Common home furnishing mistakes and fixes

Baggy covers, dog-ear corners and shrinking.

• Baggy cover: make it 0.4 in (1 cm) smaller than the insert.
• Pointy 'dog ear' corners: taper each corner slightly before sewing.
• Shrinking after washing: prewash.
• Pattern upside down: check before cutting.

Sources

All checked November 1, 2026. We read these; we did not test the products ourselves.

1. Ourlette: Sew envelope cushion covers
2. B&Q: How to make curtains