Sonnaz Nooranvary’s quick tip to instantly update an old sofa

Sonnaz Nooranvary, famed for her upholstery and soft furnishing skills on the BBC’s Repair Shop shares a quick fix that’s a surefire way to instantly spruce up your best sofa that may be looking a little worn – and all you need is a needle, thread, and some teddy bear stuffing.

As festivities are surely in full swing and the busyness of the holiday season hits, you might be caught off-guard when you realise that you’ve failed to make preparations for hosting guests. The countdown to Christmas is on and your living room is a mess and frankly, your sofa looks drab. But luckily for you, Sonnaz has a DIY fix that won’t cost you an arm and a leg.

‘One of the things I see for sofas is that the cushions have lost their fullness. It can make sofas look quite uncomfortable but also look a bit tired,’ she explains. ‘What I would encourage people to do is open the cover, take the insert out, open up a seam and restuff it using teddy bear stuffing you can purchase.’

You can find teddy bear or soft toy stuffing in-store at Dunelm for £7 (opens in new tab), and if you were looking to order some online to arrive ahead of Christmas, John Lewis is selling Minicraft Super Soft Toy Filling for £5.50 (opens in new tab) available for next-day delivery or click and collect. As always, Amazon is a good shout for nabbing something quickly, with Super Soft Filling (opens in new tab) available to buy from £5.49.

However, having to buy stuffing brand new isn’t the only way to go about this easy DIY project. If you have a plethora of old scatter cushions laying around in storage and hidden away, now is the perfect time to upcycle and feed them into a new endeavour.