We’re back with another update on John’s sister’s little-boy-on-the-way nursery that we’ve been transforming for the past few weeks (see how we painted stripes and hung mirrors here). This week’s project is a custom crib skirt that we easily whipped up on the cheap with fabric that we snagged on sale and without the use of a sewing machine- or even a needle and thread! Here’s how:
Simple, right? We love that all you need is some fabric you heart, a measuring tape, an iron, hem tape and a bit of velcro. And this was actually our first time taking on a project like this, so if we can do it on camera you can totally follow along at home (hopefully with an iron that’s on). John’s favorite part was when I said “you’ll have a ribbon of stick” when I was struggling to describe the iron-on tape. Eh, you win some, you lose some.
And speaking of winning, how great is it that Emily can now shove a ton of stuff under her crib and no one will ever be the wiser? Especially since she thought she couldn’t have a crib skirt in a modern baby-boy nursery for fear that it would look too frilly or traditional for her tastes. Thank goodness for that inky blue geometric fabric! We love that it’s clean and modern yet oh-so-kid-friendly at the same time. Kids like shapes, right? Especially paired with zoo animals.
So that’s the rundown of our crib skirt adventure. Stick around for more DIY nursery undertakings and of course the big reveal. And because we know you appreciate a budget breakdown, we’ll leave you with our total cost for this entire project: $35. And that includes velcro, iron on hem tape, and two yards of high-end-but-on-sale fabric. We probably could have done the whole thing in under $15 but we fell hard for the fancier fabric and didn’t look back. And a custom $35 crib skirt still isn’t bad at all when you consider that this one from Restoration Hardware Baby can run ya $80.
Oh and we even had enough extra fabric leftover to make a pillow for the chair next to the crib so that’s also included in the total (we’re going to use the fabric in reverse for a complementary lighter blue pop of color nearby). Can’t wait. Seriously is it nerdy that this stuff gets us all giddy and hyper? Do any of you guys have a DIY nursery project of your own going on right now? Any buns in the oven out there? Any kid room makeovers in general (from toddler to big boy or tween to teen for example)? Let’s hear it.
Love the geometric print, and the skirt is very appropriate for a little boy’s room! Very nice! I made a bedskirt for our guestroom that I love, but it did take some sewing. :-)
http://wordsonwendhurst.blogspot.com/2009/07/guest-room-part-deux.html
Jenny
Love the tutorial Youngsters! As soon as you started the video, I wondered how you could keep the tailored look when the crib level dropped…but you beat me to the catch! Velcro rocks.
Great job on the skirt! The room is really coming together beautifully! We will be redoing our 7 year old daughter’s room this winter. We are going from a little girls garden themed room to a more grown up girly Parisian theme that we found on Rate My Space. She has a black and white damask comforter and hot pink sheets picked out. We will do matching pink walls and a black chandelier wall decal. I’ve also been on the hunt for an affordable chandlier on Craigslist that I can spray paint black and adorn with black crystals. I’m kind of at a loss for wall art though.
Good job! Even though I made all of our nursery bedding long ago when our first daughter was born, I had to watch your little video (you are great on camera, btw!) to see how you adjusted it to be shorter when the mattress platform is lowered. Nice work!
That looks amazing. Great job. Can’t wait to see the big reveal!
Awesome! As usual :)
I bought the fabric yesterday to make our little guy’s crib skirt. Now I can’t wait to get started!
Brilliant! I’ve had the worst time finding a white bed skirt that is not frilly…I’ll absolutely be making my own now! Thanks Youngsters. :)
I am a LONG time seamstress….but this is just perfection!!! Talk about easy and professional looking. Thank you always for your fun and doable DIY. You are the best. XXX Annie
Hey Annie,
Wow! We’re totally blushing. The fact that you’re a long time seamstress and you think our little DIY bedskirt project is “perfection” really has us grinning for ear to ear! Thanks so much for the endorsement- you don’t know how much it means to us!
xoxo,
s (& j)
love it! so cute…I saw that nursery set with the elephants at Target. I was in love…but unfortunatly the hub wants to wait a while before we have our first.
Great way to hide storage as well! Super cute!
What a great idea. I’ve been having a difficult time finding a bedskirt to fit our odd-height guest bed. I may take some inspiration from you two and make up a pretty custom skirt myself. Thanks for the idea!
Wow! I will definitely be doing this for our crib! I hated the idea of having that blank space under the crib – but I was NOT looking forward to sewing anything. This is an awesome solution.
I actually just posted a few photos of our daughter’s nursery on my blog the other day! :) I’m in love with it. It’s green and pink with birdies – check it out!
Thank you so much for posting this!!! I have pieced together my little one’s room and LOVE this idea. I have drawers below her crib but she is constantly opening them and pulling everything out and I find her in her room with all the contents on the floor and her in the middle (okay, yes sooooo cute BUT it gets old when you are trying to fly out the door and leaving a huge mess for later). This way she will hopefully FORGET that there are drawers under there :) Thanks for the video, super helpful!
Where did you find the fabric? Online or in a fabric store? Thanks!
