No Sew Bedskirt

Just the thing you have been waiting for, I'm certain!

'Life with the Lunds' does include all the crazy projects I stay up late doing, so now you can be involved in the crazy. I have done this not once, but twice in the last 6 weeks, so thought it was worth documenting.

This all started because I washed every bit of bedding we owned when we moved to the new house. The bedskirt for our guest room bed shrunk, and I never loved it to begin with - mainly because it was too short. It is virtually impossible to find a long enough bedskirt that isn't custom made, even for a standard mattress and bed frame. Then, we are slowly working on Ellen's big girl room and she needed a bedskirt, too. I actually bought one months ago, then opened the package to find that it was sheets. Grrr. Yes, mark that as item #1, 327 that has been harder in this house than expected.

So - I was inspired by this post on Isabella & Max Rooms in which she cuts and glues her bedskirt to her mattress. I didn't think I wanted to glue it, so I considered velcro ... and if you read the comments on her post you'll read about some kind of spiral pin you can use to pin your bedskirt to your mattress. I bought some (less effort than velcro), but you'll see below what I ended up with.

1. Purchase your fabric. I bought 2 yards for each bed (a standard twin and a standard full) and it was enough. You could probably make do with 1 1/2 yards, but I always err on the side of caution. Both of my beds are in the corner of the room, so I only needed fabric for one long side and the end of the bed. If you are doing 3 sides of your bed, you will obviously need more.

2. Measure and cut your fabric.
- One piece for each corner of the bed (mine were about 7 inches wide, plus about 1 inch seam allowance on each side)
- One piece for the middle of each long side (mine were about 9 inches wide, plus about 1 inch seam allowance on each side)
- One long piece for the end of your bed (measure the width of your mattress and add about 1 inch seam allowance to each side)
- Two long pieces for the long side of your bed (measure the full length and divide in half, then add about 1 inch seam allowance to each side of each piece)
- For the length, I just measured from the top of the box frame to just above the floor, which was about 20 inches, plus a seam allowance on top and bottom - a few inches. Be generous here so you can adjust the final product

I didn't worry too much about matching the repeats on the fabric, but if you have an intricate pattern you may want to pay attention, which may require more fabric.

3. Like I said, No Sew! I'm sure this would actually be pretty easy to sew, but I didn't want to haul out my sewing machine and remind myself how to use it. I just used iron-on Stitch Witchery. Mine was Super Weight, 5/8 inches x 13 yards. I needed 2 rolls.

4. Just eyeball the hem (about 1 inch or a little less), fold over and iron to crease. Cut a length of Stitch Witchery and iron in place according to the directions. This is kind of tedious - I did all four sides of every piece - but it goes fast and you can do it while you watch TV.

See?
5. For the corner pieces, I folded them in half and ironed/steamed to get a good crease. You'll see why in a minute. Don't crease the extra middle piece that will go on the long side of the bed. Also, it's worth saying that this is a pretty forgiving project - the length of these pieces does not have to be exactly the same - you can adjust when you put them on the bed.

6. Find the two long pieces that will go on the long side of your bed. If it helps, lay them out next to each other as they will look on the bed. In the center (so, the right side of the left piece and the left side of the right piece), fold the bottom corner back about 2 inches and press.

7. Time to install! I tried those twisty pins and I just didn't have the patience at almost midnight to figure it out, so I used masking tape! Totally easy and it's all covered up in the end by your mattress and comforter.

I found it is easiest to start with the corners. I had 3 corners for 2 finished sides - helps to hide the fact that I didn't do the third side!

Use the crease and line it up with the corner of the bed frame. Adjust to get the length how you want it, then fold the pieces over on the top to lay flat and tape in place.

8. Next comes the center piece on the long side of the bed. Measure the center point of the long side, then center the flat middle piece over that point and tape in place. Again, adjust the length to match the pieces you taped on the corners.

9. Then, install the two long pieces on the long side of the mattress. The top corners should meet or almost meet in the center of your flat middle piece, then should hit at the top and bottom corners of the mattress. Tape in place. You can see why you pressed the corners back here - adds a little interest. It is kind of like a faux pleat. I did it this way to save fabric - otherwise you would have to buy much more yardage to get one continuous section for the long side of your bed. If you are doing a full bedskirt on all sides, I suppose it might be more cost/time effective to do one long piece and cut it in half.

10. Lastly, install the piece at the foot end of the bed. It should be simple to just tape in place, matching the length of your other pieces.

11. You're done! Ellen's big girl bed is a work-in-progress ... more to come soon.

And here is the first guest bed that I did ...


I know the quality of these pictures isn't excellent - it was late and dark! I think you can get the idea, though. The total cost was 2 yards of fabric and 2 rolls of Stitch Witchery, probably $20-30 depending on the cost of your fabric. It took me almost 2 hours the first time, and closer to 1 hour the second time when I knew what I was doing.

Send me pictures of your finished project!