Friday, April 3, 2015

Adjustable, Lined Crib Skirt

I was not planning to make a crib skirt. I was planning on making curtains for the kid's room-- which I did- and then hung and realized that they were about a foot too short. So - I ordered new fabric to make new full-length curtains, and need another project to use up the failed curtains. Enter - crib skirt!

I did some quick googling and found lots of blog posts to make crib skirts that could be adjusted to fit both the crib when it's raised for an infant and again when it's lowered for a toddler. Most posts made three separate panels that could be tied on to the crib- so I figured I would follow that plan. However, most of the posts I found made unlined crib skirts. The thing is, when you make lined sewing projects, meaning that there's both the attractive material you want and a basic, plain material sewed to the back, it allows you to hide all the stitches so they can't be seen. If you don't use a liner, then you can see all the stitches, so it's really obvious if you can't sew straight, have the wrong color of thread, etc.

So, I decided to make a lined, adjustable crib skirt out of three separate panels, to help disguise all my sewing sins and use up the extra curtain material.

Step 1. Measure the Crib
With the crib's mattress raised to its highest position, I measured the height from the ground to the bottom of the mattress, and the length and width of the inside of the crib. The crib was 18" up from the ground, 28" deep, and 52" wide.


Step 2. Cut Fabric & Liner
I added 1" on all sides for hems, and cut a single large panel that was 54" wide by 20" tall, and two smaller panels for the sides that were 30" wide by 20" tall. I was using a fabric with a really strong horizontal pattern, so I cut each panel so that the bottom was the same part of the pattern- this way they will all line up. If you don't have a strong pattern, you probably don't need to worry about this part. Then I ironed everything flat. Because I'm making a lined skirt, I cut the same measurements out of the lining fabric. (My fabric was already prewashed, but if you are starting fresh, you should prewash and dry to shrink before getting started).


Step 3. Pin and Stitch Bottom and Sides of Each Panel
For each panel, I pinned the liner onto the curtain fabric. It is very critical that you pin the liner onto the right-side (meaning the side you want to eventually be on the front) of the fabric. You should not be able to see the right-side of the fabric. Then I stitched together the bottom and sides, leaving a 1" hem.


Step 4. Attach Ties to Each Panel
To attach the panels to the crib, I needed to add ties. I grabbed some scrap fabric and cut it into long pieces. I folded a long piece in half, and then pinned it inside the top of each panel, one on each end. The scraps should be dangling inside of the panel. Then I pinned all the way across, and sewed almost all the way across each panel. It's important not to sew across the entire panel - or you will sew it all the way closed. Instead, leave a couple inches open.


Step 5. Flip and Finish
Using the space you left open, flip the entire panel inside out. At this point, the right side of the fabric should appear, and the ties should be on the outside. Then I simply sewed the last few inches closed - these will be the only stitches that can be seen in the finished project (but should probably be covered by the mattress).


Step 6. Attach to the Crib
Last but not least, you take each panel to the crib, and use the ties to tie it onto the crib frame so that the panels just dust the floor. Then put the mattress on top- which will help keep everything hidden and flat. When the kid is older and we need to drop the mattress, we will retie them at a higher position on the frame.
tying the panels onto the crib frame

all done

closeup- one perfect row of elephants on the bottom 


ready to nap!

So I never planned to make a crib skirt, but this one turned out pretty well. I am thrilled that the bottom row of elephants is perfectly framed by the mattress- which was totally lucky and not really planned. With the new mattress, mattress cover and sheets- we are all ready to go. This room is really close to being finished. Now I just need to make some new curtains...

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