comfy comforter instruction sheet - jane's sew & so

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COMFY COMFORTER INSTRUCTION SHEET

Sew, what's up?

My daughter Grace wants to re-vamp her childhood bedroom. She plans to add snappy colors and cool decorative elements to transform it into a high schooler’s hang-out. By creating a vibrant new comforter cover, we give the amped-up room a vivid, sophisticated focus.

Here's what you'll need:

1. Comforter 2. Flat Sheet in same size as Comforter 3. Additional Fabric of your choosing 4. Fabric Scissors 5. Pinking Shears 6. Pins 7. Pencil 8. Sewing machine 9. Thread, bobbin in thread that compliments your design or matches fabric 10. L-Square, T-Square, or both 11. Straight Edge Ruler 12. Tape Measure 13. Iron 14. Ironing board 15. Snaps or other Closures of your choosing 16. Grosgrain Ribbon

Before you begin, a few notes: There’s no need to go out and buy a new comforter every time you make a design change to a bedroom. Re-using materials you already own fulfills one of Jane’s biggest rules to “Re-use, Recycle, Renew!” There really is no one standard for bedding sizes. You must carefully measure and plan your unique comforter cover based on the comforter and other materials you choose to use in your design. The materials and measurements we used in this episode will almost certainly not match yours, so this instruction sheet will give you tips and techniques to execute your unique design.


To give you a general idea of bedding sizes, you can refer to this chart, however, Jane strongly suggests you measure your materials thoroughly before you begin and carefully sketch out your design plan like she and Grace did – measure twice, cut once!

Flat Sheet Sizes: Twin—66 x 96 inches X-Long Twin—66 x 102 inches Full—81 x 96 inches Queen—90 x 102 inches King/California King—108 x 102 inches

Comforter Sizes: Twin—68 x 86 inches Full—80 x 90 inches Full/Queen—88 x 88 inches Queen—86 x 94 inches King—110 x 96 inches

First, plan your design:

1. First measure the length and width of your comforter and sketch it out on a piece of paper. Write the corresponding dimensions down on your sketch.

2. Now measure how much “loft” the comforter

has – in other words, how thick it is. You will need to allow for this thickness in your measurements. Our comforter was about 2” thick, so we knew we needed to accommodate that thickness when we planned out the dimensions of our panels.

3. We knew our comforter cover needed to be 91” long and 89” wide, so we sketched out how wide each panel would need to be in Grace’s design. The fabric she chose was 54” wide, so we know that would be the maximum width any panel could be. So, we chose to make another orange panel 11.5” wide and the pink panel 25.5” wide – with the three panels together equaling 91”. Each panel would then be 89” long.

4. When we cut out our panels, we planned it

carefully so we wouldn’t waste any fabric – the fabric we saved was then used to make a matching pillow cover for Grace’s cool new bed.

5. To make straight cuts on such a long piece of fabric, measure up both

sides of the fabric and mark your measurement with pencil, chalk or make a small cut with your scissors. Then, with a long straight rule, match up the measurements on both sides and draw a straight line across the edge of the ruler.


Tip: It’s easy to get lost in all this fabric. To keep yourself organized and make sure you are cutting the right piece of fabric, keep the uncut section neatly folded as you cut the unfolded section, then pin the cut pieces loosely together and fold that section up as you unfold the sections that have not been cut yet. You will be measuring such a long piece of fabric, you’ll have to use a tape measure out of your toolbox.

6. When we cut the biggest panel out of the 54” piece, we did something to make sure the entire piece was square. You may need to do this with your panels, depending on your design. Match the fabric selvage to selvage and pin them together with the pins running parallel to the selvage.

What’s That? SELVAGE: The edge of a fabric that is woven so that it will not fray or ravel. It is the strongest edge of the fabric that was attached to the loom. It contains manufacturer’s information, color markings and other irregularities that make it unusable for most projects, but will give you a straight edge.

