Even worse are my sewing abilities. I can sew on a button, but it is not exactly a beauty to behold- more like barely functional. One summer, the relief society of my single's ward decided that we were going to learn how to sew. We had weekly lessons and help sessions as people who had sewing experience helped the rest of us to each make ONE PAIR of pajama pants to be donated to a local children's shelter. I went to EVERY SINGLE help session. On the last one, a few kind souls helped me frantically piece together my final product. My pants were not the size I had originally intended, but hopefully they will fit some little kid. One side wasn't quite the same as the other, but it was close enough. Also, I had spent enough money on fabric and materials that I could have PURCHASED at least 5 pairs of pajama pants. That was my last experience with real sewing. My Grandmother was an excellent seamstress and created beautiful dresses for me, but this gene has apparently skipped my generation.
And yet somehow, when I decided I wanted a crib skirt, I started to look at DIY blogs and websites. The challenge of "nesting" for this baby has been finding the space for... anything. We have a one bedroom apartment, and Jason and I were both over 30 when we got married. You can accumulate a lot of stuff in 30 years, and we have struggled to fit our OWN stuff in this cute, but small place. Now suddenly, I'm trying to find a home for baby clothes, blankets, bottles, cribs, strollers, baths, high chairs, swings, toys, diapers, baby shampoo, and a ridiculous amount of other items. Babies are small, but their stuff is NOT! The space under the crib became valuable real estate. However, the crib skirts that you buy at the store seem to only function to make the cribs cuter- they don't actually go all the way to the floor so that you can hide all of the crap that you want to store under there!
I found a youtube video that explained how to make a crib skirt WITHOUT SEWING ANYTHING. This was very important to me, because, as I mentioned above, sewing is not something I feel comfortable with. Here's a link to the video.
Young House Love: How to Make a Crib Skirt
I took poor Jason to the fabric store and spent a good hour painstakingly picking out fabric, velcro, and the "heat n' bond" that would create the hems for my no sew crib skirt. I also decided to make a bed skirt while I was at it. My bed doesn't have a traditional frame, so none of my bed skirts have ever fit. It seemed to me that the basic premise would be the same, so I went for it. I ended up spending $38 at Fabricland. This is why I don't understand sewing things for yourself- so much work and it's not cheaper anymore! I justified it this time, though, because I was creating TWO things that I needed and could not buy to fit my specifications. Here's what I started with:
Then I got to work. It took me a few days. Look at what a crafty homemaker I am!
The process was stressful, but not unmanageable. I learned that sticky velcro doesn't really stick to fabric, but the heat 'n bond added the extra stick to make the velcro last. Here's the finished products.
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| The crib skirt- and yes we eventually put up the front rail. |
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| The bed skirt |
Yeah for new creations!
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