Anyone Have Sofa Slipcovers?

[nic33]

Hello,
We're in the market for slipcovers to cover the results of a baby with reflux (yuck) and the only company I'm aware of is Surefit. I've never seen them IRL so I have a bunch of questions for anyone that has them...

Are they any good? Are they truly washable for juice accidents, crayon, food, etc? They have a million different kinds of fabric - any advice on which is the most durable with kids?

Also, one of our sofas isn't against a wall, and the back is visible as soon as you walk into the room. Not sure if this will work - is the back presentable or is it a mess of extra tucked-in fabric/pleats?

Thanks!
Nichole

[Globetrotter]

I bought pottery barn slipcovers from ebay. They are the loose fit types and they are pretty good, for slipcovers. The back doesn't look too sloppy and they have some nice colors. If you have t-cushion arms on your sofa or an odd shape, it will be more difficult to get a good fit. I had some of those and finally just got rid of the sofas as I couldn't take it anymore!
The kids kept jumping on them and they would come off (they were in the playroom). I do have a t-cushion cover on a PB chair, and that one stays on well. I think that chair was designed for slipcovers - it's also firm, which is important, IMO. The other t-cushion sofas were very soft so that made it harder to fit.

The non-t-cushion ones are better, though we do have to tuck them in every so often, especially since we have kids who like to walk on the furniture, despite numerous warnings not to do it!! The PB slipcovers wash well and they are pretty sturdy. Make sure you get the things to tuck them in. One day I might invest in some nice custom fitted slipcovers for our nice sofa set. I got a funky sofa pattern (had no idea what I was doing back then LOL) so I can't use it as is, but it's a quality set so I hate to get rid of it.

Kris

[s7714]

I have a couple of the SureFit cotton duck slipcovers. I bought the cotton duck because it was the cheapest and since the couches are just spares out in our playroom I wasn't concerned about getting something that really looked snazzy. They seem to hold up fine to our cats and kids, although we haven't had any major spills on them yet. SF makes some that have Scotch guard stain repellent on them, so that might be a good thing to consider if food/liquid is frequently near your couches. All the crayon/marker, cat fur and cat hairballs (yuck, I know) wash out just fine from mine but I'm careful to toss them in the wash immediately following a incident. The cotton duck does wrinkle a lot coming out of the dryer, but I just spritz the covers with water from a spray bottle once they're on the couch and all the wrinkles come out.

The couches I have these on are T-square cushions, and I had tried the SF covers a long time ago before they made ones especially for the T-squares. Those didn't fit at all, not even close. The T-square ones fit very nicely. I still have to re-tuck them weekly, but that's to be expected with two kids hopping, running, and jumping on and off of them every day!

As for the back of the couches, I think they will be fine. All the extra fabric on the back gets caught up in the corners when you tie them on most styles. All the extra fabric on mine ends up being more noticeable on the front edges, where the body of the couch meets the arms, if that makes sense. The closer your couch comes to the maximum size the cover is made for, the less you’ll have to worry about extra fabric. One of my couches is several inches smaller than the loveseat maximum, so it looks a little obvious there’s extra fabric if I don’t fuss with it. The other couch is exactly the max size listed for the couch cover and it fits perfectly, without any fussing or tucking.

I wouldn’t hesitate to buy more expensive covers from them next time if I want to make the couches look nicer. I ordered mine from JC Penny online, because most stores don’t carry the T-square cushions in store. Bed, Bath & Beyond and Linens N Things both usually have the non-T-square ones, and you used to be able to use their 20% off coupons on SF, but I'm not sure if you still can. You can also get really good deals on the overstocked SureFit covers on ebay, but then you might not have the option to return them if they don’t fit.

HTH
Jennifer
Mommy to
Miss Pure Energy 3/03
Miss Limit Tester 6/05

Our bones may be brittle, but our spirit is unbreakable.
Osteogenesis Imperfecta www.oif.org

[BeachBum]

If your main problem is stains (not ugly fabric) then I would call a carpet cleaning company, like Chem Dry and have them come clean the sofa.

[Globetrotter]

I washed the PB slipcovers today, thinking that some of the stains wouldn't come out. I was happy to see that they did!!

Kris

[nic33]

Thanks to everyone who answered - I may have to try them out. Good to know they're not hideous from the back!

Thanks again!
Nichole