My Slipcover: from "What were we thinking?" to "I love that chair!"

Hello!  It's time to show off my chair today!

I finished it right before this past Thanksgiving, because we hosted this year and I wanted my house to look great.  I had but one problem:

Exhibit A: The "What Were We Thinking?" chair

~ The Issues ~
1. Humongous roses.
2. Sad, sad cushion, beaten down by life.  And my Cadbury-Mini-Eggs-loving tookus. 
3. Torn seams and exposed foam at the corners of the cushion (not pictured) as a result of reckless abuse by my children.
4. Lumpy, misshapen cushion on the back of the chair.
5. I mentioned the roses, right?

(I wish I'd known back then that I was going to put this out there for all to see.  I would have taken more pics of the process!) 

Anyway, I searched high and low for suitable slipcover fabric.  It would have taken me about an hour to find, if not for my ever-present budget.  What a buzzkill.  I wanted to spend no more than $60 on the whole project.  I know that's ambitious, considering that, according to my calculations, I'd need about 12 yards of fabric.  Not to mention the cording!  I forget how many yards I needed of that, but I do remember not wanting to make bias tape and/or cording for quite a long time afterward. 

I checked every online option, frequented Jo-Ann Fabrics, even made a special trip to some warehouse in a neighboring town.  Nothing.  FINALLY, I found the perfect fabric, on clearance, at Jo-Ann's.  The problem?  8 yards and no more.

But time was a-wastin'.  I snatched up those 8 yards for a mere $30....a clothesline for my cording (clever, right?) and went to work.  With some very carefully planned-out cutting, plus a little "frankensteining", I made those 8 yards cover the whole thing. 

I love making slipcovers because it's like doing a huge puzzle.  And I love puzzles.  :)

My strategy for reviving the cushions was to make their covers just a little too small.  Stuffing them in was no fun, but well worth it. 

At the end, I hand-sewed the chair into the slipcover - the parts that I was afraid would tear in the process of putting in over the chair.  Just like on Project Runway!  Sort of.