Have you ever had sofa snags and frays appearing out of thin air, merely days after buying them?
You know your cat’s probably the culprit here but you can’t really subject Mr. Meowingtons to sofa exile now, can you?
And they would be a sight until you get new sofa slipcovers or a new sofa.
But, don’t worry.
We’ve searched through our secret hack book and found some quick fixes for sofa snags and frays.
Let’s check them out!
1. Felting needle hack
Felting needles are those super sharp needles that have tiny notches in them that help catch onto the fibres and pull them together to create felt.
Here’s what they look like:
Basically, they help you pull the sofa snags back into the fabric.
So all you have to do is to poke repeatedly at the snag until it is pushed back into the wrong side of the fabric.
2. Razor hack
Another trick that you can use is the razor hack. All you have to do is to run the razor over the snags and frays and voilà! The snags are gone and won’t pull any further. You can also use hair trimmers, clippers or shavers for this hack. This method works best for fabric that fray into thin strands and fluff. It also works with fabric pilling or balling.
3. Needle and thread hack
The needle and thread hack would take some time and patience, but it’s going to be an effective one. Also, we recommend to use this method only when you have a few, noticeable snags. It’s going to take too long for you to thread all the snags individually unless, you know, you really like sewing.
How it works:
1. Thread a needle without tying a knot at the end of the thread.
2. Insert the threaded needle into the hoop of the snag.
3. When you reach the end of the thread, tie a knot on the snag.
4. Insert the needle as close as possible to the base of the snag and pull through.
5. Cut off the excess thread on both sides of the fabric.
You can also cut off the knot if it isn’t too difficult for you, but be sure to not cut the fabric!
Once you get the snags and frays out of the way, here’s what your sofa should look like:
Do try out these hacks and let us know in the comments which one works best for you!
Until next time, happy DIY-ing!
In case your sofa slipcover has too many snags and frays and is just not worth saving, here’s another simple method to make it beautiful again:
And, to avoid snagging and frays on your sofa the next time, Kirane, the Comfort Works Pattern Specialist, has this advice. “If the surface of the couch is made of softer material like linen or cotton, avoid lounging in jeans or rough clothing,” she says. “Also, remove watches or jewellery when lounging on the couch – that way it won’t catch onto the fabric even if you fall asleep on it.”