Hey Christina,
We snagged the fabric at a local store (Williams & Sherrill) but I’m sure you can find something similar at a chain like Joanne or Hancock Fabrics. There are also tons of online fabric stores (just google for “blue geometric fabric” and see what you get). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I have that shirt, Sherry!! You look good in orange!
I had a blast doing my sister’s nursery (which you guys so graciously featured) so I know the giddyness you’re talking about! I can’t wait to see the final reveal and all the modern baby boy details!
This is fabulous. I’ve been reading your blog for a while now as it’s given me that extra push to transform my apartment from somewhere I’m just living temporarily to an actual home. I’ve pulled so many ideas from YoungHouseLove, and this may be another one I borrow. I’ve just been asked by friends to help design their baby-boy-on-the-way’s nursery in a comic book theme. My first “commission” if you will, outside of my own home, and so many ideas rattling around in my head! Being in ND (miles away from anything) and frugally minded this is just another way to add a custom touch to that room with the fabrics we’ll be using for all the other bedding. Thanks so much and keep it coming =)
Wow guys, thank you so much for the video! I have always wondered if the iron on stuff really worked and how easy it would be. After seeing this, I know I could actually attempt it :) Your finished product looks absolutely awesome and I can’t wait to see the rest of the nursery makeover!!!
Thank so much for posting this! I hated the crib skirt that Pottery Barn had with my bedding and had decided not to use one at all. Now I can pick a fun pattern and make it myself! And the velcro to shorten when the bed drops? Genius, since all the other crib skirts I’ve seen just bunch up on the floor.
What a great project. I am not a seamstress and never ever will be, so anything that can be put together with anything other than a needle and thread (or a dreaded bobbin) appeals to me greatly.
You guys rock.
Love, love, love the way it came out. Great job guys!
I made a bedskirt for my guest room the same way a few years ago. I love iron on hemming tape – it doesn’t get any easier! I didn’t hear it mentioned but make sure you wash the fabric first since some fabric tends to shrink and you’d hate to perfectly measure everything only to have it shrink up on you. :)
Greeeeaat tip Heather! That’s definitely something we forgot to mention and it’s always a good idea!
xo,
s
Hey Guys!
I’ve got a bun in the oven! Love it that you’re working on this nursery that lines up with my timeline. I love this idea for the bedskirt. Those bedding items are pretty pricey!
Hi there
I’m a few weeks pregnant and come to your site every day for inspiration. We’ll only begin with the nursery when we’re a little further along but in the meantime, I’m enjoying your tidbits of information a lot!!
Oh man, I just finished my son’s nursery and would LOVE to be able to use the space under his crib. Thanks for sharing!
Great idea! You guys are so creative :)
I just love the fabric! I hope I remember this idea when I have children!
Really cute project! Didn’t know about the bondable tape!
We are currently doing a little makeover on a budget with our quads room. Which after we get 4 cribs in one room it’s bound to look like a Russian orphanage, but it will look better, nonetheless. Here’s a link to our project:
http://murraycrew.blogspot.com/2009/08/you-inspiration.html
and here:
http://murraycrew.blogspot.com/2009/08/5-minutes.html
I’m new to your blog, as someone alerted it to me in the comment section of the above post. Thanks for all the great ideas and fabulous decorating advice!
Blessings!
Aw – that baby bedding is too cute! Great choice for a little boy’s room. Looking forward to seeing how the whole thing turns out!
Cute! I actually just got home from buying fabric and ric rac to make my cribskirt…I plan on sewing it, but it’s still going to be very easy (3 separate panels that are tied to the spring system) and was very cheap ($17 for the fabric and ric rac since I had a 40% off coupon). I’m just now getting ready to put the nursery together, so I’ll send before and after pictures once it’s done and any DIY projects we’ve done in there. Can’t wait to see the nursery when you’re done with it!
Hey Sherry,
Just wanted to post a link to a pillow I saw on sale. It reminded me of your nursery project. Not sure if you’ll be needed throw pillows, but just in case:
http://www.cb2.com/family.aspx?c=1010&f=5070
Love your site! :)
take care,
Christen L
Hey Christen,
Thanks for the pillow link! We’re actually whipping up a chair cushion with extra fabric from our bed skirt (we’re using the reverse of the fabric so it’s light blue instead of navy for fun) so I’m afraid we’re already covered in the pillow department. But it’s always good to know about sale pillows for the mood boards I’m working on! Thanks again!
xo,
s
We’re expecting our first, a boy, in November. I have had a lot of fun getting our son’s room ready. We’ve saved money here and there by using pre-existing furniture and doing some research on baby products. We kept some low bookcases in the room, one of which is be repurposed as a changing table, that can go back to bookcase once the baby is older. The crib was a cheap, but safe, option from Target, and we found an awesome rocking chair and ottoman at Ikea, along with some curtains that we could custom-length with hem tape. We wanted to be as environmentally-friendly as possible, especially with a little one, and Wal-Mart sells a very inexpensive organic Serta mattress (at $120, that’s only $20 more than a regular crib mattress). For our tree mural, we’re using sample no-VOC paint from Lowe’s. We may not have gone as thrifty as you guys, but we feel pretty good about everything. Our little man will have a very comfy-cozy room waiting for him when he arrives.
