Slipcover Lessons

I started this project about a month ago, although how much time it was going to take to complete the project remained an unspecified mystery. Since this was the first slipcover I ever made, I spent time researching HOW to do this so that the result would be respectable. The ticking stripe fabric was a couple of years old, because I originally thought I would have someone do the work for me. But the pandemic arrived and my travel schedule slowed to a halt, so I took it on as a winter project. And now that it's finished, here are some of my take aways....
1. Be patient. This was a marathon and not a sprint. There was no sense of urgency for this to be completed with a deadline, so there was NO rush...which meant I could stop and walk away when I got tired and impatient and wanted to 'just finish', as that is how mistakes happen.
2. Be prepared. I watched several YouTube videos and downloaded a couple of them and took notes. I expected to make mistakes that would need to be ripped out and started over again, and there were several of those. And I set up my work station on the dining room table and had everything I needed, even my laptop with videos, handy and within reach.
3. Be mindful and pay attention, especially to the complex parts. This was a very curvy piece and I was using a striped fabric, so there were lots of opportunities for errors. I kept bandaids handy as I had bloody fingers often from the pins and needles. 
4. Be reasonable with expectations. This wasn't making this to sell to someone else and it didn't need it to be perfect. It wasn't even a permanent solution, like reupholstering! I needed to be aware of when good enough was truly good enough and not chase perfection.
5. Be open to coaching. Since I posted my progress on Instagram, where many of my followers are either designers or home furnishings people, they offered suggestions and I took them. My favorite was to know when to walk away for the day. 

This was a fun, confidence building project that had me start looking around my house for other things to take on. What 'stay at home' projects have you taken on this last year that you can share with us?

Now, go sell something!

oxo
Jody