Why are replacement loose sofa covers so expensive???? Where can I get cheaper ones????

[BoffinMum]

We have two ten-year old John Lewis sofas that are in perfect nick, apart from the loose covers are now threadbare, so I wanted to get some replacements. I have mended them several times, but now they are really giving up the ghost. The covers are the kind you can put in the washing machine.

I got a local firm in to quote, and also spoke to John Lewis, and all these people quoted four figure prices for replacement covers well in excess of what the two entire sofas had cost in the first place, and probably equivalent to what it would cost to buy two brand new sofas now.

I am loath to put two perfectly good pieces of furniture into landfill, so I want to get them recovered. But if I can't afford to shell out ££££ how do I go about this? There must be a way of getting covers done cheaper or nobody would be able to afford to buy sofas at all. BTW just putting a rug over the top of them won't work for us as the kids are over them all the time and I would spend my entire life replacing the rug.

i ordered covers from www.chairandsofacovers.co.uk on the basis of the comment above

the company is a complete scam and I just wanted to warn everyone else

the covers are awful and I can't contact anyone to return them - it seems they are based in the US and they simply ignore all email and voice messages and the UK address on their website is fake

other people have had the same problem forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4129851

I bought my sofa with loose fitting covers so that I could make a replacement set. I had used a machine to make curtains before, but was afraid of making a mistake on more expensive upholstery material, so made templates out of cheap sheets. I did make a few mistakes on my first try (the seat cushions were a little 'snug' to say the least) but it didn't matter. I work full-time and have little spare time, but still managed to make the templates in a week. I still haven't gotten around to making the full covers yet, but this is just because I haven't found the right material yet. My sister made simple covers for her sofa by hand with material from a local market. It can be done, ladies x

Thank you for the warnin Mavornia I was going to order one from there!

I love it when this thread comes back and back again... It's recycling, innit?

My next sofa will be from ikea-loads of them have washable replacement covers.

I posted on this thread a year ago and still haven't got around to replacing my loose covers

I've got two seater sofas. Has anyone used a good company recently?

I just found a company that does 100% cotton covers in nice plain colours. They are based in Utah but even with shipping costs they are still a good deal cheaper than anything else I've found! (just under £80 for an arm chair and not much more for a sofa). Check out overstock.com Hope this helps!

I love that this is near the top of Good Housekeeping! We had plumbs quote us 1150 for our sofa to have it re covered - that's loose covers!!!

I've taken it as a 'sign' that I've come across this and am going to check out the options for us. Will report back as soon as I have quotes / info.
Would appreciate hearing updates from anyone else?

And who is it that lives in Cambridge? I'm in Cambridge as well and would appreciate the numbers of the people who can sew!

I can't find the sofa covers on that, makedo... Could you tell me wgat search term you used?

I was looking at the Loose Cover Company - has anyone else used this? It looks like a cheaper option?

Bump-anyone thinking of buying from www.chairandsofacovers.co.uk or anyone who has lost money to them please look at the thread on them on www.moneysavingexpert.com

houselinen.co.uk/plain.html

Has anyone bought these? If so do they look okay? Do they wash okay?

Hi, I'm cambridge based and create all sorts of soft furnishings and upholstery. Very interesting reading this thread and your thoughts on the skill required to make loose covers, properly made they will make a sofa look as though it has been upholstered, they are harder to make than you think. If you don't want to spend much money on a loose cover I'd suggest buying enough cheap and washable fabric to make a 'throw' for the sofa, sew on some Velcro strips to the corner areas and attach corresponding Velcro to the underneath of the sofa to keep the 'throw' in place. Cheap and versatile and should stay in place even with bouncing children!

I have read all the messages in here, I am in the industry and even I had to question how much we charge for loose covers, having just spent the past hour working out how much time it takes to manufacture a set of covers for a two seater sofa, I was astounded to see that it would be nearly 30 hours worth of work. OK, this particular sofa requires a lot of detail, it has loose cushions, piping etc... however, when you add that you need 22 meters of fabric as well, you see the figures rocket to nearly £1500, I was shocked.
As I said, I am in the industry so this was surprising for me, I know that if I was to reupholster the sofa instead, it would be a lot cheaper, but the client wants removable covers, so this is what she will get.
Sadly it is the age old saying, "you get what you pay for", I am sure that there are companies that will do this for half the job, in fact i have witnessed it when clients come in crying because they are so bad, therefore you do "Get what you pay for".
Personally, I would never have loose covers, I would always have a recover instead, but if you do want a set of covers, then let me know, i would be happy to take your money whilst providing you with a stunning set of covers.

Briant I have a 2 seat sofa that I'd like to have recovered at some point - I'd rather have it close covered than loose covered so it retains its shape. Can you PM me your details?

We have had loose covers from Lifestyle Covers in the past. If you look online they get a lot of dodgy reviews, but they came to the house, made a template and although it took a while the loose covers are great and made the sofa looks like new ( new seat cushions as the old feather ones were a mess).

Alos want to recommend sofa.com who supply covers for IKEA sofas in a much wider range of fabrics. They are not as cheap as the IKEA covers but they fit really well and if you buy the IKEA sofa uncovered it's much cheaper to start with. It makes the sofa look not so obviously IKEA!

Just got a quote for new covers for a Sofa Workshop sofa, nearly £600!!!

Just found this thread while searching for replacement covers. Ours have been decimated by cats and really need replacing, but I had no idea it was such a minefield! Has anyone actually found a decent solution for less than the cost of a new sofa? It doesn't look like it...

Hmmmmmm. Another one trying to sort out new covers for a perfectly good bloody expensive Habitat sofa.

betterwhen - I went to sofa.com and they've got the exact model that I need a replacement cover for, but I couldn't find any information on their covers. Is there a secret location on their website that I was too tipsy confused to find?

Just saying "hi" in case the lady I met in Aberkhan yesterday finds this thread. We're both making loose covers for sofa-beds. My fabric cost £2 per metre!!! [smug face]

We had a fabulous M+S sofa and chairs from the early 90's. It was blue and white striped ticking and structurally sound but threadbare. The quotes for new covers were so ridiculous that our beloved furniture had to go to the tip as we just could justify the expense of new covers versus the comparatively low price of new furniture. We bought from M+S again as the quality is so good and still miles cheaper than new loose covers.

*could NOT justify etc

We're really happy with our Ikea Ektorp couch after facing similar problems with our last ones. Sewing fitted covers would be a lot of work - I can see how a seamstress would charge £900 for that. Sewing loose covers that tuck in should be a lot easier (and cheaper) though! Recovering the Ikea couch is not cheap but certainly not the price of a new sofa. Plus it really is the most comfortable couch we've ever had.

Great thread - I've been scouring the net for decently priced sofa covers - that don't come all the way from the US!! Found this site eventually: www.sofacoversjm.co.uk. I've put in an order and will post how I get on when the covers arrive.

I got an IKEA Ektorp 3-seat sofa approx 5 years ago. after 3 years i had to change my covers. I got the IKEA ones once more. In the meantime I changed my interior and they simply didn't match anymore. I started wondering if i should change them once again having in mind that they tend not to last too long.... So last year I got some covers from a online store www.soferia.com. I must tell you that they are of much better quality and i don't mind paying a bit more than in IKEA. Try asking them for a cover for your sofa as they offer to make covers for models which are also not in their offer. Kim.

La Redoute do replacement covers...the only trouble is that they are on the French website only. About £80 to £120 euros for a large sofa and in loads of colours. I got a friend who has a house in France to order them and have them delivered there...I wasn't in a hurry. Not sure if you can ring up the English site and see if they will do a special order.