Sewing Baby Bedding

First of all, thanks for all your kind words about our little plumbing debacle.  The good news is that we believe at this point that all the plumbing is fixed and the leaks are gone, and we didn't even have to rip up the shower!  The bad news is that my Dining Room is still a total disaster.  We're in the process of getting a few quotes to see if we can get someone to take care of the ceiling for us.  (I think I've earned the break.)  Working with contractors had a whole other set of frustrations though, as we're still waiting on bids and my belly feels like a ticking time bomb.  Hopefully this issue will be over soon, but I'll keep you guys up with all the details. 

In the mean time it's back to the Nursery, because this little guy still needs a place to sleep.  I didn't do myself any favors with the Nursery design though, because instead of finding a way to use the old Dwell Studios crib bedding and stuff we had in our first Nursery, my vision this time around was for a more complex combination of patterned fabrics and textures that would work with the Old World Explorer vibe I was going for. 

 After some extensive online shopping, I came up pretty disappointed in my choices, both in terms of finding a look that I liked and price that I could afford.  In the end I begrudgingly decided to make my own fabrics, starting with the crib sheets.  I was a bit intimidated at the idea of making sheets at first, mostly because I've never done it and I know they need to stand up to a lot of durability and washing. I found some great references online though like this one that convinced me that it should be pretty easy.

First things first- cut your fabric to 45" x 71", which is even easier if you buy 45" width fabric.  Then cut a 8.5" x 8.5" square out of each of the 4 corners.

 Bringing the right sides of the fabric together, sew the edge of each of the 4 corners together, making a pocket.

 I don't have a fancy sewing machine, so when it came to sewing the elastic pocket, I had to do it the old fashion way.  First I went around the entire bottom of the sheet ironing the edge up 1/4".  Once I made it all the way around, I folded the edge up an additional 1/2" and ironed the edge again,  This gave me a clean and even elastic pocket, and no exposed edges that could lead to fraying with multiple washes.

 Then I just sewed along my hem to close off the pocket, making sure I left a little section open in one of the corners to put in the elastic.

Next you pull in a 90" long piece of 1/4" elastic. Long ago my Mom taught me that the best way to insert elastic is to attach a big safety pin to the end.  The safety pin gives you something to bunch your fabric around and pull the elastic though your pocket.  It was a little time consuming, but I just pulled it through while catching up on Boardwalk Empire episodes.   (Have you all watched that show by the way?  I'm in love with Steve Buscemi in a creepy way.)

 

Once the elastic is all the way through, you just sew your 2 ends together, and then sew up the opening you left in the hem.  ( I go over and back on the edge of the elastic about a dozen times so that they never pull apart from each other.  Nothing is worse than having to pull the whole sheet apart to put your elastic back together.  (Except maybe water leaking into your ceiling from your bathroom for over a year... but I digress.)

And here's the final result:

 

 

A nice, safe and tight fit with a super soft broadcloth fabric that is just the perfect shade of rust orange.  I went ahead and made 3 of these sheets, since if I remember correctly babies somehow find a way to ruin their bed multiple times a night.  All three sheets cost me just $14 (thanks to some 50% off fabric coupons), which was FAR better than the $25 per sheet price I was finding online.  

The sewing fun has just begun though:

- 3 Crib Sheets

- 2 Changing Pad Covers

- 2 Bobby Covers

- 6 Throw Pillows for the Daybed

- 1 Crib Skirt

- Fun Mobile Project

More on all that later this week though.  I'm pretty excited about how it's all coming together.  How about you guys- has anyone else sewn their own fabrics for a Nursery?  Ever sewn sheets before?  I'm actually really surprised on how easy it was, not to mention affordable, and you guys know how I love a bargain.