7. When your selvage ends are straight, you can see if the other ends are uneven. In our fabric, one edge was very uneven. So, to make it a nice straight edge, we used an L-Square (you could also use a T-Square). Line up the right angle at the top of the fabric with the L-Sqaure, then place your straight edge ruler against that, move the L-Square away and draw a line down the straight edge and cut.


8. You may have to walk away from your project for an hour, or even a month, so make sure you fold and label all your panels so you can tell them apart when you come back!

Now let’s put it all together!:

9. Lay out all your panels on a large table so you can take in the whole project at once. Grace’s comforter cover has three panels, so here’s how Grace sewed hers:

10. Lay the 54” panel next to the 25.5.” panel, flip the 25.5” panel over onto

the 54” panel so they are RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER.

11. Pin carefully all the way down the seam, pins like a railroad track so the needle will sew over them.

12. Fold your fabric carefully so you can

keep track of where you are on this very LONG seam.

Ready to Sew and So!:

13. To begin your stitch, place your needle ½” down the seam, then put the presser foot down. Backstitch back over that first ½” and then move the fabric forward, maintaining a consistent ½” seam allowance.

14. Be patient and take your time – you’ll get to the end of the seam soon. When you do, backstitch over the last ½”. This closes your seam and ensures the seam won’t come out. Pull the last thread and bobbin thread and cut. Cut the threads at the beginning of the seam, too.


15. With an iron set to the correct temperature for the fabric you chose, press open the seam.

16. Repeat steps 10-14 with all the panels in your comforter cover.

17. Now you’re ready to cut the back panel of

your comforter cover. Grace used a flat sheet that was the same size as her comforter, so it was already nearly the perfect size. To trim off the excess, she folded the sheet in half and pinned it, then we used the L-square to make marks along the fabric at the same measurement, then used a straight edge to mark a line straight across.

18. Cut the excess with pinking shears to prevent fraying while you sew.

Let’s put the whole thing together!

19. On a large table or on the floor, lay your front panel on top of your back panel, RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER.

20. Pin all the way around 3 sides of the comforter cover leaving one side open. Be patient – that’s a lot of pinning.

21. Cut 4 - 12” pieces of grosgrain ribbon and pin them to the four corners of

the comforter cover as shown above.

22. Start at one corner and backstitch over the ribbon to lock it into place. Sew all the way down the long seam and backstitch over the next piece of ribbon before sewing off the edge. Repeat down the other two sides.

23. When all three long seams are finished, you’re ready to turn your

comforter cover right side out and put closures on the open seam.

24. To get your comforter ready to place inside the cover, take another 4 – 12” pieces of grosgrain ribbon and sew them to the four corners of the comforter, on the same angle you used with the cover. Backstitch over the ribbon a few times to really lock it in.


Finishing:

25. Grace used snaps to close the top of her comforter cover, but you could also use buttons and buttonholes, Velcro, grommets, ribbons, anything you want in your design. Make it your own!

26. Once you have your closures in place, you’re ready to stuff in that old comforter and see it come back to life. Reach down into the bottom of the cover and bring out the two grosgrain ribbons at the bottom of the cover. Tie strong bows with the grosgrain ribbons on your comforter and then shake, rattle and roll the comforter down into the cover. Now, tie the two ribbons at the top, close the top edge of the comforter and fluff it up on your bed!

Grace’s new hang-out looks SEW HIP!

Sew You Later, Jane

Did you know you could order DVDs of your favorite Jane’s Sew and So episodes online? Visit www.janessewandso.com and click on the ORDER DVDS button to make your secure purchase through PayPal. While you’re there, sign up for our mailing list and receive our monthly newsletter and Sew and Tell us about the projects you’ve completed. You can sew along with the show, pause it, rewind it, and upload it to your computer or iPhone. Most of us benefit from multiple methods of learning, so watching the DVD while following along with the written instructions will make mastering the techniques in the show “sew” much easier. Have a slumber party with your friends. Share your favorite projects with your family, school group or scout troop! It’s Sew Easy!

comfy comforter instruction sheet - jane's sew & so

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