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Making bedding sets


Mimajo

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I have been researching here and on the internet and I cannot seem to find directions for making bedding.

I can sew, that's not a problem, what I want to know is what fabrics work best (I probably already have it) and sizing. Not sure how to minimize a pattern, etc.

Would love any info.

Thanks

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The best fabrics to use are natural fibers -- lightweight cotton, silk, etc. The lighter in weight the fabric, the more realistic the look. They drape well and will hold their shape with a healthy dose of hair spray. There's nothing puts me off more than a bedspread that doesn't have a natural drape and sticks straight out over the edge of the bed. Think quilting cotton weight.

 

As for size, I usually use the bed frame as a guide and make the bedding to fit. There's not a one-size-fits-all in mini bed dressing. 

 

I glue a lot rather than stitching. Over-sized, out of scale stitching also puts me off, in clothing as well as bedding, curtains, etc. (I'm all for "realism", which translated into mini is not reduced real life but a smoke and mirrors facsimile. :D )

 

A hint for the pillow -- fill it with sand rather than real life pillow stuffing material. A touch of a finger makes a very realistic head dent, as if someone just got out of the bed.

 

If you'd like some inspiration, here's a link to Deb's Beds ... made by our own Deb.

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What type of bedding? Sheets, pillowcases, comforters? If it's not for a modern setting, you don't have to fool around with elastic to make a "fitted" sheet. I think any thin, fine cotton would work...When I lived in Miami, FL, I would go into this Celtic gift shop, the Copper Kettle, and buy Irish linen handkerchiefs-because I thought they would make nice sheets, as the size was good, the stitched hems were tiny, and the corners were accented with tiny crochet trim. Stay away from synthetic material, it won't be as easy to manipulate and stay the way you want it. The comforters or quilts I make are a patterned piece of fabric for the top, a kind of cotton flannel for the stuffing in the middle, and a solid piece of fabric for the backing.

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I have a few blog posts on bedding.  I don't use patterns so much as rough measure with the actual bed furniture.

 

Day bed

http://www.otterine.com/blog/blog1.php/bedding-for-the-daybed

 

Full bed

http://www.otterine.com/blog/blog1.php/beds

http://www.otterine.com/blog/blog1.php/master-bedroom-linens

 

Single bed

http://www.otterine.com/blog/blog1.php/beds-part-2

 

 

For finding fabric patterns the right size, I use a paper cut out.  I mostly use lightweight cotton prints found in the quilting section.

http://www.otterine.com/blog/blog1.php/kitchen-table-and-chairs

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Those charcoal (?) packets in jars for moisture control also make nice pillow fillers. You can make bolsters out of the cardboard tampon tubes. I believe that trick came from Casey's Minis.

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Thanks so much for all the great info. I am a quilter and have been going through my fabrics. I also have some satin left from my mother in laws wedding dress, I had made christening outfits from the dress and the lining is a sateen that will work well for bedding. It's turned to a lovely cream after all these years (1945).

The pillow filling is a great idea. I make jewelry so I have LOTS of seed beads.

Otterine - your tutorials are perfect.

Thanks again!

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I buy a lot of my fabrics in quilt stores. Most everything in the quilt stores is 100% natural. Cotton and once In a while linen.

One way you can tell if a fabric will work is to grab a handful of it and crush it in your fist. If the wrinkles stay in, you are good to go. If the wrinkles don't stay, as a general rule, it's a synthetic. This is especially true of fabric that looks like silk. The synthetic silks never hold a wrinkle.

There are other quick tests, but they involve setting a piece of the fabric on fire with a match... And fabric store owners frown upon that practice!

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Glad to see this topic come up. I have to make some bedding for my Appleby Cottage, and was not sure how to go about it. The setting is 1906 in a simple home, not a wealthy fancy one. I have a quilt my great-great-aunt made, about the same vintage, and would love to copy it in miniature, but I don't think I'm capable of that. Unless I could take a picture of it and reduce it to scale and print it on a paper that would look like fabric.

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They make sheets of muslim that can go thru your printer. You could scan some of the fabrics of your RL quilt at an office store, save on a flash drive, adjust them on your computer and print on the cloth. Back it, add some embroidery floss ties here and there and Voila, authentic era quilt.

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When I want to print something on fabric I use the old freezer paper trick.

Iron the fabric to the coated side of the freezer paper, making sure that the grain of the fabric is straight with the edge of the paper. Then cut it to 8 1/2" by 11". I usually iron it a second time after cutting. Make sure that there are no loose threads on the edge! Use sharp scissors.

Run it through your printer with the fabric on the printing side. When it is done, spray it with a fixative. I use Patricia Nimock's mat spray. You can get it at Michael's or even Walmart. If you look around on the net, you can find lots of quilts to print. I also print rugs this way for smaller scales.

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  • 2 years later...

I missed something again, didn't I?

Anyway, I'm glad you posted, Holly, because I also need to make a bedspread for my shadowbox bed because it's a single bed (difficult to find bedding for) and because I shortened it. So I'm glad this thread popped up.

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Bearissima and Nelono which are both Swiss batistes are beautiful for sheets and dollie undies, It is extremely fine, 100% cotton with a slight sheen. I use it for Christening Gowns , they are both beautiful cottons and come in all pastel colors . Look for it by name online or online stores that sell French Handsewing supplies. I  do not think you will be disappointed with it.

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7 hours ago, L Swearengin said:

I use old hankies.   I told them into the size I want.  Once I buy therm I get nervous about putting scissors to them.  

That's a great idea.  I have some lovely ones from my grandmother that would be so cute for a bedspread but I would definitely not want to cut them up.  Thanks,

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I have a lovely green "doily" which would be perfect for a bedspread, but as Patti said, I would hate to cut that up. But I think instead of going the whole route with my bed like sheets and pillows and stuff, I'm simply going to put a bedspread on it and cover the pillows the way the bed would look if it were made (then I can just stuff something under the bedspread to represent pillows and I don't have to buy those, too). Since there's an old lady living in my shadowbox, I was hoping to get a chenille type bedspread.

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8 minutes ago, rodentraiser said:

I was hoping to get a chenille type bedspread.

:hmm: Could you shave or pull threads in a baby terrycloth washcloth to make it resemble chenille?

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