Tutorial: Patching a couch

My apartment has a lovely couch that is quite comfy but has some large gaping holes where the white stuffing is exposed. My crafty roommate and I spent some time discussing ways of making covers for the two seat cushions, until we both got pretty busy with work and med/dental school applications. Meanwhile, as our couch kept being sat on, one of the small rips grew larger and larger until I decided I had to do something about it. Instead of making a whole new cover, I wanted a solution that would:

• be quick and easy
• stop the rip from growing
• feel smooth on the couch (so it wouldn't bother us when we sat on it)

I settled on this quick and dirty method of patching up a fabric-covered couch:

Materials:

- Embroidery thread 

- Embroidery needle (a curved one will be easier to use)

- Double-stick fusible web (I used Steam-a-seam Lite)

- Simple fabric

1. Close the gap with a basic overhand stitch. This is to stop the rip from growing. Make sure to go over your stitches several times at the beginning and end, since this is where the rip could grow from. 

2. Cut out matching pieces of fabric and fusible web, just big enough to cover your entire seam. For the best results, they should be the exact same size. To achieve this, cut out rough shapes at first, then peel off one side of the backing to reveal the sticky fusible web. Place the fabric on this side, then trim them both together to get your final shape. 

3. Iron on the fabric "patch." Peel off the other side of backing and stick the fusible web/fabric combo onto the couch, and iron according to the instructions of the fusible web packaging. 

ta-da! no more giant, gaping hole!