Q.     I have a reclining couch and loveseat that are only four years new and the material has worn away... three young children and an old golden retriever. Besides using a throw to cover the holes what can I do?  Leslie, W

Recovering chair and couch--use the canvas sold for drop cloths as very inexpensive material. Dye it if you want to. You can make a simple throw to completely cover them or actually make slip covers. Your library will have books on how to make slip covers. If you have children, I suggest making a simple cover you can easily take on and off for washing. Be sure to preshrink your material.

The most interesting recovered chair I've seen was in the home of two quilt artists. They had a crazy quilt  chair. Apparently, it was begun with a patch over the first hole, hand-sewn to the chair with one of those semi-circular upholstery needles. Then another patch was added as needed or as wanted until the entire chair was recovered like a crazy quilt. For a piece of furniture receiving the hard use like the sofa mentioned by the reader, I would use very sturdy long lasting canvases & denims. You can make the color scheme as varied as you wish.  A variation on this is simply to get enough fabric to cover the entire item, and sew it on piece by piece. Lay the fabric on and sew it directly to the sofa, turning under the raw edges as necessary.

Many areas have vocational schools that teach upholstery and will reupholster your furniture at a nominal cost. The drawback is that you have to wait for their availability to do it, but if you can wait, this is the way to go. It comes back looking professionally done.  Marge N.