Couch Fixin'

I was finally able to sew something from start to finish, without the baby yelling at me (too much).

Problem: The cushion on the couch/futon slides down when you sit on it, and after a while it's half way down the frame.



Other problem: The bottom of the cushion is then half way off the end, leading to baby and puppy tumbles.



Goal: Put ties or straps on the top to attach it to the back, like this.



Fabric: Chris generously donated a t-shirt for the cause.



Step 1: Cut it up





I decided I needed 4 sets of traps. I cut 8 strips each about 3" x 13".

Step 2: Sew each strap in half to make a tube.





Step 3: Cut yourself on the needle and bleed on the fabric (optional).



Step 4: Turn tube right-side out.

I tried a few ways of doing this.
First I sewed up the side and then across one end, folding it and "hemming" it. I pushed the end through the tube and turned it rightside out just by pushing. This was difficult but worked in the end.





Then I tried sewing down the side and just across the end without hemming. I still had issues turning it right-side out.

Then I tried sewing across and THEN down one side, leaving long thread tails on the corner. If I left a very small hole where I started (by NOT doing a reinforcement stitch backwards), I could fit a tapestry needle through the whole and putt the tails inside and through the tube. Grab the needle and threads and pull. Much easier to turn right-side out.





Step 5: Measure, pin, and sew straps to mattress cover.

Tip: Measure the couch frame, not the cover. Because I wasn't sure where the edges of the cover fell when on the mattress, and because the edges were curved, I measured from the center of the futon frame and then from the center of mattress cover.





I reinforced the strap with diagonal stitches and double zig-zags on the ends.



Step 6: Put cover back on mattress and tie off.