Ready-Made or Custom-Made Slipcovers?
We do not make or sell ready-made slipcovers. But, since many people are trying to decide whether to purchase ready-made or should they get professional qualilty custom-made slipcovers, on this page we try to give the pros and cons of getting ready-made versus custom made. We will start out telling about ready made slipcovers first. Then at the bottom we explain about our professional quality customy-made slipcovers.
Ready-made slipcovers are made in factories
Ready-made slipcovers are made in factories where they may be making them by the hundreds or the thousands. The workers are often doing the same things over and over again so they are able to make each slipcover very quickly.
Upholstered furniture is made in a wide variety of sized and styles. To try to supply as many customers as possible slipcover manufacturers try to make each slipcover fit as many different sizes and styles as possible. The way that they can best do that is to make slipcover in a stretchy fabric and/or to put elastic gathering in the slipcovers at crucial fitting points.
Advantages of Ready-made Slipcovers
They are much less expensive. You could buy several slipcovers in different colors for the price of one custom made slipcover.
If you buy the several slipcovers, you don't have to use the same color all the time. You can change colors of slipcover whenever you want. How great is that!
You can often purchase the ready-made and have it the same day or within a few days.
Disadvantages of Ready-made Slipcovers
When you look at the pictures of the ready-made slipcovers, they show very nicely fitting slipcovers, that are the precisely right size of chair for the slipcover. However, the reality may be a little or a lot different.
Since they are made to fit as many sizes as possible, they may not fit your particular chair very well. They may be obviously baggy here or show to be over-stretched over there.
To be able to sell the slipcovers at such a low price they are made out of very cheap fabric
The come in only a few colors, which may not blend with your color scheme very well
If you don't have much of an interest in furniture except having something clean to hold you up, then it may not make sense to pay all the money for a custom made when a ready-made may serve you just as well.
However, if you are a detail person and you care about having all the small details of your furniture look correctly, saving a few dollars on the ready-made may not be suitable for you.
Here's the final thought. Once you pay out your money and have the slipcover in hand, you will have to live with your choice for possibly many years. Only you truly knows what will work best for you.
Sources of Ready-Made
Walmart sells slipcovers for considerably less than$100, as do JC Penny's slipcovers, and surefit.com also sells slipcovers at a comparable price. If you just want something cheap, look into those. However, one problem with ready-made slipcovers is that they mainly only make them in a very few very popular furniture styles. However, if cost is the biggest concern, examine the styles that are available in ready-made, take the measurements, and travel around to look for second-hand furniture of one of those styles. Then, theoretically, you should be able to purchase ready-mades to fit.
With that out of the way, let me talk about our slipcovers. First of all, you might want to go see pictures of our slipcovers, as well als how they are made. To see that, go here: Winters Sewing Slipcover Picture Gallery.
Each of our slipcovers is custom tailored to fit your particular piece of furniture. This process is best suited for furniture that is in good condition, that either you like a lot, or it's sentimental or is high quality.
Our custom-made slipcovers are designed to fit all the curves and shapes of your particular furniture.
Custom-made slipcovers can be made out of many types of fabrics; upholstery, multi-use, and slipcover fabrics, so you can have a wide selection from which to choose.
Pros and Cons
Advantages
Much higher quality of fabrics
High quality workmanship
Custom made to to precisely fit your particular furniture
Disadvantages
Since we are quite backlogged, it will take many months.
The cost is considerably higher than ready-made
Since we custom fit your furniture, we need it in our shop. You will be without the furniture for a period of time, possibly a few weeks
Living with your furniture
After the price has been paid, after the waiting period and after the inconvenience of being without your furniture, then comes the time of living with your furniture. What type of slipcover do you want to live with? Do you care if