Making your own crib bedding

After searching for the right crib set (that would be the crib bumpers, sheet, dust ruffle and quilt for those not in the know!) and not finding one that I loved, I decided I would have to make it myself. I've never done anything like this before and for a short period I even tried to talk myself out of it. "Bumpers," I thought, "they make cribs differently now. The bars are closer together, the baby won't get her head stuck. We don't need those!" Well, I reconsidered. How hard could it be. First I had to find the right fabric. I wanted turquoisey blue, orange and pink. Not an easy task. To my delight I found fabric that fit my needs and a package of bumper pads already cut to the right size and meeting all safety requirements. Best of all, they came with directions. I wouldn't have to wing it!

Cut twelve pieces 27" x 11 3/4. I had 6 of the blue birds for the front and 6 pink polka dot for the back. I found that cutting one rectangle the right size on parchment paper and using that for the pattern was really helpful. Instead of making ties from the fabric, which seemed really time consuming, I found coordinating grosgrain ribbon. Perfect!

crib-pin-the-two-right-sides-together

After pinning on the ties to the corners, you put right sides together and sew all the way around leaving a space at the bottom open so you can insert the padding. Trim the corners and turn right side out. Insert the pad. Stitch up the bottom edge and you're done! Now repeat for the other 5.

crib-bumper-pads

These are the bumper pad inserts.

The bumper pads are up. I love the blue birds. Although with our grey crib it looks a bit like they are caged. I also made a dust ruffle. I kept it really simple. Nothing too ruffly. Just an orange polka dot. 

crib-quilt-getting-a-rough-idea

Now for the quilt. I pinned pieces of fabric together and put them in the crib just to get an idea of what it would look like. Then I took it out and properly cut the right sized pieces and sewed it all together attaching a cotton batting to the back side. A cute soft floral print is on the reverse side.

Not bad for my first try at this kind of thing! It's not perfect but it has character! The colors and prints are bright and sweet.

As for the fitted sheet, well, I won't be attempting to sew that! I ordered one and it's on its way.