushion.  There are seams where the side and front and back pieces meet.

Execution:  I made a width pattern from a scrap of hardboard, and used it as a guide to cut a number of strips from the fabrics. I also made a little color card with samples of the fabrics, in the order I was sewing them. I drew several marks on my dining room table (don't try this at home unless you have a rustic table) for the maximum and minimum lengths, along with another one for the total front-to-back length (58 inches). These marks made it easy to lay the fabric pieces out and see what I needed to cut next. I made each strip a bit on the long side, so that I could trim and neaten the edges later on.

Then I started cutting the pieces, for one full strip at a time, and sewing them together. It was convenient to work in groups of five strips, sewing each one, and them joining them together.

Since I was working in a strict sequence of colors, I joined each block to the next as soon as it was finished.

I trimmed the edges and ironed all the seams open once all the strips were together, including the strips for the sides. Then I laid it out on the floor on top of the backing fabric, and hand-basted the two layers together (no batting).  There is probably some better way to do that, but I couldn't think of one. Then I sewed by machine along every third line of stitching, to join the layers, and removed the basting stitches.

I added the flaps at the sides last, because they didn't require a backing.

Then I laid out the couch cushion on the floor, and tried to figure out where to make the seams for the corners. One method that I have used before is to put the cover on inside-out, pin it on, and then draw sewing lines on it with chalk. For some reason that didn't work very well for me this time, but I eventually did a little figuring, trimming, and sewing, and ended up with corner seams that are only moderately goofy. I decided to accept this as an "unplanned detail", instead of trying to resew them. I was prepared to accept a certain amount of non-straightness with it already.

For the hem, I just folded the edges to the back, and sewed them down. I think I will do this again one more time before I put the cover into the washer; the fabrics are woven and tend to unravel.

Finally, there was one place--right in the center, naturally, and with the black fabric--where the changes of fabrics in adjoining strips came out awkwardly...too much alike. I solved this by visually lengthening one of the black strips, by hand-appliqueing on a short extension to it.  It blends in well with the rest, and is easier to find by feel than by sight. I'm pretty sure that the two rightmost black pieces in the picture are the ones I worked on; I added fabric to the one on the left so that it wouldn't end in the same place as the one on the right.