Guess what? It’s National Make Your Bed Day!

So we’re making a cool bed. It matches the furniture. Nothing annoys us more than to get a new bed and have it look like it doesn’t belong in the room. National Make Your Bed Day, which takes place on September 11th, inspired us to get cracking on solving this design problem. 

Here’s what you need:

    1. Fabric: yardage depends on the size bed you decide to make
    2. Sewing machine
    3. Straight pins
    4. Fabric scissors
    5. Fiber fill batting
    6. Tape measure (or yardstick)
    7. Iron

We chose fabric that matches some of our throw pillows, with a solid color for the ties.  It’s fun to mix coordinating prints, with the pillow a different print than the base. 

Cut out your pieces:

Basically you need to cut out a series of rectangles.

  1. The bottom: We made ours 24” x 17” so both of us can fit in it
  2. Two long side rolls: the length of the base (24”) x 14”
  3. Two short side rolls: height of the base (17”) x 14”
  4. 8 ties: 17” x 3”
  5. Bottom pillow: cut 2 piece the same size as the bottom of the base. (If you’re making a cover, cut one piece the size of the bottom base, and 2 pieces the length and width of the height of the bottom (ours: 17” x 17”))
  6. Cut batting the size of each rectangle x 2” thick, 3” thick for the top pillow.

Make the Ties:

  1. Fold in half, wrong sides together.
  2. Stitch at an angle at one end, making a point, then stitch 1/4” from the long edge.
  3. Clip the angled end.
  4. Turn right side out: with the dull end of a pencil or paint brush push the point end through the tunnel and pull it through the other end.
  5. Press flat.
  6. Repeat on the 7 other ties.

Sew the Sides:

  1. Fold in half along long side, right sides together.
  2. Clip a notch to mark the center.
  3. Pin ties beside the notch.
  4. Sew 1/2” from the edge on both sides.
  5. Turn right side out.
  6. Do this to all 4 pieces.

Stuff the Sides:

  1. Roll the stuffing and place it inside the sewn envelope. 
  2. Pin the edges together.
  3. Sew 1/2” from the edge.
  4. Do this to all four side pieces.

Attach the Sides to the Base:

  1. Center side piece on bottom panel. There will be 1/2” bottom panel hang over on each end. That’s the seam allowance for the adjacent side panel.

A Finishing Stitch…

You don’t have to do this, but it makes it extra nice.  First we finished the seams of the base with an interlock stitch.  Then we topstitched it along the inside edge where the base meets the sides.

 

The top Cushion:

  1. Stitch the top and the bottom of the cushion together, leaving an 8” opening.
  2. Fill with stuffing.
  3. Stitch the 8” opening closed.

We made a removable cover for our cushion. To do that:

  1. Turn under and stitch one end of each square. 
  2. Place them on the top rectangle, overlapping the stitched edges.
  3. Stitch.
  4. Turn.
  5. Tie the bows.
  6. Place the pillow inside.

You’re Done!

Place it on your sofa or bed, where it looks like a decorative pillow and burrow in for an afternoon nap.

 

Until next time! Happy crafting.

Xoxo

Woofie and BeaR