296 FABRICS

Making Slip Covers, Care and patience are needed in making
slip covers. It is not accessary to have them as tightly fitted as
some professionals advocate. They should be made large, reach-
ing entirely to the floor, with very deep hems to allow for shrink-
age. A band or a pleated ruffle can serve as a finish at the bottom,
the ruffle being the more informal and also more bulky. A wide
band with only one deep box pleat by each leg looks well.

To make a slip cover, lay the material over the chair and cut it
into approximate lengths roughly, allowing plenty of material.
Center the pattern carefully on the back, seat, arms, and sides of
the chair, using many pins and fastening together the pieces of
cloth so that the seams come over those of the original covering
of the chair. Fit the pieces to the chair, keeping the material
smooth, by pinning darts ox gathers wherever needed, and leaving
plenty of material around the back edges of the seat to allow for
the movement of the .springs. Mark and cut the opening if one is
needed. Then remove the cover from the chair, baste it, fit and
adjust it, and finish it by machine.

One method of finishing the slip cover is to stitch it on the
right side, thea trim the seams evenly about % inch from the
stitching and bind with folded tape. Other methods are to sew
a French seam on the outside, or to sew welting in the seams.

BEDSPREADS

Bedspreads should suit the character of the rooms where they
are used. In Early American rooms there may be handmade
counterpanes (page 312) such as patchwork quilts, candlewick
spreads, woven coverlets (page 103), or peasant spreads from
other countries. India prints, chintz, calico, plaids, or checked
materials are also suitable for bed covers in such rooms. A bed-
room of feminine type may have a satin, taffeta, or similarly fine
bedspread. See page; 477. For a room shared by a man and
a woman, the bedspreads and other fabrics should not be too
feminine in feeling. The bedspread in a man's room could be
heavy and rather dark, such as brown corduroy. See page 25,

Some materials for bedspreads are cotton taffeta, chenille, up-
holsterer's sateen, plain English broadcloth, arras cloth, slip-cover
cloth, cotton crepe, unbleached muslin, and curtain materials.
Quilted znaterials are effective. See page 86.