Cribs Are Not For Eating

But they probably taste good, right? I mean, they must because Parker has started gnawing on his lately. Or maybe he just feels that I'm not feeding him enough fiber...? :) Not sure why he chews on it, but I'm not liking the little teeth marks he leaves behind. His crib will later be converted into a full size bed, so I (and future-Parker) would prefer that the footboard not be chewed up. Thankfully most of these marks are on the sides and not the front footboard piece.

I went online and started looking up covers for crib rails and I found several, the cheapest of which was $33. It was a soft, brown minky fabric and tied around the top rails. Looked pretty simple, and I was hoping making one would cost less than buying one so I decided to try!

First I had to measure the crib--the inside of the rails on the front and side. Once I figured out the lengths I needed, I packed up Parker and my Joann's flyer and headed out to find fabric. I liked the look of the brown minky one, so I bought that for the outside layer, I got a bag of quilt batting for the inside and plain brown flannel for the bottom. When I took it up to pay, guess what the total was? $33. Doh...and that was after a coupon and sale discounts. Well, on the bright side, I could make and use it right away instead of ordering it and having to wait a week or two to have it delivered. And hey, it's fun to say you tried making something new, right?? :)

I tossed the fabric in the laundry as soon as I got home. I don't use any new fabric until it's been washed and dried to get any shrinkage out.

It was dry and ready to use after dinner, so I pulled out my mat and rotary cutter and got to work. I had written out measurements for all the pieces I needed from each fabric and once I had them cut, I put it aside for the night.

The next morning I started by sewing the ties and got them all turned right-side-out. Parker helped by carrying them around the room while I worked. I decided to wait and do the rest of the sewing after dinner...Parker would be asleep and Kyle would be out at a meeting.
I started with the long front cover first, as that's the rail I'm most concerned with protecting. I laid out the layers of batting, flannel and minky, then started pinning the ties in place. Halfway done, I was a little disappointed, although not surprised, to see that my non-mathematical mind had written down the wrong number of ties needed. *Sigh.* I knew I needed six ties on the front, but I didn't take into account that that meant six on the front and six on the back--so they could actually TIE. :) I had plenty of ties for the front cover, but would need to make more before I could make the side covers.

Anyway, back to my sewing... Here's the long piece pinned and ready to sew.

Yes, I may have gone a little overboard with pins but I noticed that when I sewed the ties it tends to shift or move a little bit so I just pinned these pieces--a lot! I sewed around it, leaving a small hole on one end. After I clipped the corners off,

I turned it right-side-out and stiched the open end closed.

Done!

I had to wait until the following morning to put it on, because Parker was already in bed for the night. But I was happy to see that it fit perfectly! Looks just like the one I saw online. Wish I could say it was a whole lot cheaper, but.... :)

I'm planning to make the side pieces in the next few days as well. Hopefully these will protect the rails from Parker's little teeth when he gets those midnight cravings!