Sew a Table Skirt

Recently I've seen skirted console tables in many of my decorating magazines, and I just love them. I'm determined to figure out how to make one and when I do, I'll share it with you!


from Little Green Notebook






from Urban Grace Interiors




from Cote de Texas


"No-Sew Skirted Table" from The Newlywed Diaries




from La Dolce Vita


from Material Girls

Make a Fabric Headboard

Don't have a headboard? No problem!

To make your own you'll need:
-a piece of plywood cut the width of your bed and the height you prefer
-piece of foam 3-5" think cut the size of your plywood
-fabric that is at least a foot larger on all sides than your piece of plywood
-staple gun and staples
-heavy duty picture hanging cleat (see pictures below)

FYI: Bed sizes
Twin 39"wide
Double/Full 54" wide
Queen 60" wide
King 76" wide
CA King 72" wide

Once you know the width of your plywood, decide the height. It may depend on your room size, pillow sizes, etc. but I would recommend a headboard that's at least 3 feet tall. That way, you'll be able to clearly see it even with pillows in front of it.

To make your headboard...

1. First, lay the fabric on a table, or another flat surface, face down. The fabric I used wasn't wide enough, so my mom sewed three pieces of fabric together and sewed them together vertically to achieve the width I needed for a queen sized bed. You can hardly see that it's several pieces of fabric sewed together because she did such a great job matching up the pattern of the fabric, and you can do the same.

2. Center the foam on top of the fabric and then the piece of plywood on top of the foam.

3. Pull the fabric as tightly as possible and staple it to the plywood with a staple gun. It's best to have one person holding the fabric and another person pulling and stapling the fabric on the opposite side.

4. Determine where you want your headboard to hang on the wall. I would recommend pushing your mattress and frame against the wall and marking where the center of the bed hits the wall. Now hold the headboard over the mattress and let it rest just over the mattress. Make a mark on the wall above the headboard. Now hang your cleat about a foot or so down from the mark you made on the wall where the headboard was. Make sure it's centered (use the mark you made just over the mattress) and hang your cleat. Now hang the other half of the cleat on the back of your headboard. Make sure the screws are heavy duty, but don't use anything too long. You don't want puncture your headboard on the other side or poke someone if they're leaning against it.

5. Connect the cleat and push your mattress under the headboard!


The bottom left piece will attach to the back of the headboard, about half way down. The top right piece should hang on your wall and be positioned so that it hangs directly over your bed.

Once the pieces are connected they should look like this (below):

Make a Sink Skirt

Sink skirts are a wonderful idea if you have an unsightly pedestal sink or a wall sink with exposed pipes underneath. They're also great for hiding extra storage (plastic bins, shelving, etc.) underneath.

Materials:
-fabric
-lining (optional)
-coordinating thread
-velcro

Start by measuring around the front of the sink, from wall to wall. Then take the measurement from the floor to the top of the sink. Now add four inches in both directions (2 inches extra on each side). Before you cut your fabric, decide where you'd like the top of your skirt to be on the pattern. For example, I chose the horizontal green line as the top of my skirt and I cut the fabric accordingly (2 inches up from the green line, etc.) Cut your fabric to the size you need and lay it on a flat surface with the back side up. If you'd like to use lining, lay it on top of your fabric facing up so the two sides face away from each other. I would only use lining if your fabric is thin or if the back side is rough (the fabric I used below was woven and the backside had lots of loose ends so I chose to line it).

Now, fold the top down one inch, iron it in place, and then fold it over again one inch. Sew the fabric in place at the top of the fold. Do the same for the bottom, but before you sew it, check and make sure it's the correct height for your sink.

Fold over the sides the same way you folded the top and bottom-- one inch, iron, fold over one inch again and then sew. Again, check to make sure the fabric fits around the sink first before you finish sewing it.



Detach the two sides of the velcro tape from one another and sew the non-sticky side to the top of your skirt. I sewed the top and bottom of the velcro to make sure it wouldn't come off easily.



Take the other side of the velco, the sticky side, and attach it to the velcro you just sewed to your skirt. Position the skirt in place around the sink (to make sure it's at the correct height) and press hard to make sure the sticky sided velcro stays in place on the sink.

Repurpose an Old Lamp

I got this idea from Just a Little Bit: For the Love of Design. I'm already thinking of some old brass lamps my mom has but isn't currently using. After painting the base, all the lamps would need are new shades!


Can you believe this is used to be an old brass lamp??

Make a Monogrammed Ornament

I made these ornaments last year for all my family members and attached their letter to the top of their present instead of a gift card. They're also cheap and easy to make. Find out how to make them here.

Monogram

I saw this post on one of my favorite blogs, Little Green Notebook. Sadly, I don't have Photoshop (although I'd love it), but I think you could make something similar on Microsoft Publisher or enlarge the image on your computer screen, like she did, and trace it (or print it out) on paper. Here are some ideas at Leontine Linens, which is what she used.



I found this one on their site, which is pretty close to our initials. I could easily change the "C" to a "D" to make it work...just an idea. I'm now trying to think of what I could monogram in my house...

Another idea is to monogram glasses with paint pens. I got this idea from my sister-in-law. She monogrammed some wine glasses for some friends and monogrammed a small water pitcher and cup for me when I got married. She does it free hand, but you could make a stencil for this as well.

Make a Ribbon Board

I made a ribbon board for one of my sisters-in-law a few years ago. She was going to college the following year, and I thought this would be a great way for her to organize her pictures, notes, etc. The nice thing about this craft is that you can customize it.

Materials:
-cork board
-batting
-piece of burlap or fabric that covers the cork board and wraps around to the back at least 1/2"
-ribbon; you can use different colors, widths and designs
-upholstery tacks
-staple gun
-hot glue gun

1. Start by stapling the batting and the burlap to the front of the cork board. Pull it taut and staple around the edge of the back.
2. Lay the ribbon across the board in the pattern you like (vertical, horizontal, diagonal, crisscross) and cut it accordingly. Staple the ends of the ribbon on the back of the board.
3. Use the upholstery tacks to secure the areas where the ribbon overlaps (the "intersections") and on the front edges of the board. Lightly tap the tacks into place.
4. Cover up the staples in the back by hot glue gunning a piece of ribbon around the edge.

Vertical ribbons


Crisscross ribbons


Ribbons placed haphazardly

Here is another idea for covering a corkboard.