Holy Sheet, what a crazy week it's been.
School holidays are O.V.E.R. but I use the term 'holiday' oh so very loosely (but that is a post for another day).
It's business as usual except that I must out of practice or something because I am forever sprinting against the clock and still managing to be running late for every damned thing.
Seeing as I find myself project managing a bathroom renovation in between school runs, with 'Tradies'* endlessly marching through the house being crotched* by The Orange Dog, I thought this week's craftiness better be quick, painless and useful.
Seeing as I find myself project managing a bathroom renovation in between school runs, with 'Tradies'* endlessly marching through the house being crotched* by The Orange Dog, I thought this week's craftiness better be quick, painless and useful.
We started out on this parenting journey sparing no expense and did the whole Stokke® Sleepi™-bassinet-cot-junior bed thing. But
that got a bit tired five years on and a big oval bed, getting bigger again, was no longer
practical (or cute) in the space. Besides the making of many oval fitted sheets was
also getting a tad tedious.
My long love affair with IKEA is no secret and I really do like their beds, but IKEA have their own special sizes for pretty much everything which causes problems - for me at least.
We ended up with IKEA's Gulliver Bed part of the attraction being the wonderful range of good quality budget priced bed linen.
So why do I find myself again, making custom sheets? Because I hate-hate-vomit-loathe the only fitted sheet they stock for kid's beds? They're made of stretchy, sweaty, lumpy flannel with elastic that's too loose to hold it in place, that's why.
And IKEA have this terrible tease set up in the children's department with displays of cute-as, (100% cotton - washer and dryer proof) by-the-meter fabrics you can sew up yourself if you're inclined to. After trying one of their horrid fitted flannel sheets, my inclination was thoroughly confirmed.
So down to business - grounded as I've been with a house full of stinks, dust sheets and work boots wearing out the carpet, I locked myself away for a couple of hours and finally cut up some of this cute-as IKEA cotton.
The HOW TO bit:
(and time for sew-phobics to tune out..or not if you're just curious as to how hard this stuff is - so not, actually)
I laid the mattress on the floor and draped the fabric over it.
You need to wriggle it around a bit to make sure you have the same amount of excess on all sides.
You'll need the excess to be three times that of the mattress thickness, so that including your elastic casing you'll have enough to tuck under the mattress and then some.
If you have it even all round you can then pin it into kind of hospital corners and then cut the corners out.
Then sew the raw edges of these corners together. (all edges A to edges B).
At this point you should have something roughly the shape of an enormous shoe-box.
Roll under the raw edge all round the sheet and sew or zig-zag to neaten it up and stop it fraying in the wash.
After that's done take some mid-stretch elastic and measure approximately twice the length of your mattress.
Place the elastic on the edge of your sheet and sew a rolled hem/ casing over it - being careful not to catch the elastic in the stitches. Keep pulling the elastic through as you sew the casing and work your way to the end.
Tip - since all elastics vary in their stretch, I leave a tiny opening at the end so I can pull the elastic trough and tighten it if necessary.
And here you have my finished product - I even whipped up a quick envelope pillow case...
I wish I could tell you which fabric this one is, but I bought it a while back and it seems to be discontinued now. Such a pity because it's so colourful and still looks great with our Block-Out Circus Tent.
Well that's it for this week's crafty stuff - stay tuned for the next imperfect parenting post. Meanwhile if you're looking for a crafty project you can share with a small person try these:
LOST IN TRANSLATION:
Again for my offshore readers:
*Tradies - Australian slang for those men in steel capped boots, with dusty tool belts, often flashing butt-crack, while making themselves useful but traipsing dirt through the house ( plumbers carpenters and the like).
*Crotched - my term for when the dog jabs people in their nether regions with his golf-ball sized wet nose. This can be done with excellent timing on a deserving victim High Noon style but mostly it's something I feel a need to apologise for.
My long love affair with IKEA is no secret and I really do like their beds, but IKEA have their own special sizes for pretty much everything which causes problems - for me at least.
We ended up with IKEA's Gulliver Bed part of the attraction being the wonderful range of good quality budget priced bed linen.
So why do I find myself again, making custom sheets? Because I hate-hate-vomit-loathe the only fitted sheet they stock for kid's beds? They're made of stretchy, sweaty, lumpy flannel with elastic that's too loose to hold it in place, that's why.
And IKEA have this terrible tease set up in the children's department with displays of cute-as, (100% cotton - washer and dryer proof) by-the-meter fabrics you can sew up yourself if you're inclined to. After trying one of their horrid fitted flannel sheets, my inclination was thoroughly confirmed.
So down to business - grounded as I've been with a house full of stinks, dust sheets and work boots wearing out the carpet, I locked myself away for a couple of hours and finally cut up some of this cute-as IKEA cotton.
The HOW TO bit:
(and time for sew-phobics to tune out..or not if you're just curious as to how hard this stuff is - so not, actually)
I laid the mattress on the floor and draped the fabric over it.
You need to wriggle it around a bit to make sure you have the same amount of excess on all sides.
You'll need the excess to be three times that of the mattress thickness, so that including your elastic casing you'll have enough to tuck under the mattress and then some.
If you have it even all round you can then pin it into kind of hospital corners and then cut the corners out.
At this point you should have something roughly the shape of an enormous shoe-box.
Roll under the raw edge all round the sheet and sew or zig-zag to neaten it up and stop it fraying in the wash.
After that's done take some mid-stretch elastic and measure approximately twice the length of your mattress.
Place the elastic on the edge of your sheet and sew a rolled hem/ casing over it - being careful not to catch the elastic in the stitches. Keep pulling the elastic through as you sew the casing and work your way to the end.
Tip - since all elastics vary in their stretch, I leave a tiny opening at the end so I can pull the elastic trough and tighten it if necessary.
And here you have my finished product - I even whipped up a quick envelope pillow case...
Well that's it for this week's crafty stuff - stay tuned for the next imperfect parenting post. Meanwhile if you're looking for a crafty project you can share with a small person try these:
 | |
| Can't see the orchard for the toilet rolls.. |
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| The party hats of death.. |
LOST IN TRANSLATION:
Again for my offshore readers:
*Tradies - Australian slang for those men in steel capped boots, with dusty tool belts, often flashing butt-crack, while making themselves useful but traipsing dirt through the house ( plumbers carpenters and the like).
*Crotched - my term for when the dog jabs people in their nether regions with his golf-ball sized wet nose. This can be done with excellent timing on a deserving victim High Noon style but mostly it's something I feel a need to apologise for.
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