Velcro Burlap Bed skirt

I am continuing to work on my master bedroom makeover.

I found an entertainment armoire to hide our tv in for $40.oo! It needs a little work and a fresh coat of paint, but I think it will look great when I am finished. :)

A little progress has been made on my bedding. This part can be stressful. I am trying to come up with the colors that I want in my bedroom. I was leaning toward my favorite colors…tan, black, white, and red. But lately, I’ve been wanting to add a little bit of light blue instead of red to my palette.

I went to some fabric stores and found a fabric that I loved. It had some blues and browns in it, and I might make some pillows with it. Not sure.

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But I did decide what material to use for my bed skirt.

Brown burlap.

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Ya’ll know that I love burlap. And when I was looking at my inspiration fabric, I could picture it with a brown bed skirt. I remembered that Hobby Lobby had some brown burlap on sale for $1.99 a yard. How can you beat that?

I bought four yards of it and brought it home. I tucked it under my mattress to get an idea of what it would look like and I loved it!

So here is what I did to make it.

The burlap comes in a 45 inch width, so I unfolded the material and cut it in half. I will be able to make skirts for two sides of my bed with this.

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Using one half of the material, I decided to make my hem on the outer un-cut edge by first ironing the edge over about a half inch.

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Then I folded it over again about an inch and pressed it again

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Next I sewed a straight stitch down the hem.

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Now I have to explain this great idea I had for making a bed skirt.

I wanted to make a skirt that I could just velcro onto my box springs. I have made bed skirts before that are like the kind you buy in the store. The ones that have the material all the way across the box springs that the skirt is attached to.

It was always really hard for me to get the bed skirt to fit “just right”. One side was usually too long, and I would have to use safety pins to keep the skirt in place. Even bed skirts you purchase in stores can drive you nuts. They are always moving around when you put your fitted sheet on, or they will end up sliding over and drooping on one side. I can’t stand that.

So to keep my bed skirt in place, I decided to velcro it to my box springs. I didn’t come up with this idea on my own. My mom was a professional seamstress, and she had told me about this idea. She hadn’t tried it herself, but she said she had seen other professionals do it.

I have always wanted to try it, and my bedroom makeover was the perfect place.

So I bought some industrial strength velcro from Walmart for twenty dollars. I didn’t like paying that much, but it was a lot cheaper than the velcro I almost bought at JoAnn’s Fabrics. It would have been over 40 dollars there!

I got it because it was two inches wide, and I thought that it would make the bed skirt more durable. (You may be able to find it somewhere else for less.)

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Unfortunately, I didn’t notice that it had a “sticky” back to it. (I know…it says it right on the box! Duh.) The stickiness actually became a huge pain when I was sewing the material to it.

Now you might think I am crazy, but I hot glued the velcro to my box springs. I wanted to make sure it wasn’t going anywhere. :)

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The velcro strip looked something like this when I was done. (I have pushed my mattress back to take this picture.)

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The edge of the velcro was 17 inches from the ground so I decided to make the skirt 18 inches long.

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The next steps are not easy to describe in a post, but I will try.

The total length of my material from top to bottom was about 22 inches long (after I had already hemmed the bottom). I wanted the skirt to be a finished length of 20 inches…18 inches for the part of the skirt you would see, and 2 inches to sew onto the velcro strip
and tuck under the mattress.

I also created a one inch hem on each side of the skirt.

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The next part made me almost lose my sanity!!!

I was going to show you an easy way to pin the material to the velcro strip, but there was no EASY to it! The material kept sticking to the strip when I didn’t want it to. (I’m not going to go into detail of how I literally wrestled that strip of sticky velcro…it’s just too painful to re-live.)

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I finally decided to use the “stinky” to my advantage.

I just folded the material over every couple of inches and pressed it to the “sticky”.

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It still wasn’t holding together very well, so I ran to my sewing machine and began sewing.

I sewed a straight stitch on the top and bottom of the two inch velcro strip and attached it to the box springs.

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Though I wasn’t sure it was all going to come together…

it turned out exactly as I had hoped.

(I still need to iron it in a few spots.)

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I ADORE the look of burlap.

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I only have pictures of the left side of my bed because I haven’t done the other sides yet. :)

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I used a little less than four yards for this side of the bed. I had to cut off about 6 inches of one end because there was a bad place in the burlap. Sometimes that happens.

