DIY Faux Tailored Bedskirt

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m in the process of redecorating my bedroom. Well, let me rephrase that – I’m in the process of redecorating my bedroom. You see, we moved into our new house in April, and I’m just sort of getting around to making everything “beautiful” from “livable.” It’s just been an overwhelming task that I haven’t had the energy to tackle. Don’t judge me, okay?

Anyway, my new bedroom design focuses on the bed (as any bedroom should). I am using a crisp, white duvet (so that the white dog hair doesn’t show – I’m finally catching on after four years of having him, huh?), so I needed to add some color with my headboard, pillows, and bedskirt. I’m actually working on my pillows now, but here is the general idea of what I’m going for…navy and white toile.

Side Bar: Please ignore pretty much everything in this photo other than the bed. The lamps? They were my DH’s before we got married and I am tossing them very soon. The bookcase? Yeah, probably won’t be that color for long. No pictures on the walls? The temporary shades? It’s a work in progress, people!

Side Bar #2: Things have drastically changed in this room since the time this post was originally posted back in January! Look here and here if you don’t believe me!

If you listen closely, you can hear the heavens parting and the angles singing, for they are as excited about my new bedskirt and headboard as I am. Don’t worry, the headboard tutorial will be coming shortly.

Here’s a Lindsay tip for ya: I like to pair a tailored bedskirt with a duvet. Personally, I think a ruffled bedskirt makes the whole ensemble way too puffy. The tailored bedskirt gives the bed a nice balance. Also, ruffles take a lot of time and fabric, and who has a ton of time and extra money for three times the fabric that you really need? Not me.

Supplies you will need:

• Measurements of your box frame – length, width, and height from the top of the boxsprings to the floor (mine is a King bed, and the measurements are about 78″ square and it sits about 14″ from the floor when on my bedframe)
• One or two fabrics you love (the amount you need will vary depending on the size of your bed; we’ll get to that below)
• T-pins, straight pins, or bedskirt pins
• Measuring tape, yardstick, or ruler
• Pen, marker, or pencil
• Sewing machine and thread
• Iron and ironing board

Directions:
After taking your box frame measurements, you will need to sit down and figure out exactly how much fabric you will need to purchase (or pull from your stash). The amount is going to be dependent on several factors:

1. The length/width of your box spring
2. The height of the top of the box spring to the floor
3. The number of fabrics you choose to use, along with the width and pattern repeats of those fabrics

I’ll let you in on a few more Lindsay tips right now. Use fabric(s) meant for home decor projects since they are wider than quilting and apparel fabrics. They will also hang better.

Additionally, unless you are a glutton for punishment like me, choose a solid color fabric or one that has a small pattern repeat if you want your bedskirt to be made from a single fabric. My toile has a 15″ repeat (i.e. the pattern repeats every 15 inches), so I’d “waste” a lot of fabric if I wanted to match the pattern. If you choose two fabrics, you won’t have to match patterns at all and your life will be infinitely easier.

Directions:
Because we are making a “faux” bedskirt, it will be constructed of three sides (left side, right side, and front) that will simply be pinned onto your boxspring. There is no icky white top layer that is always too long and hangs out from under the mattress for you to deal with. Here’s a picture of the finished product so that it makes more sense.

The finished width of each side of your bedskirt will be the width of the side you are working on plus about 14″. The finished height of each side of your bedskirt is the height from the top of the boxspring to the floor, plus about 3″.

Since you will likely have to join two (or more) lengths of fabric for each side the sides, don’t forget to add your seam allowances into your equation when you are calculating for the length of the finished side. Here’s the calculation I used for each side of my bed (which includes 1″ seam allowances – I work better with whole numbers):

Width=(Toile Piece #1) 33 inches + (Denim Piece) 33 inches + (Toile Piece #2) 33 inches
Height=All pieces 17 inches

I used about 3 yards of the toile and about 1 1/2 yards of the denim. Your yardage calculation will be determined by the fabric(s) you choose.

To measure and cut my fabric, I just used a yardstick and marked out the height in a few places and drew a line with the straightedge across the marks. Then, I cut on the line and repeated the process for the width.

2. The next step is to piece your fabric to form one long piece. Sew the pieces together lengthwise and press the seam allowances. I like to press mine all to one side, but I know some people like to press them open. It’s totally up to your personal preference. Repeat this process for each of the three sides.

3. Next, you’ll need to turn under the raw edges. I started with the edges on the short side; I turned them under an inch and pressed them on each side. Next, I stitched a seam 5/8″ from the edge. I then repeated the same process on the long side of the piece for the bottom hem. Repeat this process for each of the three sides.

4. The last step is to make the little pleat! Fold your long pieces in half and mark the center with just a dot or dash at the raw edge at the top of the fabric. You will then fold one side of your fabric over 2″ so that it meets the middle mark. Press the fabric so that it you form a crisp line down the height of the fabric. Then, fold the other side of the fabric over 2″ to meet the middle mark and press that side. In order to make sure the pleat stays in place on the bed, I put a basting stitch across the top of the pleat, close to the raw edge. And since I’m sure that made absolutely no sense whatsoever, here’s a picture:

5. Iron all three pieces. I sprayed some Magic Sizing on mine while ironing to make sure they stayed nice and crisp once they were on my bed.

6.
Now comes the fun part! Start with the front of your bed, and pin the top center of the front piece to the top of your boxspring.

Another Lindsay tip. Line up your bedskirt so that it barely skims the floor. There is nothing that can ruin the tailored look more than a bedskirt that hangs too far on the floor. Drapes should “pool”; bedskirts shouldn’t.

Then, continue pinning the bedskirt across the front of the front of the boxspring, making sure that the hem of the skirt hangs even.

You may have to pin the fabric a little uneven on the top in order to make it perfect on the bottom (if you don’t cut very straight, like me). The top will be covered by the mattress. See?

You should have a few inches on either side that is a bit too long. This is desirable, since you want it to wrap around the side. You’ll have to figure out the best way to fold the excess fabric on top so that it lies flat, but this is the way I folded it:

7. Now, repeat this process for the right and left side – pinning the center, pinning across, and folding the front corners – making sure the bedskirt continues to hang even. When you reach the back of the boxspring (the side by the headboard), you can simply tuck the extra around the back and pin it in place – no fancy fold needed. You won’t be able to see it once the mattess is on, so it doesn’t really matter what it looks like.

8. Now you are ready to add your mattress and linens to the bed. You’ll notice that once your mattress is in place, there is no evidence that your bedskirt is a big, fat fake!

Voila! There you have it – a beautiful, custom faux bedskirt…and no husbands were harmed (or asked to lift a finger) for this project. How easy was that?

I’m adding this post to the Toile Party over at Pretty Organized Palace! Do you love Toile as much as I do? Yeah, I thought so. Head over there and check it out!

Tagged as: DIY, Home Dec, Inspiration, Living with Lindsay