Custom Tailored Bedskirt From A Flat Sheet? Yes'um.

This post should really be titled "I SEWED!  I SEWED!!!!"  because, phew, getting out the old machine is quite the accomplishment lately.

My new sewing companion.

Moving gives ya a real appreciation for the number of tools one uses in the trade.  As is...

Where'd that darn white bobbin go?  I could have sworn my pins were in this drawer?  Why did I pack the iron in the bottom of that box?

Heaven forbid you need a safety pin, my friends.

Anywho, after the move my husband and I got the silly notion into our heads that since we have been married for a while and have a bunch of kids and all of that jazz, it's about time we spent a dime or two on our bedroom to make it look like adults live here instead of a couple of twenty-year-old newlyweds.

In the course of my hunting for new bedding -- decorating on a budget is not for the faint of heart -- I was a little put off at the cost of bedskirts.  The inexpensive ones I saw online and in the stores were cheaply made, nearly see-through, got horrible customer reviews, and were still over-priced.

I could totally make my own poorly-constructed bedskirt for less :).

Tada!!!

See?  You can hardly even see it!  Why do we pay money for this stuff?  But just in case you want to see it...

Oh my.  I have a whole new appreciation for bed stylists.  They must Photoshop the wrinkles out of those pictures.  At least that's what I tell myself to make me feel better about sharing these shamefully wrinkly pictures.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take photographs of the process, but I decided to post anyway and give you a run down of what I did. If you'd like more details or pics, drop me a line.

Target sells sheets that aren't in sets. We have a queen bed and I bought a queen flat sheet which enabled me to make a bedskirt with a 13" drop.  The cost of the sheet was about $14.

 

** Update -- I should have pre-shrunk the sheet by washing it before sewing.  When I washed it after the fact, the bedskirt did shrink and shorten slightly. **

I started by measuring thirteen inches and sewing the corners.  No hemming required! (At the head of the bed, I didn't sew a full corner.  I only turned over the wide band that makes up the top of a flat sheet.  I'll update with a pic as soon as I get the chance.)

Then, I took a seam down the middle of each side to take in the extra fabric, leaving the 13" drop on each side open. I pressed the seams flat to make inverted pleats on the sides and end of the bed.  

And do I have a picture of an inverted pleat?  Of course not.

*Quick!  Insert distracting baby picture!*

Did it work?

Anyway, that's that.  

When I chose to make the bedskirt instead of buy it, I thought for sure I would regret it.  Pleasant surprise!  It was finished in one night and I'm pretty sure 75% of my time was spent pressing the fold marks out of the new sheet.  Plus, I was able to get a custom length instead of the standard 14" drop.

Worth it.

Time to finish up the rest of the bedroom makeover.  What shall we sew next?