There is a simple upholstery cure for when your old lounge suite is structurally very strong but after years of use, the covers are looking very worn and tattered. We tackled some simple upholstery techniques for when a new lounge suite is not an option in your budget.

Square shaped couches with squab (meaning thickly stuffed! ) seating are easy. For more traditional rolled arm sofas, or if you are not feeling that confident, a wide variety of commercial patterns are available in fabric stores.

How to make a loose cover
Start on a test cover
1. Buy some calico to make a test cover. It's cheap, wide, and easy to mark lines onto with a marker pen.

2. By looking closely at where the seam allowances are in your old sofa you will be able to get a very clear idea of the shapes of the calico you need to cut. Allow an extra 5cm around each piece to allow for the roundness of the upholstery. Pull off any loose cushions/ squabs and simply wrap a rectangle of calico around them allowing for seams and a zip at one end.

3. Smooth the calico shapes over the sofa and pin together in a firmer fit, but not so tight that you can't slip it off in one piece.

4. Mark with a texta along your pin lines, this is a kind of join the dots exercise. These will become your sewing lines.

5. Trim back your shapes, leaving 1.5cm outside of the texta lines for your seam allowance.

6. Sew your calico cover together in a very large stitch length and try it on the sofa for size. Make any adjustments necessary.

7. Pull your cover apart! The large stitches will make this easy - and now use all the pieces as patterns for the real thing from your fabric of choice and you will have saved yourself any costly mistakes.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens May 2002