If it were me I'd have them done in a white/natural duck. It won't show through your slipcovers, and is tightly woven enough to wear well as upholstery, and is an economical choice. If your slipcovers are linen show-through could be a real issue if you do anything patterned on the upholstery.

Rather than edit I'll just add another note. If you went with upholstery grade muslin it would be appropriate, the least cost and give no abrasion factor to your slips on top, However you would always Have to have slipcovers on the chair.
If you went with a white/natural duck I'd still slipcover so that the covers could be washed, but your chairs would be dressed, so to speak, if you left the slipcovers off for any reason for awhile.

Is there a certain weight or any other details?

Do you have a good upholsterer? Most upholsterers have a basic selection of fabric that they sell. Your upholsterer should have both an upholstery weight muslin and cotton duck in his selections. I'd ask him for a recommendation.

Another option, if you definitely plan on slipcovering with a solid cotton duck, would be to upholster your pieces in a ticking. The stripes on the ticking, even a softer color ticking, would very likely show through a linen, but wouldn't show through a good quality duck. Then you'd have the option of taking the slips off and having a bit of pattern if you wanted.

In a way those chairs would be candidates for a good quality pleather.

MLweaving,
That's it! The abrasion factor. I couldn't think of how to say it. I am supposing that a low abrasion factor (eg muslin) would be an issue when they are not slipcovered. How important is low abrasion?

I've found an upholsterer, he seems great, but he is an old guy working on his own and people bring him the fabric.

Ineffable - as underwear, or instead of slips? I'm pretty set on slips.

Underneath.

Interesting --- off white pleather? Is that ... too little abrasion for the slipcovers to lay right, odd as that sounds?

Maybe navy or something for cooler weather. IF the slipcovers are fitted properly they should be okay.

When I recently got slipcovers done for a glider, I did some research on this forum and ended up with white denim, as it was said to be the strongest, etc. Not sure if you need that since it is not for the slipcovers and won't be "in use" everyday, but just thought I would throw that out there. Here is a link to the fabric I purchased:

https://www.fabric.com/buy/el-300/10-oz-bull-denim-white

They also had duck and canvas options. Coupons are usually readily available with a google search.

Why not do blue and white mattress ticking underneath? It would look good when the slips are off getting washed, and would make a nice change as well. If you buy a bolt of your fabric you'd have enough for all the chairs plus any sofas. The real mattress ticking --- not designer versions---is tough as nails. We had it on two sofas as slipcovers for about 20 years, washing frequently with no fading or other problems.

I'm looking at the Lee coveralls line for our basement and want to do COM with red ticking. At least, that is what I proposed to ID!

KSWL,

I am looking at Lee Coveralls, too!? Maybe it's the same sofa, LOL. The saleswoman told me they have a sale on until Monday.

We have a mattress ticking here on the windowseats in our octagon. Pindler and Pindler. What kind are you
using?

I hesitate a bit only because the room already has a pinstripe in the draperies and something akin to mattress ticking on the two easy chairs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sofa I am planning on

What could be more perfect than pillow ticking? Loving the yellow, but blue is always good!

Here is a link that might be useful: fabric

You might want to consider Sunbrella upholstery fabric for this project so that when the slipcovers are being washed you don't have to stress about anything staining them.

It comes in various whites altho I'd want pattern/color. I'd want the slipcovers heavy enough that the upholstery does not show thru just so there is a different look when the slips are off.

If you go with muslin it's not going to be very kid friendly while the slips are in the wash.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunbrella upholstery

It occurs to me that the purpose of this thread was to find out what usually goes "under" OEM slipcovered pieces.

It has morphed into suggestions about what to use if I want to be able to use the chair nekkid, too, which makes a lot of sense

Seems to me that I need to (oh not not again) post a photo of my inspiration room and my mock up and layout.

"Inspiration room"

Mock up, applying the look to my dark panelled room...
{{gwi:1546237}}

Layout of furniture and key:
{{gwi:1546238}}

I am trying to use the same wall paper and drapery fabric as the "inspiration room", aka "IR" ( wish there was a less goofy term).

The sofa will use very similar fabric as the IR sofa, and the stripe that you see on the foreground chair in the IR, will go on the two chairs opposite the sofa.

The three chairs shown in white are the ones I plan to slipcover in off white linen or duck. I agree that the "undergarments" may as well be something that I could also use, but I don't know what that would be with all of the pattern already thrown around the room!

Thanks in advance!

This post was edited by mtnrdredux on Wed, Jan 29, 14 at 17:35

Don't do the pleather - slips will slip right off same as with leather.

I slipped our old sofa myself with cotton duck and although it was quite a few years ago, I think I remember using 10 oz and reading that anything between 7 and 10 oz was good for slips. Anything lighter didn't wear well and looked like sheeting and anything heavier didn't lay right (too stiff not enough drape). I know you're not using this for the slips themselves, but thought the same logic might apply.

I just got a Lee coverall sofa for our living room. I was actually going to get that exact style, but decided on the tight back version instead (we like a very deep seat). It is soooo comfortable and the slip is exactly the style and fabric I was hoping for. Great choice. I love Lee.

Thanks, Daisy.

