How to Sew a Crib Dust Ruffle
Crib bedding sets come in a variety of colors, but some expectant parents may still want more options. If you want to customize your baby's crib bedding, choose the fabric you like best and sew a crib dust ruffle instead of buying one at the store. A crib dust ruffle prevents dust from getting under the baby's bed, but it also hides the underside of the crib, so you can use that area to store extra baby toys and other items.
Things You'll Need
- Fabric, 6 yards
- Yardstick or ruler
- Rotary cutting tool and mat or scissors
- Iron and ironing board
- Straight pins
- Sewing machine and thread
Instructions
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1
Measure and cut your fabric for the base of the dust ruffle. To do this, measure the support rack for the baby's crib - this is the piece that goes under the mattress. Add two inches to the length and width of the measurements you took, and cut one piece of fabric to match these dimensions.
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2
Measure and cut the ruffled panels. For the long sides of the crib, measure the width of the crib support rack and double it, then add two inches. Measure the distance from the bottom of the crib mattress in its standard position to the floor and add four inches. Cut two pieces of fabric to match these measurements. For the short sides, repeat this process and cut two pieces to match these dimensions.
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3
Sew the side seams on each ruffled piece. To do this, place the fabric on your ironing board with the right side down. Fold one side seam in by 1/2 inch and press, then fold in another 1/2 inch and press. Use straight pins to pin this fold in place, and repeat this process on the second short edge of this piece and both short edges on all of the other panel pieces. Sew the seams you pinned into place using a straight stitch.
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4
Sew the bottom hems on the panels. To do this, place one piece of fabric on your ironing board with the right side down. Fold up the bottom edge by 1/2 inch and press, then fold up by 2.5 inches and press. Pin this seam in place and repeat the process on the other three panels. Use a straight stitch on your sewing machine to sew these seams.
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5
Sew basting stitches on the top edges of your panel pieces. To do this, set your sewing machine to a long straight stitch. Place one line of stitches 1/2 inch down from the top edge of each panel and another line of stitches 1/2 inch down from your first line of stitches. Leave long tails when you cut your thread and tie the tails together on one side of each panel. Pull the threads on the other sides of each panel to gather the fabric until the panels are half as wide as they were originally.
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6
Sew the gathered panels to the center piece. To do this, lay one panel on top of the matching edge of the center piece with the right sides facing. Center the panel on the center piece of fabric, 1/2 inch in from the raw edge of the fabric. Fold down the center piece's raw edge by a 1/2 inch, then 1/2 inch again. Pin in place, and sew through the layers of the flat center piece and the gathered panels; this will hide all of your raw edges. Repeat this process on all four sides and pin the side edges in at the corners and sew them as well. Unfold the piece so that the gathered panels hang down the sides and position it under baby's crib mattress.
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Tips & Warnings
If you want to complete a traditional crib dust ruffle, use muslin or other white fabric for the center piece. If you want to be sure the whole thing matches, use coordinating fabric or the same fabric for all parts of this project.
As you lower baby's mattress, re-hem the bottom seam of the dust ruffle to match the new height of the bed.
References
- Photo Credit baby plymobile in crib image by jedphoto from Fotolia.com
