Household project #2 - done and dusted

Bad puns aside, I am thrilled that this bed skirt for Jane's room is finished. It has been a long time coming. I've had the fabric for at least 8 months, but couldn't motivate myself to get sewing it. I guess that is what the New Year is good for - getting those lagging projects completed. Well, at least, that's the way it works for me.

While this project isn't for beginners, it is pretty straightforward if you have some experience gathering and sewing waistbands (like on a skirt or an apron). Instead of making a fabric deck to cover the entire box spring, I attached the gathered fabric to a strip of cotton. This makes maneuvering all that fabric much easier and less swear-inducing. It's also super easy to attach to the box spring. The secret? Twisted upholstery pins.

Brilliant, right? I think so.

I'm so happy with how this room is coming together. It's been a work in progress for about two years now. I wanted to make sure that what she (and I) chose would carry through her teenage years and maybe even beyond. I think we are on the right track. The furniture needs painting, but one thing at a time.

The lowdown:

Jane's bed is a full. I used 8 widths of fabric (54" wide), each 21" tall before hemming. That's slightly over two times the linear measurement of the box spring.

It has a 3.5" hem (1.5" pressed and then another 2" pressed) that I sewed with the blind hem foot and stitch on my machine. I gathered it in sections - two widths of fabric to each quarter measurement of decking - to make the sewing less cumbersome. I highly recommend this approach.

The finished deck is about 4" tall - I cut 10" strips and pieced them until I had the right length. I sewed the deck to the skirt using a 1/2" seam allowance and then finished it just like you would a skirt waistband (folded in the middle and topstitched down to enclose the raw, gathered edges).

The fabric is Annie Selke Links in pink. It coordinates with the headboard fabric, Annie Selke Shalini Ivory Raspberry. The duvet and white shams are from PBTeen. Monogramming was done locally. The aqua check fabric is unknown. Details on the quilt can be found here and the throw pillow here. Upholstery pins were bought at JoAnn's.

Comments

[Alicia A.]

Oh, Erin. It looks so GORGEOUS. Does she love it?
It's playful and classy at the same time. And so tidy too!

[Sarah]

Boy, this is really a wonderful space, one she will indeed grow with. You're work is always superb!

[Jenny]

This is just stunning.

[Tara @ Tara Being Tara]

I just want you to know that I am a 26 year old woman, and I would LOVE that room!!!!

[cheryl @ a pretty cool life.]

My goal in life is to find projects that are not swear inducing. ;)

It all looks beautiful.

[Jessica]

Totally gorgeous and incredibly inviting. I'd love a bedroom like this, and I'm well past my teenage years. ;)

[Account Deleted]

I have always wanted to make one of these for our bed, it looks so so good here. I'm inspired to work on Emma's room now. It really is time, how long have I been complaining about it?

[amy]

wow... look at that room... lucky girl! i can't believe it's a child's room! guess i grew up in a big family and all our beds were small and rooms shared :)

[Lexi Lucas]

Thanks for showing us her gorgeous room. I remember reading about you making your Swoon quilt and I have jumped on board the Swoon-along. I don't want to make the quilt too small for my full size bed so it was great to know you just added into the sashing instead. I can't justify making twelve blocks and trying to quilt it at home so I'm very excited to be able to stop at nine!

[beth lehman]

Beautiful! Although I can't imagine wrestling all that fabric!!

[Beth]

You did a beautiful job. I'm currently redoing my daugter's bedroom/guest room(she has her own apt.) and you are inspiring me! Thanks.

[Sweet Posy Dreams]

Absolutely beautiful!

[Jan]

The room is just beautiful! The aqua check pillows coordinated with the quilt are my favorite things.

[bread and buttons]

Erin, that's just lovely. Wonderful job, it looks so professional and it pulls the whole room together perfectly. The quilt looks even more beautiful than I remembered.

[barefoot mama]

wow, I love it all! What a lovely space! Great job, Mama!!

[mollyhunter]

It is gorgeous!! Did you make the pillow cases? (if not, where did you find them?) I love the pom poms and the monograms! It is such a lovely space!

[Wendi]

Oh, where were you three summers ago when I made THREE bedskirts the old fashioned way, with the entire boxspring covered (queen, double, and an extra tall twin!) That was an exercise in frustration, but I really like for my bedskirts to reach all the way to the floor, and on our tall beds, the store-bought ones don't. And then the things slide around and need to be pinned anyway!
Marvelous job. The room is lovely. I think it will definitely appeal for a long time. Did you make the headboard too?

