Love reading in bed? This pleated cotton bed skirt with pockets – free sewing pattern- offers a solution to keep things uncluttered and tidy by creating dedicated places to put your glasses and your favorite book.
And beyond that, I think these bed skirt pockets are ever so handy for storing your lip balm, clean bed socks for cold feet, as well as anything romantic.
Bed Skirt with Pockets – Free Sewing Pattern
Be sure to read these instructions 2x before cutting any fabric. Pleats can be tricky.
Materials
You’ll need pretty cotton fabric for the outside of the skirt; white cotton fabric for the lining, and contrasting fabric for the pockets.
First, measure your bed. That is: your mattress length x width; and your bed frame length x width; thickness of the frame rim and rim height from the floor.
- Pretty cotton fabric (skirt): 2x the length and 1x the width (foot strip), adding 1 inch seam allowance, and pleat allowances.
- White cotton fabric (top, between your mattress and frame): width x length of your bed frame, adding 1 inch seam allowance.
- Contrast/patterned fabric (pockets and pocket flaps).
How to Tutorial
- We’re assuming your mattress is 53 x 74.5 inches, and that your frame rim is a 15-inch from the floor. Now, jot down your actual measurements.
- For the top: I would cut 54 x 75 1/2 inches from my white cotton fabric. You cut the (length+1 inch) x (width+1inch) of your mattress.
- For the bed skirt bed foot section: To realise this, cut one fabric strip of 144 x 16.5 inches. That is nearly 2x the length of the foot section of the bed. Prorate it for the actual length of your bed. Note: It has a 1.5 inch seam allowance for the height of the skirt, i.e. 0.75 on top, and 0.75 on the bottom. Note: your actual fabric may not have that length/width and you may need to sew (piece, is the official term) fabric together.
- For the bed skirt bed side sections: I would cut/sew a fabric strip of 202.5 x 16.5inches for each side. (i.e. 2 strips), and you want to prorate these dimensions to your actual bed size. Pro-tip: Add an extra 12 inches to each length to avoid any unsightly seam on the top of a pleat. This will allow you to cut and re-piece lengths to hide seams on the inside of the pleats.
Pleating
We’ll assume 9-inch-wide pleats with a 2-inch-spacing in between them.
Ensure you have 9 inches to both side of each pleat. This allows you to fold the pleat back 4 1/2 inches and then flatten it against the other 4 1/2 inches.
- Before pleating, we put straight-pin markings in our strips of fabric as follows: 2 inches in to begin the side strips and then at 9 inches, 9 inches, 9 inches, 2 inches, 9 inches, 9 inches, 9 inches, 2 inches, and repeat.
- Once all pins were in place, we pinned in and steam-pressed five pleats for the foot of the bed and seven pleats for each side of the bed. We did not stitch them in place yet. Also, leave 2 inches at the foot-end of the side strips for the corners and 2 inches at each end of the foot strips.
Pockets
- In contrast fabric: cut a 9-x-9-inch piece.
- Fold in and press 1 inch all around to make a finished 7-inch square. Topstitch all sides. (We turned the pockets in a full inch because they will be used for storage. The extra fabric ensures strength and durability.)
- Pocket flap: cut 8-x-3-inch strips of fabric.
- Turn all edges under 1/4 inch and again 1/4 inch and press.
- Topstitch all sides.
- Open up the pleated and pressed strips, being careful not to flatten the pressed seams. Measure and sew the pockets in place starting 5 inches from the bottom raw edge of the bed skirt.
- Overlap the flaps about 1 inch on the pockets and stitch along the top edge to secure.
- Press all pockets.
- Fold under a 1/2-inch hem and fold under again 1/2 inch on all strips; topstitch.
- Press the hem.
- Hem the sides of all pleated strips.
- Now repin all pleats and press again if necessary.
Assembly
- With right sides facing: attach the strips to the large white cotton base piece. Sew all pieces together, adhering to a 1/2-inch seam allowances.
- Put the bed skirt over your bed frame, between it and the mattress.
- Now remove all pleat pins. Pro tip: by leaving them in till this stage, your pleats will stay neat and tidy.
Source: bhg
