How to Sew a Ruffled Bed Skirt Using Dental Floss
A gathered bed skirt fits any decor. It can be made from a wide variety of fabric, in colors and patterns to complement the room. Ready-made gathered bed skirts can be very expensive and lush, or the opposite can be true and they may be skimpy and lack fullness. A novice sewer can make her own one-of-a-kind skirt that suits her room, and her budget. Gathering a strip of fabric long enough for a bed skirt can be time-consuming, and if the thread breaks it is necessary to place new gathering threads and start all over. Because dental floss is thin and very strong, using it as the gathering thread with a zig-zag over-cast, substantially decreases the likelihood of breakage. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Fitted sheet
- Fabric
- Tape measure
- Scissors
- Fabric-marking pencil
- Safety pin
- Straight pins
- Dental floss
- Sewing machine
- Matching thread
Instructions
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Position the fitted sheet on the box spring of the bed set. Mark a line on the sides and foot of the fitted sheet equidistant from the floor, at the top edge of the box spring. Measure from this line to the floor, or to the desired length of the skirt. This is the length measurement of the ruffle.
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Measure the length and width of the box spring. Add the width and twice the length for the width measurement of the finished ruffle.
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3
Multiply the width measurement by 2 1/2 for the required flat fabric width and add 4 inches for the result of the flat cut width of fabric required. This creates a skirt gathered to 2 1/2 times fullness.
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4
To the desired finished length of the skirt add 2 inches for the bottom hem and 1/2 inch for top seam allowance for the result of the flat cut length of the fabric.
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Cut a piece of fabric equal to the flat cut width and flat cut length. Add sections of fabric together, as necessary, to create the correct width.
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Turn the bottom up 1/2 inch, toward the inside, and press. Turn again 1 1/2 inches and press to create the bottom hem. Stitch along the inside folded edge.
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Turn each outside edge under 1 inch twice to create a double 1-inch hem and press. Stitch close to the inside edge.
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8
Draw a line on the inside of the fabric, 1/2 inch from the top raw edge, all across the width of the fabric. Starting at one edge, clearly mark on this line indicators of 25-inch increments, with an X. These indicators will be used to evenly gather the fabric. For example, place an X at 25 inches, at 50 inches and at 75 inches, continuing to the end of the fabric.
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Tie one end of the dental floss to the safety pin. Attach the safety pin to the inside of the fabric at the drawn line. Lay the dental floss on the drawn line and hold in place while you start the stitching. Draw more floss from the spool, or container as needed.
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10
Stitch, using a zig-zag, over the dental floss, keeping the floss centered on the drawn line. Use as small a zig-zag as possible without sewing through the floss. Continue to the end of the fabric and cut the floss 6 inches past the edge of the skirt.
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11
Mark, on the fitted sheet that is still in place on the bed, gathering indicators every 10 inches by marking an I through the previously drawn line. For example, place an I through the line at 10, 20, 30 and 40 inches, continuing all around the two sides and foot of the sheet. These indicators will match to the gathering indicators on the skirt to ensure even gathering. Remove the sheet from the bed.
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12
Pull the loose end of the dental floss. The fabric of the bed skirt will gather. Continue pulling until the fabric strip is the same length as the width measurement of the finished ruffle.
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13
Pin the right side of the ruffle to the right side of the fitted sheet, matching the seam line of the skirt to the drawn line on the sheet. The raw edges of the skirt are oriented toward the bottom edge of the sheet.
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14
Adjust the gathering so the gathering indicators (the X’s), match the sheet indicators (the I’s). When the gathering is even, tie the floss securely to another safety pin and cut off the excess floss. Secure the pin to the sheet.
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Stitch the sheet and skirt together 1/2 inch from the raw edges of the skirt. Don’t worry if you sew over the floss, its job is completed at this point. Remove the safety pins and place the sheet on the bed.
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Tips & Warnings
Serge the top width edge of the skirt before gathering, if you have access to a serger.
Prewash and dry the skirt fabric as you will wash and dry the completed product to avoid shrinkage.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Creatas/Getty Images
