How To Convert A Mattress Into A Sofa (The Easy Way)

Turn that extra bed into a sofa! Find all the details you need to successfully complete this DIY project.

Turning a mattress into a sofa require cutting the bed in half and sewing new coverings. This will give you two new sofa seats.

Are you ready for a more serious DIY project? Let’s see how you can turn your old mattress into two sofas!

How To Turn A Mattress Into A Sofa

Why would anyone turn mattresses into seats? Well, there are actually quite a few benefits. First, it keeps the mattress out of the landfill. Old beds are a major source of pollution and every year millions of them end up in UK landfills alone. This is also a good project for anyone who loves big DIY projects and wants more sofa seats! Here are the basic steps you will learn.

Gather your supplies.
Clean the mattress.
Cut the mattress in half.
Sew the new covers.

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Gather Your Supplies

For this type of project, it is essential to work with the right tools and supplies.

A staple gun.
A sharp pair of scissors.
Pliers.
A Dremel tool (fibreglass reinforced).
Protective gear for your eyes and hands.
Sewing needle.
Thread designed for upholstery.
Straight pins (a lot).
Sewing machine.
Fabric.

If you decide at any point that you would rather throw away the mattress, hop on over to our article that explains how to dispose of a mattress. We explain how to make the process effortless and how to recycle your old bed so that it does not add to the landfill pollution problem.

How To Clean The Mattress

While this step is not carved in stone, it could save you a lot of trouble in the future. Imagine enjoying your new sofas and they smell like mildew or there are bed bugs scuttling around. The best benefit is knowing that once you have your two new seats, they are absolutely clean, fresh-smelling and hygienic!

If you suspect or know that the mattress has bed bugs, never fear!. We wrote a popular guide that explains everything you need to know on how to get rid of bed bugs in your mattress.

Cleaning the mattress might take a day or two but this is necessary. During the removal of stains and odours, the fabric will be moist and needs time to dry. If any moisture remains while you make the sofa seats, it could lead to a bad case of mould or mildew.

For the best guide, visit our popular article on how to clean a bed. You will learn to deal with odours, stains, and more. To make sure that your mattress does not retain any moisture, you can also visit our article that explains the top 4 ways to dry a mattress successfully.

How To Cut The Mattress In Half

This tutorial is mainly meant for pocket coil mattresses but you can adjust it for hybrid beds or memory foam mattresses. But for now, if you are working with coils, always stay vigilant. Cutting metal or removing some coils always have the capacity to injure the unwary!

Think About What You Want

This tutorial aims to cut a mattress in half from the head to the foot. This will result in two long and narrow cushions but you are more than welcome to cut it sideways if you want a pair of square-like cushions instead.

Cut The Outer Fabric and Any Padding

Alright, now for the fun, destructive stuff! Take your sharp pair of scissors to open the bed up down the middle. Pull the fabric back and inspect the inside of the mattress. You should now be able to see the metal coils inside and the wooden supports.

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How To Cut The Coils

Put on the protective gear for your eyes and hands and grab that Dremel tool! Be aware that there will be a lot of sparks while you cut the metal but try and stay focused. Should the tool slip it can damage or even break the wheel blade. Once you have worked your way from the foot of the mattress to the head, the two halves should now be separate pieces. Take the pliers and bend the cut wires down. This will both remove the dangerous ends from sticking through future upholstery and the bent wires will also now shape the back wall of the cushion.

How To Cut Through Other Layers

Depending on your mattress, you might face additional layers of foam, fabric or wood. Measure a straight line from top to bottom and use the Dremel tool to cut through them.

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Close The Fabric

The next step is to close the fabric. Take the flaps that you pulled back (those created after cutting the bed open with scissors) and fold them down over the opening. If all goes well, you should be able to staple them shut but if the top and bottom flaps don’t meet, you might want to remove another small line of coils. Once done, you should have two pieces that are long and now completely covered with fabric.

How To Sew The New Covers

The piece of fabric must be long enough to wrap around each piece and also close around the edges. For this reason, you might want to hold off on buying the fabric until you have the pieces and their measurements.

Once you have the fabric, take one half of the bed and wrap the fabric around the entire cushion. Pull it tight and pin the fabric to itself and not the mattress. Leave about an extra centimetre’s worth of margin for the seam. Also, leave one end open to allow the cushion to be removed after pinning the fabric and when you want to clean the cushion in the future. Cut away the excess material.

Use the sewing machine to create a straight stitch around the cushion at the extra centimetre marker. Create smooth edges, remembering to leave one side as a slit. Once you are done, you pretty much pull the cover over the cushion like a pillowcase.

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A Quick Summary On How To Turn A Mattress Into A Sofa

Turning your old mattresses into something new and useful reduces landfill pollution.
One of the most popular transformations is to make a sofa or sofa cushions from an old mattress.
This project is geared towards people with above-average DIY and sewing skills.
The first step is to cut the mattress in half. This will produce two sofa cushions.
The original upholstery is folded back down over the open edges and sewn shut.
The final step is to measure, cut, sew, and fit new covers for the sofa.