Question about the Lee sofa; I don't see any sofas in their coveralls line that have the rolled english arm, exposed leg and a tight back. I would prefer a tight back, but I thought maybe with slipcovers they use cushions instead for a better fit, and easier to take on and off?

Which model did you get?

thanks!

We are looking at sectionals if they can make one in a custom size. I like the one below or a similar one with no skirt. We can't do the English sofa style
unfortunately, because of the brick floor. Even with a rug and thick felt pad I'm afraid the floor will still be too bumpy for casters.

If we end up with a sofa and two chairs I do like the lower English rolled arms. The interior designer says they will make just about anything requested of them....have you looked into getting the tight back as a custom build?

We've never purchased anything from Lee before, but they are the current mid range favorite of our ID because they are the "greenest" of all the major companies and he says their quality is very good for the price. (The other ID was pushing Wesley Hall as a mid range, so who knows?)

I just found Lee because I was searching for that style, in slipcover, with a rolled arm, where the slipcover could be COM.

Seems pretty fairly priced.

Anything custom is 35% more, so I need to decide if a tight back is worth that. I wonder if slipcovers work better with multiple cushions vs one big expanse.

Ours is C3277-03. It has wide white and brown stripes on their webpage. For some reason they only show it with the 5 big cushions across the back. We like having the cushions for when we have shorter guests over, but usually they are in a pile on the floor. Like I said, we prefer a deep sofa (often 3 or 4 of us are piled on at once). I remember looking at the catalogue at the store and realizing there were more options available (standard) than I could see online. Have you got a good store to deal with? The first person I dealt with told us we couldn't get something I wanted (I think it was the skirted version and I didn't want a skirt) and then the next time I went in I got a different person and she was able to find what we wanted in the catalogue.

Ohhh. Maybe that explains why she wants me to come in!

Oh and thanks for looking that up. Looks like it may be a size issue. I think we need to be 79" to 84" max, and that is 87".

This post was edited by mtnrdredux on Wed, Jan 29, 14 at 22:11

Working thru the ID i can expect the custom size to cost about store retail, according to decorator, so the 35% extra retail makes sense, I guess. We don't really have a choice since the room is a funky shape, size and configuration.

We had slipcovers on two tight back sofas and the frame cover (which fit over the back as well) was much less trouble to take off and replace after laundering than the individual seat cushions. Ours were made with zippers up the rear side edges. They went on when slightly damp and never needed ironing. Our ticking was from a company in the Midwest somewhere, I don't even remember now. It was-- I should say, still is, because I still have several yards left of the bolt from 1990---a very tightly woven cotton that had a firm hand even after it was washed. I believe back then it was about $10 per yard! It was used a lot in the St. Louis area in friends' homes, and was known as authentic mattress cover fabric.... that may have been a marketing ploy, but it was pretty homespun looking and durable as anything.

back to the underwear part - I'd use a plain weave cotton duck or muslin, Because they will offer enough friction that the slipcovers won't slip around too much on them, they're not too heavy a fabric, and they won't compete by showing through if you decide on a lighter weight linen for a slipcover. Linen is notoriously sheer, even the heavy stuff.
I would use what's known as Bull Denim for the slipcover itself, it's beefy and would stand up to a lot of wear, but I wouldn't use it as the upholstery. The Bull Denim is a twill weave. Duck is a plain weave.
Sorry ineffible, but I wouldn't even try to slipcover a chair that was upholstered in vinyl. Too slippery underneath, regardless of how well your slipcover is made.
You could use a Sunbrella fabric - those are acrylics - but they don't breathe, and I guess I just like the idea of a fabric that breathes in a seaside environment.
The reason that I suggested a duck or a ticking initially is that it would give you a bit more option when your slipcover was off. Most of the cost of reupholstering is in the labor. Since upholstery grade muslin is not suitable for finished upholstery, it's suitable for putting a slipcover over, it seems a bit extravagant to upholster without giving yourself the option of using it without the slipcover.

I also wouldn't pay Pindler pricing, or even Fabricut, Kravet or any one of the other major houses pricing for a plain cotton duck. It's all coming out of one of just a handful of mills, and there is no reason to pay for the branding. A good basic 9 oz or 10 oz duck will be fine.
I'm including a link to one, in NYC. Seems weird that it's a fashion fabric source, but I've ordered from them before with great success, and they actually give a good description, which is challenging with online fabric sources, and the cotton they sell is sourced in the US.
20 yds for $200.

Here is a link that might be useful: CottonDuck

kswl, our living room chairs are Wesley Hall and they are extremely well made and very comfortable. If our cat hadn't decided to scratch one corner to bits, they would look like new and we've had them for maybe 6 years. We got the down cushions and those and everything overall seem to be comparable to the Lee. Not sure if I could say one was better made than the other. However, we've only had the Lee for about a year.

Mlweaving, thanks so much!

You know, as this post progresses, it occurs to me that not many people reupholster something in order to slipcover it. And so, as I look at the actual chairs, I think that, in fact, only the plaid one needs reupholstering. Both because it needs to be sort of "shored up" (new cushion or strapping or whatever innards) and because the existing fabric is terrible as is, and will like show through my slipcover. The others are not horrible and probably wont show through. Yee ha.

Thanks, everyone, for the revelation!