The Toddler Bed {with a tutorial}

Once upon a time, a little birdie {a.k.a my mother} told us to make sure we gave Hannah ample time to get used to her "big girl bed" before the baby arrived and we kicked her out of her crib.

I had an image flash before my mind of a newborn baby swaddled in my arms at 3:00 am, crying for a feeding, with Hannah pulling on my legs and screaming at the top of her lungs because she can't sleep without her crib.

Needless to say, I was all about jumping on the "big girl bed" train before having to balance two children. :)

We settled on a bed frame that didn't look like it was going to fall apart, nor did it look like something you'd find at the McDonald's Play Place.

We were off to a good start!

It was fairly easy to set up despite Hannah trying to step on the slats every 4.6 seconds {of course, my job consisted of holding the wood steady while the Hubs did all the work}, and Hannah LOVED the fact that she could climb in and out of it by herself.

She kept climbing up, laying on her tummy and saying "Awwww" {which translated, means: "I love this!"}.

. . .

Now, with two nights under our belt, we can safely say that she sleeps quite well at night. . . but I'm afraid naps are a thing of the past. During her allotted nap time, she can usually be found singing/talking to herself, sliding the closet doors open and closed at speeds only designed for military aircraft, and stacking her toys on the windowsill much to the chagrin of the blinds.

It's pretty much awesome.

Oh, wait. No. Just kidding.

However, what IS awesome is that I was able to make her a custom-ish comforter for only $22 {which conveniently included a little pillow and wall decals}.

I didn't know exactly what I was looking for in her bedspread pattern, but I knew I didn't want any Disney princesses. That, unfortunately, seems to be all that's available for toddler beds in 90% of the stores. . . If you manage to find anything at all.

So I did a little digging and found THIS tutorial over at "The Sewing Rabbit" on how to turn any twin-size comforter into 2 toddler bed comforters.

Sold.

{Side note: The tutorial I used is actually not the first one you see on the page when you click the link above. The direct link to the twin-sized comforter tutorial is about halfway between the 2nd and 3rd picture.}

Since she doesn't share any actual pictures, I thought I'd share with you my little sewing experience. First of all, if you find a comforter with stripes, be aware that your stripes will run vertically on your toddler bed instead of horizontally like on a twin bed. Make sense? Hopefully. I decided it was still going to be pretty cute and I wasn't going to let my OCD get the better of this project.

Step 1 is to find the center of your comforter and mark it {with pencil or pins}. Fold it "hamburger style" {if you're in 3rd grade and remember that reference}. I cheated and used one of my stripes as my marker and it worked marvelously.

Step 2 is to sew down either side of your center line, like so:



My center was at the very end of the brown fabric, so I used a 1/2" seam allowance and therefore had my needle clear to the right. I followed the pink line the entire way.

The tutorial mentions HAND SEWING this part, but I knew that I would die before finishing this project by hand. I also knew my manliest needle would handle the thin batting just fine, so I used my sewing machine. Use your best judgement and don't send me hate mail if you break your needle or become overwhelmed with fabric. . . because it will look like this as you sew:



. . . And it's easy to get lost in the madness. Speaking of the massive amount of fabric you'll be working with, you may have to put your hands on either side of your presser foot to help push the fabric along. Just so's you know.

After you have a seam running on the right side of your center line, it's time to make a seam on the left side. Line up your presser foot with your first sewn line and move your needle to the far left. Sew away.



After you have two sewn lines running on both sides of your center, it's time to cut on your center line, like so:



Next, line up some bias tape on the raw edge and sew away. {You can click HERE for help sewing on bias tape}

I had a hard time staying really close to the edge of the bias due to the fluffiness of the comforter, so I ended up having two sewn lines. . . just to make sure it wasn't going to come off. :)

This picture is showing you the front and back of the fabric with the finished bias tape edge:




It's far from perfect, but I still consider it well worth the money spent. Made with love, I like to say. :)

Here's the finished product in action:





{the tutorial for the doll on her bed can be found HERE}

So, my friends, go find yourself a cheap twin comforter {check Ross or BigLots! or places like that} and make your very own toddler comforter. Because it's super easy. Don't be afraid.

. . .

{If you are smitten with this little fella and you're in my general neighborhood, I'd be more than happy to sell my other half to you for $5 buckeroos!}