AROUND HOME : Notes on Slipcovers and Garden and Animal Events : Slipcovers

REUPHOLSTERING furniture has always been expensive. After World War II, returning GIs, unable to afford new furnishings, often slipcovered thrift-shop couches and armchairs. This “slipcovered look” soon went out of style. Today, however, slipcovers are so well designed that they appear to be upholstery. Styles in slipcovers range from elaborately structured designs to loose covers made like throws. Classic, fitted covers, says Don Ravitz of Dun Rite Upholstery in Van Nuys, “will always be in fashion.” Traditional fabrics--pliable, stain-resistant, pre-shrunk cottons just heavy enough to conceal what’s under them--are popular; these include country florals, stripes and ticking. These fabrics are sometimes quilted or tasseled. Some people prefer billowing “baggies” in white or pale linen, duck or canvas, augmented by gathers, swags, ties and floppy bows. Pullup chairs are often sheathed and aproned.

Mimi London, who carries slipcover fabrics in her Pacific Design Center showroom, uses draping Japanese couturier Jacquards on sofas and chairs and folds the fabric--rather than cutting it--”to achieve looseness.”

New slipcovers should be dry-cleaned; thereafter, most fitted washables can be laundered in cool water and replaced damp without ironing.

Slipcovers are made by Roman Upholstery and Al Javor in West Los Angeles; Finlay’s Slip Cover Co., Mimi London, Metropolitan Upholstery and Hal David Interiors in Los Angeles; Custom Design in Pasadena; Dun Rite Upholstery and Slipcovers in Van Nuys; Family Fabrics in Reseda; A-1 Interiors and Upholstering Co. in San Pedro; Betty Gray Interiors in Newbury Park; E.M. Interiors in Oxnard and Camarillo; Calico Corners in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. For folding-chair slipcovers, visit Crate & Barrel in Century City and Costa Mesa, and Pottery Barn stores throughout Southern California.