An old vintage sofa with a floral fabric in the corner of an empty room with light blue wall and a reflective wooden floor
If you have an older RV or are just looking for a nice change of pace from your standard furniture, the DIY bug may be biting you! Revamping your RV’s couch is a fun DIY project that can have dramatic results while still being easy to do and inexpensive too! Check out these easy (and no sew!) RV renovation options for DIY couch covers that will have your RV interior looking like new!
Preliminary Cleaning
An old vintage sofa with a floral fabric in the corner of an empty room with light blue wall and a reflective wooden floor
Before jumping into this DIY project, you’ll want to clean and refresh your couch a bit! If you have a fabric sofa, sprinkle baking soda on your cushions and let them sit for a few minutes. Use your vacuum cleaner to clean up the baking soda, then remove any cushions and vacuum out the surfaces and crevices of your couch. Afterward, use a spray mixture of water and distilled vinegar to remove any odors and allow to fully dry before proceeding. If you have a leather sofa, just vacuum out the crevices!
Jackknife Sofa Slip Cover
An old vintage sofa with a floral fabric in the corner of an empty room with light blue wall and a reflective wooden floor
Completely reupholstering your jackknife sofa would be incredibly difficult; luckily there is an easy solution! This project is so simple, with minimal work and maximum results! You can even choose your pattern and add great accessories for a stylish, personal touch! Here’s how:
Instead of testing your sewing skills (and patience) trying to sew a bulky couch cover, purchase a futon or sofa bed slip cover! These are fairly inexpensive, ranging anywhere from $25 to $40 and up, and are incredibly easy to just pop over your cushions! If your sofa came with back cushions, you can remove these, then purchase replacement cushions or large decorative pillows as back rests! If you want to take things to the next level by adding a touch of class, you can purchase a flat bed sheet or a lightweight fabric of choice to attach at the bottom for a nice dust ruffle! Add decorative throw pillows for even more of a home-like feel!
Regular Sofa Slip Cover
An old vintage sofa with a floral fabric in the corner of an empty room with light blue wall and a reflective wooden floor
If your RV’s sofa is starting to look a little sad, you can make a slip cover for this type of sofa easily as well! All you’ll need are some flat bed sheets, upholstery pins, and fabric glue! The best part is that you can choose virtually any pattern fabric to make your couch reflect your camping style!
First, you’ll need to pick out your flat sheets. These are usually sold separately, so you won’t have to buy whole sheet sets for this project! Since bed sheets come in limitless patterns, be sure to pick a print or color that’s perfect for you! The size of the sheet will depend on how large your sofa is. You could measure ahead of time, but you can always go with a king-sized sheet to be on the safe side! You will need at least two, but if your sofa is large, you may even need three to get the job done.
Once you have your sheets selected, wash and dry them to remove any kinks and winkles they have from being folded in the package. After they are clean, remove the cushions, and drape one sheet so that the backrest and seat is covered. Depending on the size of your sofa, the arm rests may not be covered. That’s ok!
Using your other sheet, measure your arm rests and cut out enough fabric to cover your arm rests. Drape these over the arm rests and position them so that they will fit correctly. Next, take your handy upholstery pins and pin the sheet to your couch, ensuring that you keep the sheet taught and tucked into the crevices. Be sure that no pins are sticking out!
Finally, take the rest of your sheets and cut them to fit each cushion. You don’t necessarily have to have enough fabric to cover the whole cushion. As long as you have enough to cover about two inches or so along every side of the bottom, the fabric should stay! Use your fabric glue to secure the fabric along the bottom of the cushion, making sure to fold the corners carefully to avoid abnormal, loose fits on the corner! After the fabric glue has dried, you’re done! Replace the cushions and enjoy your like-new couch!
With a little time and not a lot of effort, you can enjoy a fantastic new sofa! RV renovations can be tough, but these DIY couch covers are so simple and easy that you’ll have more time to kick back and relax! Have you made RV couch covers before? Share your DIY adventure in the comments!
