I'm calling this an "un-tutorial" because I did everything wrong. I bought the wrong amount of fabric, spent more money than I should have, and basically went about the construction of this thing the wrong way.
So instead of posting my "how-to" pictures I took along the way (which are all wrong) I'll try and share what I should have done.
Here is what I started out with. My $12 Salvation Army nightstand. I didn't paint it (even though it would have been cheaper) because I have it turned sideways. I bought it because of it's size. It just fits next to the bed really well and looks better paired with the trunk on the other side. I was inspired by Debbie's skirted table at Bungalow and decided that fabric would be a good alternative to paint.
One thing I forgot is that I'm not a great sewer. I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type person and while that usually works out for me, it did not work for me on this project.
The first thing I got wrong was the fabric. The striped fabric was just too much to put next to our patterned duvet. I should have just gotten enough of it for the piping and gotten more of the cream muslin. I'm so sad to say that the striped fabric was $16.00 per yard (and that was the sale price!). I should have just gotten a fourth of a yard instead of a whole one. I ended up spending $35 on fabric when I should have spent $25. I realize $10 isn't that big of a difference, but since I'm only spending what I can earn from Craigslist on decorating, it's quite a hit.
Next, I should have been patient and followed this tutorial on how to cut fabric on the bias.
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Then I should have watched this video on how to attach piping so that it makes corners.
This is probably the biggest mistake that I made. I didn't attach the piping to the top panel of my skirt before I tried to put the other panels on. The result was a whole mess of pins. Doing this the right way would have made the rest so much easier.
I managed to get the side panels attached (kind of) before I called in the help of a friend.
She was the doctor and this was the ER. She has way better equipment and a ton more experience than I do.
I tried to stay out of the way while she fixed the mess I had made. Thanks again, Becca!
Even though I made a ton of mistakes, I'm really happy with the end result and I think I could do it right if I had to do it again. Thank goodness I don't.
I'll be linking up to:
1 comment:
Well even if it took awhile to get there the end product is great. My mom has been "teaching me to sew" for a few months but so far I've only made it to ironing. She's just such a pro, so I must say I'm proud of you for even attempting this.
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