So here's what I started with:
When the kids were ready for "big kid beds"
we let them pick out their comforters. Now we have a Toy Story and a Dora comforter for an 11 year old and 10 year old. I figured I would save money and upcycle fabric by recovering them. This is a really easy project for beginners since it's very simple straight sewing.
we let them pick out their comforters. Now we have a Toy Story and a Dora comforter for an 11 year old and 10 year old. I figured I would save money and upcycle fabric by recovering them. This is a really easy project for beginners since it's very simple straight sewing.
Here's my rough sketch. I measured the size of the comforter and added 2 inches per side. This gave me 1/2 inch sewing seams and alittle room to slide the comforter inside.
The hardest part about this project is getting the fabric. This uses a ton! So to save money and time, I upcycled fabric. The front was cut from men's flannel shirts. I started collecting them from garage sales and the half-off day at our local Salvation Army. I found an old basketball jersey that matched my colors (the "tartan" in green). The flannel shirts cut up, made alot of fabric and I used these sizes as the base for my squares. I even ended up with a couple pockets I purposely left for my son to use on his comforter. I also asked around if anyone had shirts they were looking to get rid of. This was when I ended up with the perfect find. My friend Kristen had a fitted flannel sheet that didn't sell at her garage sale. Sheets make the perfect backing for your comforter. Lots of fabric, cheaper than buying from the craft store and less sewing (this always makes me happy). I highly recommend Ikea for sheets- super cheap and almost every color you need.
I sewed all the same sizes together into strips as close to the size I needed and laid them out to get a good mix of patterns. I also had to keep the words in the right direction. I used a few strips on top and bottom to get the length I needed and sewed them all together.
Then I sewed the wrong sides of the front (the flannel shirts) to the back (the sheet) on 3 sides. On one short end, I sewed the corners but left a 2 foot opening for turning. I then turned the cover right side out and fit the comforter inside. To make this easy I suggest you take 2 corners of the short side and place them inside first. Then holding the tucked in corners, pull the rest of the comforter inside. To finish I sewed a long stitch along the open side (because I just didn't have time to slip stitch this).
Here's where you can opt to make this a duvet. I have used velcro and on another-buttons with button holes. But I am hoping this plaid flannel will last my son for awhile and decided to finish this comforter completely with some top stitching. I used safety pins spread out through all layers of the comforter. This helps as sewing in the middle moved everything around. I added stitches "in the ditch" of the squares. Just a few scattered around to hold everything together.
So far, so good. My son has been dragging it downstairs to use on the couch and it's so warm to snuggle with.
I hope this helps and inspired you to give it a try!
Then I sewed the wrong sides of the front (the flannel shirts) to the back (the sheet) on 3 sides. On one short end, I sewed the corners but left a 2 foot opening for turning. I then turned the cover right side out and fit the comforter inside. To make this easy I suggest you take 2 corners of the short side and place them inside first. Then holding the tucked in corners, pull the rest of the comforter inside. To finish I sewed a long stitch along the open side (because I just didn't have time to slip stitch this).
Here's where you can opt to make this a duvet. I have used velcro and on another-buttons with button holes. But I am hoping this plaid flannel will last my son for awhile and decided to finish this comforter completely with some top stitching. I used safety pins spread out through all layers of the comforter. This helps as sewing in the middle moved everything around. I added stitches "in the ditch" of the squares. Just a few scattered around to hold everything together.
So far, so good. My son has been dragging it downstairs to use on the couch and it's so warm to snuggle with.
I hope this helps and inspired you to give it a try!
1 comments:
My mom did that years ago. She took an old, torn up but much beloved comforter and sewed an old flannel sheet to one side and a worn, soft cotton sheet to the other. It is so comfy and warm and soft you simply cannot cover up with it and stay awake, so we call it Mr. Magic. My sis and I fight over who gets to sleep with it every time we are at her house and we are in our late 40s. Lol! Nothing beats an old comforter.
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