How to buy slipcovers online – The ultimate guide

Have an IKEA or Pottery Barn sofa and don’t want to spend thousands on upholstery? No problem – learn how to order and buy slipcovers online right here!

There can only be 2 reasons why you’re here:
1) Your couch is completely worn out and you need to save it;
2) You own a new, naked sofa and you’d like it to wear some pretty, new clothes (because the standard covers are just meh.)

Well you’re definitely here at the right place! This guide will teach/guide you with all the essentials and processes involved to buy a new slipcover for your couch 🙂

How do I know which custom slipcovers to buy?

Obviously different sofas would have different sizes and the slipcovers for one will not necessarily fit another, because the measurements for one sofa and another similar looking one can be waaayyy different.

It is important to know what sofa you have, and determine which category it falls into. Having said that the categories are:

Templated Sofa Covers
Majority of the slipcovers made out there are templated, be it an IKEA sofa or a Pottery Barn or a nameless brand.

This simply means that someone created a blueprint or pattern for it, so it’s just a matter of copying it to duplicate a set of covers for you. The caveat is that most sofas out there are actually upholstered (meaning it doesn’t come with slipcovers), which brings us to the next best alternative.

Ready Made Loose Covers
Sadly, slipcovers can’t be made for your sofa for one reason or another. This could be because the cushions can’t be detached, it’s a wingback sofa or some kind of transformer couch. These kind of sofas can’t be recovered unless you have to hack it heavily.

If that’s the case, then you’ll need something super flexible and easy to put on.

Some people call these universal slipcovers, most people address them as ready made loose covers since they are readily available on typical Target, Walmart or Costco shelves.

Custom Slipcovers Made-to-measure
You don’t know the brand but you know that your sofa has a very generic shape, so slipcovers are a possibility even though it was originally upholstered.

Or your sofa originally has slipcovers, so you know for a fact that they can be replicated.

Either way you know you want slipcovers for your sofa, and because the traditional means of acquiring one from your local upholsterer is too tedious and expensive – you look elsewhere.

So where can I buy slipcovers online for my sofa?

If you know the brand – great, all you have to do is Google online and you’ll be able to find replacement slipcovers for them. As a start, here are some common brands:

IKEA
While IKEA does sell most of their sofas with covers, they are largely notorious for having their sofas discontinued after a while.

It’s actually an IKEA Klippan sofa, with new covers, legs and DIY tufting

Thankfully, here are some aftermarket slipcover providers specifically for IKEA sofas, armchairs, etc.

• Bemz (Ships Worldwide)
• Comfort Works (Ships Worldwide)
• Covercouch (Ships Worldwide)
• Dekoria (Ships Worldwide)
• Soferia (Ships to UK, EU and USA)

Pottery Barn
Mostly found in USA, Pottery Barn is a slightly more upmarket brand for furniture and home decor. While they offer most of the replacement slipcovers, there are some models which are discontinued so it might be slightly harder to find them.

Pottery Barn PB Basic 3 Seater Sofa c/o Savvysouthernstyle.com

• Comfort Works
• Replacement Slipcover Outlet
• Uglysofa.com (known as “Brand X” on their page)

Pricing in general for templated sofa covers shouldn’t cost too much, after all most of the work (measuring, cutting and pattern making) have been done so if you’re paying anything above US$1500 for a sofa slipcover – the fabrics are either incredibly premium, or they’re overcharging.

What if I don’t know the brand?

Nothing to worry about and if you want something fast and flexible, you might want to look for ready made loose covers (or universal slipcovers, we call them).

These are slipcovers with fairly stretchy fabric which makes it incredibly easy to put on. They’re also made about 10-15% larger than the sofa, so the excess gets tucked into the nook and cranny of the sofa.

In essence, it will look something like this:

Ready made loose armchair cover

Yes I know I know, it’s pretty ugly but if you want something super easy to put on and don’t want to spend more than US$200 – this is it.

Here are some guys you may have seen at your nearest Costco or Target even:

• Surefit
• Wayfair
• Slipcovershop.com
• Sofasofa (UK)
• Overstock.com

As you can tell, they don’t tickle our fancy very much but they do get the job done.

Okay, what’s the best value for money

In all honesty? Custom made-to-measure slipcovers from a provider that does their own manufacturing without any middlemen – this would allow prices to come down significantly, so instead of paying about $1200 at your local upholsterer we can actually do it for half the price (for a 3 seater sofa).

Unbelievable? Believe it.

Custom Sofa Slipcover Made-to-measure by Comfort Works

The main trade-off is between aesthetics and pricing essentially so if you want something super tailored and form-fitting, go with something made-to-measure. It’s the next best thing to upholstery and since upholstery can’t be done online – slipcovers are the alternative.

Going with templated sofa covers would mean that the company has acquired a template for it, so if your sofa came slipcovered originally – you might be in luck. If it was upholstered, then you’re definitely out of luck.

Lastly with ready made sofa covers, these are super easy to acquire but at the end of the day – do you really want a giant sock over your couch? Because that’s what it’s going to look like essentially.

So the next question is, can we make slipcovers for your sofa? Check this infographic below to find out:

Alternatively you could just send us 3 photos:
– front (cushions off couch, but still in picture)
– back
– side

And we’ll let you know whether it’s slipcover-able 🙂

How to choose fabrics for my custom slipcover

Regardless of whether you’re getting an IKEA sofa cover or just a custom slipcover in general, ALWAYS get samples first especially if time permits.

Think about it, if a food store allowed you to sample every and any one of their dishes — wouldn’t you? And the food might look awesome in the menu but do you sometimes feel deceived when the actual mains arrive?

We don’t want that to happen to you — so get a good feel/look (taste) of our fabric samples when you can, and NEVER base your decision on the colour of your computer screens. We won’t be liable for your tummy ache later.

At Comfort Works, you can order up to 8 samples and it takes 7-15 normally but it can be expedited should you need them quicker.

Got my samples, how do I buy slipcovers online…?

Once you’ve decided on the fabric, you can buy your slipcovers from any of the online stores but with Comfort Works, you can do minor little tweaks such as contrast piping or tailored pleats.

That’s pretty much our USP – being flexible 🙂

Check out our store here: https://comfort-works.com/en/home/customized-sofa-slipcover-541

Delivery times are generally 2-3 weeks if we’re not too busy; but you can opt for an Express Order to get it in about 10-12 work days guaranteed.

Check out some of our work below:

Custom Slipcovers in Herringbone Cement – MyFabulessLife Custom Kino Charcoal Slipcovers c/o Biggerthanthethreeofus Custom arm pockets on slipcover Custom IKEA Ektorp cover with multiple pleats