Baby Bedding - All Questions Answered!

First of all, thanks to all of you great commenters for the sweet little notes you left for me. I appreciated all the feedback after all my "hard" work:-)

I actually had quite a few questions about how I made the bedding, what I used and all that, so I thought I would answer them all in one big ol' post.

Image from laylagrace.com

WHAT KIND OF MATERIAL DID YOU USE?
As you can see in my (above)inspiration photo, the fabric is linen. Ahhh, love it! Didn't really think it was pratical for a baby, and I didn't have the $$ to spend on it. One friend suggested using the Lenda curtain panels from Ikea. That is a great idea because these curtains really look like linen and they are super cheap. Only problem is that Ikea isn't on my way to or from anything, and I couldn't find any in the light beige on Ebay, so I moved on... I ended up using natural colored muslin from JoAnn Fabrics. It was on sale for $3.50 or so a yard so it worked for me! (by the way, you can find this fabric in the quilt backing section)

HOW MUCH FABRIC DID YOU USE?
Another very good friend reccomend 10 yards and I trusted her. 10 yards was perfect! I also have a bit left over for a few other small things I'm working on.

WHAT PATTERN DID YOU USE?
I cheated and used my old crib set. I recovered my existing bumper (it's one looong piece, no sections) and used the skirt as a guide for my new skirt. I did make the new skirt a little longer though, it has a 14 inch drop instead of 12 inch like the old one.
Make sure you don't forget to sew in ties too!(I used ribbon so I wouldn't have to make all those ties)

HOW DID YOU MAKE THE RUFFLES?
I had never gathered anything on my own with a machine (always did it by hand) so I had to ask my mom about "how to". It is super easy and very time consuming when you gather 30 yards of material like I did for this project. All you do is set your machine to make a long stitch. I set mine as long as it would go. Then you back stitch one end so that you don't end up pulling all your thread out. Once you have stiched the length you want (remember when you gather something it will "shrink" down by half or more) grab the top thread and start pulling and sliding your gathers down.

Also, to give them the tattered look then I figured out how wide I wanted them, made a small cut with my scisors and then ripped the rest of the way. Pull a few more strings off to "fray" it a little more. You also may want to stitch along the frayed part to keep it from fraying any further. I "frayed" both sides of my ruffles.

There you have it. Any other questions? Feel free to leave a comment or email me!

Don't forget that Daylight Savings starts this weekend!!!! I can't keep from smiling just thinking about it. Turn those clocks forward and enjoy your extra hour of light.
Have a great weekend!

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