The Repair Shop's 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.

Sonnaz is supporting the National Residential Landlord Association's Home Bank initiative, encouraging landlords and tenants to work together to keep their homes cosy this winter.

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, 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 available for next-day delivery or click and collect. As always, Amazon is a good shout for nabbing something quickly, with Super Soft Filling 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.

'I've also suggested to people to use old scatter cushion inserts that have the same teddy bear stuffing. Add a few of those in there, sew it back up, put it in the cover, and it looks much better,' Sonnaz explains.

And voila, there you have it – a sofa fit for the hosting season. There's no need to hide it under a throw this year after all. Even better yet, you're free to let loose with all your sofa cushion ideas so you can create the perfect cosy living room to unwind in for these upcoming winter months.