[Heather]

Beautiful, Erin. I like the idea of a strip of fabric instead of the whole sheet.

[Shannon]

Brilliant idea! I've always hated making bed skirts because of all that deck fabric.

[Account Deleted]

Great idea with the pins! It saves on sanity and fabric too.

[Erin]

Oh, thank you, Wendi! I made one bed skirt about 14 years ago the way you did and since then, the four others have been done this way. So. Much. Easier! The headboard was done by a local upholsterer - I drew a sketch and dropped off the fabric. She did the rest!

[Erin]

Thanks Molly! The white pillow shams and duvet w/pompoms were bought from PBteen. I'm not sure if they still have them or not. I had the monogramming done locally. Hope that helps!

[Erin]

thanks, josie!

[Erin]

Thanks Lexi - I am so happy that is helpful to you, too. I think you cold make the sashing even a bit wider if you needed to, but this one fits perfectly.

[Erin]

Well, it has taken me a loooooong time to get to this point. And I contemplated it for a year or so before I even began! Get going!

[Erin]

Amen.

[Erin]

thanks, friend. xo.

[Erin]

The tidy part came after the big room clean-up...I surprised her with the bed skirt after the cleaning. She loves it!

[Molly]

okay, if my children's rooms EVER looked that tidy, i'm pretty sure my year would be made, right then and there.

(p.s.: the bed skirt's brilliant.)

[Carol Barlow]

Erin -

You are such an inspiration. I love checking in with you from time to time to see what your latest projects are :) Happy New Year. Carol B.

[Angie]

The whole space is beautiful!

[Erin]

Thanks, Carol! Hope your New Year is off to a great start. xo.

[Erica]

Her room looks beautiful! It looks like a very relaxing space! The Swoon quilt is so amazing. I also love the side tables. I am looking for side tables for my master bedroom and I am having a difficult time. I would love to find something similar.

[Laura Zarrin]

What a great idea! I've never thought of using the pins instead of having an big piece of fabric over the whole box springs! Maybe now I'll get my dust ruffle project out of storage.

[Chloe]

That looks wonderful! May I ask where you got that white comforter cover? Lovely.

[Natalie]

I just did this to our bed a few weeks back and even blogged about it! I didn't ruffle it, but did used quilting pins to attach it the the bed frame. And was kicking myself for not doing it sooner. But hey, our room is getting there.

http://love-ned.blogspot.com/2012/01/bedskirt.html

[Erin]

The white duvet and pillow shams are from PBteen. I'm not sure if they carry it any longer.

[Mommyof2Girlz/StephD]

Love, love, love the bedskirt! I really need to do the same for my girls and your way seems so perfect! Thanks for sharing :)

[nikki]

beautiful!

[kristyn]

I've been thinking about your beautiful room all week. This just screams "I love you, Jane." When I was younger I dreamed of having a room "all done up." Jane will SO remember all the time, skill, and love her mother invested in her! Now I'm inspired to make our master bedroom a personal haven "all done up." Thanks for that!

[elliemoon]

holy crap, i love this!

[Teri]

I am trying to decide how I could do a similar thing using a fitted bed skirt. My bed is up on blocks so it is extra tall. I have used a king size flat sheet in the past but it is a little sloppy. This is a great idea because I am sure it stays in place. thanks for posting.

[Melissa]

If there is a great deal of gathering that must be done, an easy way is to zig-zag over dental floss and then gather. The floss is slick and doesn't break, so gathering is less fragile and goes quickly.

[Erin]

I have done that same thing by zigzagging over a long, think cording, but forgot about that method. Thanks for the reminder!

[Donna]

i love the idea wish i could sew

[Cooking Karen]

Love the twisted pin idea...maybe I can get my bedskirt done that has been in the project queue for a year!

[mary puskar]

One to deal with slippage is to sew the skirt to a fitted sheet ON the box spring. You put the sheet on, mark with a disappearing pencil where it is to be sew. Remove, then sew the skirt where it is marked. I made several like this and it's a foolproof way. It is a little vexing to get all that under the sewing machine needle, but worth the effort.

Mary

[Bette]

I have this ugly generic bed skirt that slips and slides everytime I change the sheets! I love you for this idea! Now I can coordinate one with my colors and not have to adjust it everytime I change bedding. I'm new to Pinterest and wasn't sure I could find anything for me... boy was I wrong! Thank you for sharing.

[Penny]

I think you can buy velcro tape then all you have to do is fasten one side to the box spring and the other to the bed skirt so it is able to attach to the bed. Then you can pull off to wash and reattach. No upholstery pins necessary.

[maria]

This is just stunning.