The Brunschwig & Fils chintz, in the notable Campanula pattern, has a solid blue chintz ¼” contrast welt and skirt edging.
Mummy always said, “To get your house in order, host a party or invite house guests. It is amazing what one can get done with that incentive!”
Being a designer, the month of November, in normal times, has garnered the reputation as “crunch month” in order to achieve miraculous design installations for clients. The deadline of Thanksgiving is the goal to spruce up their houses before family and friends arrive!
The use of slipcovers, aka ‘loose covers’ in the UK, immediately comes to mind as a charming notion to spruce up a tired piece of upholstery, or to offer an attractive new garment for your furniture any time of year! A slipcover is a custom-made cover, which can be put on or taken off of a piece of upholstered furniture. It can be made with just about any fabric, yet most traditionally, they are made of cotton, chintz, linen, damask, or even white muslin.
In England, the loose covers are just that… slightly loose. In America, they tend to be more snug, with the appearance of actually being upholstery.
Slipcovers can be changed intermittently for the seasons, to protect the furniture from dust, sun, or even storage. The myriad of times I have toured the handsome, historic Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, Virginia, the checkered cotton slipcovers, which are simply made, loose and unembellished, always capture my attention as a timeless and sensible decorative element, and historically correct.
When I specify slipcovers, I try to incorporate a contrasting welt, which means that the piping that adorns the seams is made in a solid color fabric to complement the fabric design. I use a flat ¼” welt for the edging of the skirt. I also use a colorful twisted ¼” cord with tape, to accent a plain fabric, so that the cord becomes the decorative detail that distinguishes the bespoke cover.
This fireside chair is not slipcovered, but I am displaying it as an example of how a contrast welt works well as a tailored detail. The Ralph Lauren linen hunt print fabric (which is now discontinued) has a burgundy, solid-colored chintz as the contrast welt and edging. The box-pleated skirt is at home in the Hunt Room at Fox Hall.
Slipcovers usually have zippers, or sometimes buttons, which are applied to a side or back seam, in order to remove them. Whilst filming my television episode with Lady Carnarvon at Highclere Castle, aka Downton Abbey, I noticed that in the enchanting “Morning Sitting Room” the muted, English floral patterned chintz loose covers that graced the two fireside chairs and sofa, did not have zippers, but instead, the sweetest row of petite ‘hooks-and-eyes.’
More examples are featured in my first design book, The Pretty and Proper Living Room.
Grandmillennial Tips:
Slipcovers on dining chairs are a stupendous method for keeping the actual chair upholstery fresh from little children’s sticky hands. And even without children, the appearance of a slipcover is a tailored, old-school touch to add to a dining room chair.
Have fun when designing slipcover skirts! From scalloped edges to pleated or gathered skirts, I like to pretend I am designing a darling dress-skirt for the furniture to wear.
Dining Room chairs are the perfect candidates for slipcovers, and this scalloped edge adds a touch of whimsy.
Slipcovers can also be laminated, depending on the fabric, and it is usually best applied to flat, cotton fabrics. This technique offers a brilliant cleanability for a well-used chair in the kitchen!
Be clever and design two-room schemes for the same room! Consider having summer slipcovers made in a cool cotton, linen or chintz fabric, which naturally gives a summery feel to a room! For the winter, change them to a soft wool or cotton velvet to give warmth and texture. Of course, these seasonal changes are all dependent on the other design aspects of the room, for a complimentary appearance.