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| Twin Ruffle Duvet = COMPLETE |
I'm sure you've all seen the ruffle duvet on the Urban Outfitters website. I saw this duvet some time ago and I oooh'd and aaaahh'd over it. Although, I having a duvet like this on my queen bed wouldn't be the best since it probably isn't quite my husband's style. So, I thought this would be lovely for my toddler's twin...that was until I started to read the customer reviews on the quality of UO's duvet. Sorry Urban Outfitters but the reviews on this duvet didn't sound too appealing, especially at the listed price. I just couldn't see myself spending $150 on a duvet cover for a toddler. Especially after viewing the customer photos showing the quality really wasn't all that great. On top of that, the chances that my daughter would do something to it (mark on it or something) are pretty high.
If you remember in one of my previous posts I made plans to actually make this myself. I needed this duvet to be washable because like I said, it would be for my toddler and will have to be washed on a regular basis. Having a toddler and a baby makes it somewhat of a challenge to complete any type of DIY project. So I told myself to start and not to give myself a hard time line to stick to. After working on my daughter's Ruffle Duvet Cover for what seemed like forever, I have finally finished! Whew... and it only took me 2 months to do it. What can I say. With my baby and toddler, I usually had about 45 minutes at a time to spend working on it. I figured I'd eventually finish... and I did. :) Anyhow, now I'd like to share with you how I made my twin size ruffle duvet cover. I titled this posting "Urban Outfitters Inspired Waterfall Ruffle Duvet Cover" simply because it was my inspiration. I mean, look at it... it's so feminine. I thought it would be perfect for my little girl's room. Anyhow, here's what I did...
Off to the thrift store!...I found some white sheets at a local thrift store. I bought 4 in different sizes because I didn't know what I would need and they were only $2.99 a piece. Next, I washed my newly purchased sheets on the Sanitary cylce in my washer on the extra soiled setting with bleach and detergent (I have a front loading fairly new washer). This cyle washed those sheets with super heated water for about 2 hours. I know some people may have an issue with going this route in buying sheets but I was able to score some high quality thick cotton sheets that would cost quite a bit to purchase from a dept. store.
Now, time to gather my supplies:
1. Fiskars Rotary Cutting Set (Purchased on sale at 40% off) This set included:
a. Fiskars cutting mat (I used an 18"x24" mat)
b. Fiskars Rotary cutter (I used a 45mm cutter)
c. Acrylic ruler (I used 6"x24")
2. White heavy duty thread... for this project I used about 6 spools
3. Sewing machine with plenty of pre-wound bobbins...or at least prepare your mind to wind up plenty of bobbins. I lost count on how many I used.
4. Area where you can lay all that fabric while sewing.
5. The sheets of course (I used 4... 2 of which were king size)
6. LOTS of pins
7. A little patience, especially if you have little ones.
Next I needed to figure out how long I wanted my ruffles to be. *Please note that none of my measurements were exact. I was thinking something around 6" would look great. Luckily my ruler was a good width. The ruler says 6" but that's the line measurements on the ruler. The ruler itself is a little bit wider than 6" which was okay with me because I could use the width of my ruler as a guide. diydesign has some fantastic instructions on how she created her throws.
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| My Inspiration |
Her page actually gave me the fuel I needed to do this duvet. She sells throws as well via her etsy page if you're interested. This project does take quite a bit of everything so buying one of her hand made items may be the way to go if you don't have the time to do this yourself. Go check her out. Anyhow, let me get back on topic...I had to iron my sheets before I could cut them because they were too wrinkled to lay flat for cutting.
This was a laborious task as you could imagine. The sheet I cut was a king size. Holding it upright, I folded it. Imagine holding the upper corners and then folding them together until they meet. I did this again and then folded my sheet to where the top and the bottom met. NOW I layed my sheet down for cutting (open ends first... leave the folder section for the end).
You do not have to do this if you have a large cutting mat. I did this because my mat is only an 18"x24" mat. Although, doing this did make my cutting go by pretty fast. My cutter was pretty sharp and was able to cut through the fabric with ease. I lined my ruler up with the edges and rolled my cutter away from my body cutting my strips. I cut up the entire sheet. I then repeated the above with a queen size sheet. I only cut up part of the sheet.
Next, I started hemming both unfinished sides with a very narrow hem. I did not pin and sew, I merely folded and stitched. I'd still be working on that duvet if I pinned my hems before sewing. I wasn't looking to have perfect hems, just hems.
After I finished my hems, it was time to start the ruffle process. I set my machine on the widest straight stitch and stitched across the top of each piece; grab a loose thread from the end and gather your fabric along this thread. Basically, you're just sliding your fabric down the thread while holding the thread which creates a gathered effect across the top. I didn't gather mine too tightly, I needed to make sure each piece would be wide enough. The gathering isn't permanent though so it can be adjusted as needed. I saw on another blog a lady skipped this stepped and gathered the fabric as she stitched. I think doing the work beforehand is easier. Gathering as you sew can be quite a task and possibly disastrous. I'm just saying, I tried it on a couple pieces and it did not look as good.