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The other half of this material will be used for the skirt at the end of the bed. I will need to get 4 more yards to do the right side of the bed and will have material left over for pillows if I need it. ;) I will have 8 total yards in the whole bed skirt which will cost me $16.00. So the whole skirt ended up costing me $36.00. I think that’s pretty good! (I already had the other supplies like thread and glue sticks.)

I am hoping to finish the skirt tomorrow, and start painting the armoire.

Update:  Here is a picture of my bedskirt in my completed bedroom makeover.

 

If you have any questions about my bed skirt, please feel free to ask. It’s usually best to email me at

beneathmyheart4(at)gmail(dot)com

And don’t forget about my first linky party! You ALL are invited!

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You can read about the details by clicking on the button.

If you would like to help me spread the word about my party, you can add my button to your sidebar or in a post. (You’ll be my BFF in you do!) :)

 

Beneath My Heart

I am linking this post to a few parties this week:
Visit thecsiproject.com

Make it for Monday at Cottage Instincts

DIY day at A Soft Place to Land

Show and Share at Just a Girl

 

Blessings!

Traci

 

I will be announcing the winner of the $50 dollar gift certificate to Leen the Graphic Queen Monday afternoon!

56 Comments

  1. Hi Traci! I think that looks fantastic! You are SO brave!!! I love the look of the burlap, and I haven't used the brown before, it hangs so beautifully! Great job! I'm working on getting a post together for your party!
    Michelle

  2. Sorry it was so hard to make, but it sure looks fabulous. I love burlap and can't see myself getting tired of it anytime soon. It just seems to mesh well with my personality. Make sense?

  3. Traci, this is great!
    I luv the bed ruffle with your covering. Very pretty.
    I'm going browns in my bedroom when I get that far. I have the brown drapery material and have given it alot of thought…have a long ways to go.
    Like the idea of a brown bed ruffle with off white covering.
    God bless and thank you for sharing this post,
    d from homehaven

  4. I really love it! I have gotten so much needed inspiration from you and your blog. I need to make a new bed skirt too. So this is a great idea.
    How did you gather the burlap? It looks ruffled or maybe just pletted every inch or so.

  5. Love it!! My first year of teaching, I had a band room with a sink and I had a skirt made to cover the yucky pipes- I used the sticky velcro to attach it and it made things look much neater.

  6. Traci, that is divine!!! I love it. How clever to even think of burlap and what a gorgeous colour at such a bargain price:) It looks beautiful:) Wishing you a wonderful week ~ Tina x

  7. This looks wonderful, Traci! I've only made bedskirts the other way, and you're right: they never stay on just right. It drives me crazy, too. Looks like you've solved that problem. Good for you!! :)

  8. Hi Traci,
    Looks like your hard work paid off. It looks good.
    I'm with you on the store bought ones, no matter how much you pay for one, they still do not fit right. I finally ended up taking mine off.
    Now I think I'll make one using your method, that is, if I have the patience.

    hugs
    Sissie

  9. Traci,
    I am just about squealing with delight. I have wanted a bed skirt for.ev.er. I have a very sexy robins egg blue boxspring. What has been holding me back is that my King size mattress is so heavy there is no way to get one on looking even remotely nice. NOW I CAN. Thanks so much for your taking tome to be an inspiration to others.
    As a side ? I am curious how many needles you went through sewing sticky velcro. I did it once and had to throw out a couple needles. LOL

  10. Morning Traci!
    Love the look of the burlap bedkskirt. Loved the idea of using the velcro for it. Sorry to hear you had to wrestle with it. That can be frustrating…but you perservered and the skirting looks fabulous. Thanks for taking the time to show the step-by-step how to's.

  11. that looks wonderful! I hated sewing with burlap…apparently my skin (arms and such) does not like burlap as I break out, but I made curtains from burlap in my old house and loved the look, but I will NEVER sew with burlap again. Great job!!! I'm so excited to see the rest of the makeover!

  12. it looks gorgeous! no one fully appreciates all of the math & engineering that goes into something so beautiful!

    (we have a cream cotton bedskirt. my hubby sits on the bed & kicks against the bedskirt to remove his shoes, that he's not even supposed to be wearing in the house. guess whose bedskirt has scuff marks? i need the burlap.)

  13. Hello sweet Traci,

    First I just want to thank you for the nice comment you left me a while back that your Mama enjoyed visiting my blog. I have met some very wonderful friends – she is a cherished one.