J&S – you did it again. Very cute and INFORMATIVE vid. Great job! And I am with you Sherry, I would never record with a hot iron on. I’d burn myself to a crisp. Somehow. I am sure. :D
Great Post. You guys are very clever! I totally need more storage space, i didn’t realise how quickly babies grow out of clothes. Everyone tells you but you just dont get it till you see for yourself.
Thank you so much! I cannot believe I didn’t think of that! I have been looking for a plain brown crib skirt for a month (no one makes one that is under $90…insane) and now I can make one. I am no good with a sewing machine…but tape, an iron and velcro I can handle. You are wonderful!
I’m contemplating a bed skirt for our ‘new to us’ bed we just got. We painted it black with help from your tutorial (TY for that!!) and this would be the perfect way to attach a bed skirt that would drop down behind our side rails and foot board. I just love our new bed and your online tutorial and all the answers in the comments really helped us achieve the look we wanted. It was our first furniture painting project and I now want to makeover everything in the house! LOL
Thanks for the post! I need a skirt for my crib and since they are tons of money and I can’t find one I like, this is a great and easy solution!
here’s some pictures of our lovely striped nursery! we always get compliments on it and our little girl just LOVES it….no need for a mobile…she is so captivated by her walls!
http://www.aaronquirk.net/photos/album/?album=2008%3ENursery%20Pics&page=1
I can’t wait to see the finished product on this! And to find out what we are having so we can enlist your help!
Get out! What a great idea! I was just trying to figure out how I could mask my busy art station with some fabric. I was thinking I’d have to sew some curtains and buy tension rods. A particularly daunting task since I don’t know how to sew. Now I wonder if this technique might work just as well….
Completely unfair…you get to be totally adorable AND talented? What kind of world is this? ;) Just kidding, it’s fair, since all of us get to benefit from it! I am so excited to use this technique to make my twin girls’ fancy bedskirts! And I bet I can do it for under $40 total…we’ll see!
Fantastic tutorial! I cannot wait to get started on this! I have been having a hard time finding a decent (and not expensive) bed skirt for my son’s nursery!
I’m totally going to be using this in my nursery!!! What I didn’t catch, is whether you put the panels together as you did in your shorter crib skirt. Did you just hem the sides and not attach them on this one? We definitely need the longer skirt since we have no drawer at the bottom of our crib.
Thanks for inspiring me to do my own nursery and to avoid the “nursery in a bag”.
Yup, exactly! We didn’t connect the sides of the panels in this case so they more easily could be flipped up to slide things under the crib (it’s a less fitted effect). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hi! I am about to make my crib skirt and looking for easy instructions and found your site! Love all the things that you all have done! I just have one question. What did you do at the corners where the bracket connects to the mattress frame?
Thank you so much!!!
We left each corner loose so it could be flipped up to accommodate storage under the crib, so all we did was make different rectangular panels for each side and used velcro to secure them to the frame below the mattress. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Awesome! I had tried to make a crib skirt for my gransdon sometime ago. Due to medical issues, I was not able to finish it. This is MUCH simpler! I am confident I can tackle this one & make one for my soon to be born granddaughter!
I’m about to embark on my own version of your crib skirt and was wondering if you could explain a bit more about how to adapt the skirt once you lower the mattress. You said in the video that you added extra velcro lower but I don’t understand how it’s still the same length (you said it’d still hit the floor at the same perfect length?) if the mattress comes down. I’m sure it’s a simple solution but I want to make sure I get this right! I’d be forever indebted, if you guys had a chance amidst your big move to give me some pointers! Thanks!
Hey Kara,
By applying the velcro about halfway down the back of the skirt, the rest of it could be tucked under the mattress in the lowered position so it still skims the floor. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
This is fabulous. After a million hours online and at stores searching for something different I now can just head to the fabric store and conquer the bed skirt myself!
Hey guys!
I know I’m a little late commenting, but I would love to use this idea for a gift for new parents or curtains for me and my new hubby! But, question! If the fabric I choose doesn’t have a geometric pattern to follow so that I know the iron-on tape will make a straight hem, what is the best/easiest way to assure that my hem won’t come out looking like an ocean wave?? Love, love, LOVE your blog! Can’t wait to see all the new house decor pics!! :)
Maybe use a yardstick or a tape measure to get a straight line and pin it or use painters tape to hold it down in a straight line so you can iron the hem tape on straight? The ring clips are a bit forgiving so hopefully it’ll turn out great!
xo,
s
LOVE IT!!!! I’ve been searching and searching for affordable options for a super-cute nursery. We’re expecting twins in June so we’ll have to buy 2 sets of bedding and the bedding we like is, of course, very spendy. This is a wonderful option to make the nursery look richer and warmer with more coordinating fabrics in a DIY way! I will totally do this. Thanks!
PS- I love your blog, but this is my first time commenting. Thanks for all of your adorable ideas and advice! :)