After the ruffles have been created, it's time to begin attaching them. I started from the bottom of my sheet; which was a full size sheet (I think) cut slightly larger than the size of my insert (which I purchased from Ikea on sale), allowing for about 1/2" seam allowance on all sides. Here's a couple of close up photos of my ruffles attached...
You see the slight gathering? Not too much, just a little. I did not take my ruffle all the way to the edge due to fear of sewing them down when stitching my seams together at the end. Attaching the ruffles is the time consuming part. When I first started, I pinned down about 4 ruffles and then sewed them down. With 2 little ones this wasn't a great idea, because I had to stop to tend to them a lot and I didn't want to leave this thing with pins in it... I have a busy toddler. So, I pinned one at a time and then sewed. I made sure the bottom of the next ruffle covered the top of the previously sewn ruffle. I eyeballed this for every ruffle. I'd say, the coverage was about an inch or so overlap.
Here's what one evening of sewing produced...
Here's what one evening of sewing produced...
Didn't seem like much since I had about 22 or so more ruffles to go. Here's more progress...
These pictures are from separate sewing sessions. It took some time to pin them in the place where I needed. I used my queen size bed to lay out my duvet since I lack a "craft room" that has a lovely crafting table in it. My bed worked out just fine as a work space. I used the lines of my bed and the base sheet's borders to keep my rows straight. They're not perfectly straight by any means but I was loving it as I sewed each additional ruffle. I ended up sewing my front and back together on the wrong sides. Not wrong as in not right, but wrong as in the inside facing each other. I utilized the hemmed edges of the sheets as much as I could. I know you're probably saying why didn't I just use 2 twin size sheets to sew my duvet. I tried that and they weren't big enough for my twin size insert.
My last ruffle ended at the top. The sheets that I found had a small ruffle like effect at the top which is where I hid the top of my last ruffle. If you don't have this then you can just finish it by sewing a solid piece over the top, covering the top of your ruffle (I hope that makes sense. If not shoot me a message).
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| Top of my duvet |
To finish my duvet's opening, I did an overlap (like on pillow shams) towards the bottom. After forever and a day had past, I finally finished...and I LOVE it and so does my soon to be 3 year old. She said, "mommy I love it, it's beautiful." That's when I patted myself on the back and said "good job mommy" to myself. lol
I'm debating on taking out the insert and ironing this thing. It's a collossal job though right? Yea. I ironed everything in the beginning but after several sessions of putting it down in a random spot in my bedroom it got wrinkled. I can tell you one thing that I must share... it's tough sewing with so much fabric. I had to drape it over a chair as I sewed on each ruffle. It wasn't easy because as I added more ruffles the heavier it got. It was toughest when sewing the middle ruffles because I had to deal with so much fabric in that small space between my needle and the body of my machine. But, I made it through! lol It is soooooo soft and comfortable. I took a nap last Saturday in my daughter's bed. I mean her mattress is wonderful but that duvet cover made my nap heavenly on a Saturday afternoon with her ceiling fan going. Now, I need to work on the accessories... sham, pillow case, different sheets, decorative pillows... you get the picture. Here's some more photos...
I absolutely love it.... what do you think???? I think it looks better than the one Urban Outfitters sells. I'm just saying. Maybe I'm a little biased. LOL
So awesome! Love it on a daybed too...it's the perfect size!
ReplyDeleteLove this!! My 6 yr old daughter needs an update in her room and I think this is a great fit!! Thank you for the detailed information!! We will be heading out to pick out some sheets :-)
ReplyDeleteWould you be willing to make one of these on order?! I love yours but even with your very detailed (and great im sure) instructions I would never be able to figure this out. I would love to have you make one for me...
ReplyDeleteAs much as I enjoyed making this and would love to make another I know it would take me entirely too long to complete. Simply because I'm a full time working mommy and my 2 little ones (9 mo & 3 yr old) take up a LOT of my time. I can tell you that the lady (from my inspiration pic) makes and sells them. Please check out her pages:
Deletehttp://do-it-yourselfdesign.blogspot.com/2011/11/diy-ruffled-throw.html
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http://www.etsy.com/shop/metzinteriors
Nina, just gorgeous - well done you for following that through and getting such a great result. It's the kind of thing that should now be a family heirloom !
ReplyDeletelovely :)
wonderful explanation. I love sewing and learnt a lot from net itself but still keep exploring to get more and more ideas :) . I am using Velcro for duvet cover enclosure.
ReplyDeleteI am making and selling ruffle beddings & Curtains on my etsy store if you love to buy them :) Presently selling in white color only but definitely add more colors in coming time.
Please visit my etsy store - DecorWithShams
https://www.etsy.com/shop/DecorWithShams