    I love your burlap bed skirt! You've inspired me to want one for my bed. I have one that came with my bedding but I wasn't crazy about it. So I'm going to try making my own! Thank you for the great tutorial.

    Blessings,
    Marie
    http://emmacallsmemama.com

  14. I'm dying over this! I have had burlap bedskirt on my to-do list for weeks and I went to Walmart yesterday and they were out of burlap! I knew in my head what I wanted but I really wasn't sure how I was going to execute my plan. (I was thinking of just hot gluing the skirt to the wood part.) The velcro is genious! Thank you so much for your post, now I have an exact plan! I actually think I saw red burlap at JoAnn's so I might go with that. :)
    It looks gorgous!

  15. It is looking great! You said "you might think I am crazy"… to hot glue it to the box spring. I also got tired of bed skirts always moving around. So guess what I did….stapled it to the box spring :) I love reading and seeing what your doing in your bedroom. Thanks for sharing!

  16. Wow! I'm amazed at how striking the brown burlap bedskirt turned out – it's really stunning! And it's just burlap! My aunt cannot believe that people really use burlap in decorating and that it is so hot and chic now. She only remembers it from ages ago when they were considered toadsacks and the crummiest of fabric. But I'll have to show her some pictures that you and others have creatively displayed using it. I'll have to say to you that you pretty much single-handedly convinced me of the fabulous looks of burlap with the projects you have pictured for us. Such fun – thanks a lot.

    Cynthia K. (Beauty and Blessings)

  17. I had a friend who's MIL sewed her bedskirt directly to the box springs! I can't imagine how long that had to take! Holly

  18. This look is so current but your tutorial is going to be bookmarked forever for me. I don't sew but I think I am up for this challenge. Thanks for posting.
    Pamela

  19. Thanks for the Tut! I am going for mine next, in a classic black, and hadn't yet measured, and was really dreading the ever shifting traditional bedskirt. Thaaaankk you for the velcro idea! Also, your party button has been grabbed and is being cheerfully displayed over my way! :-)

  20. Great tutorial. I love the colors and what you have done. Everything looks just beautiful! Just out of curiosity, I love burlap as much as the next person, but the burlap I purchase leaves a lot of lint everywhere. Don't you worry about the dust it leaves?

  21. This post came at the perfect time, as I am also needing to make a bedskirt for my guest room before my in-laws visit in a few weeks. It was very helpful to know how many yards of fabric you used- thanks! we also share one of the same inspiration photos- my room will be pale icy green/blue, with white bedding and b&w; furniture/accents. good luck with your room. ps, I also had some old burlap which I made into one of your cute bulletin boards from your video tutorial– (maybe I'll post it on my blog- if I get around to it after chasing my 3 tiny kids!)

  22. I love the bedskirt and the color is gorgeous as well. I so understand the pain of using velcro to do a big project. I opted to use twist pins to hold my bedskirt on the boxsprings and have had no troubles with it coming off or getting wonky the way the traditional bedskirts do.

  23. How did you get your sewing machine needle to go through the sticky of the velcro? Mine just won't go or the thread breaks…it's a nightmare! Is there a secret? I am thinking of putting the velcro on the top sides of the box spring because i want a taylored look. After reading about your experience, I think it will work!

  24. Just dropped by to read the step by step instructions for the bedskirt. I am not using burlap. But, I will be doing the velcro. But, going to try and make a box pleat. I’ll let you know if I have any hair left when I get through. I may show a post of it ~ if I can make it look half-way decent.
    Have a great Sunday afternoon.
    Karen

  25. Traci,
    Just to let you know we featured your beautiful bedskirt on our blog. It was one of our favorites from The CSI Project burlap edition.
    Thank you for sharing your talent with us!
    Jenn

  26. Thank you for your step-by-step instructions for the burlap bedskirt. I had two twin XL beds that needed skirts for my beach condo and the burlap looks great on them. The only problem I encountered was the sticky back velcro. I thought I would go ahead and purchase it (saving money) at Walmart. However, it proved to be a HUGE obstacle with my sewing machine. Apparently, sewing through sticky back velcro is a “No, No” in the sewing world. It not only can ruin your sewing machine, it jams up your needle every few stitches. Therefore, if I were to do this project again, I would opt for a thinner piece of velcro without the sticky back.

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