Gnomeville from Michael Miller – just look at those cute little fellas!
If you are thinking of making one of these you’ll need to do a bit of easy piecing because 110cm width isn’t enough fabric (in this case you need extra on the “height” as Gnomeville is a border print). I used Michael Miller’s Red Quarter Dot which matches the dots on Gnomeville exactly and there was enough Quarter Dot fabric left over to make the pillow case. I used this extra wide backing fabric from Wilmington for the reverse so I didn’t have to have a join on the back.
You could use buttons to fasten it but if you’re lazy like me KAM snaps are the way forward. The size 16s are perfect for duvets as they keep snapped but aren’t too hard to undo when you’re in a hurry on laundry day.
Size 16 KAM snaps in action
Of course there’s a wash one, wear one scenario with bedding so I had to make two in the end. For the second one I decided to use one of the Riley Blake Extra Wide fabrics. These puppies are a whopping 274cm wide are used for backing quilts but I used 1.25m (the duvet is 150cm x 120cm), folded over the top and pieced a bit of quilt cotton at the lower border and used the remainder of the contrast print as the pillow case so this one is just two pieces of fabric – easy peasy! Alas we don’t have this ladybird fabric anymore but if you want to hunt it out it’s a Robert Kaufman Picnic Party print.
Unfortunately she seems to almost be growing out of the cot bed all of a sudden so we’ll be upgrading to her first proper bed soon enough (where is the time going?!) I doubt I’ll get away with something non-pink and non princessy for the next redecoration. Why is it that little girls love pink so much? She certainly didn’t get it from me.
Have you made any of your own bedding? Is it something you’d consider?
Love the extra wides for making bedding and have made two sets for my son so far. I got in an order of the lilac chevron a while back to start crib sheets for my daughter who is due this Christmas, can’t wait to get them made up once I get the mattress next week!
I bet the lilac chevs will be amazing – pics please!
Stunning. I have been considering making my childrens’ duvet covers recently. But big beds duvets are a pain with all the fabric required, but then again the extra wide should do it. Luckily my daughter- who is now 12 – outgrew pink a long while back. She prefers blue in her room – although pink and sparkly pops back every now and then.
Give it a go, it makes laundry day much more pleasant too when you get that “I made that” glowy feeling 🙂
Wow, not only do I find that you’ve done an article on quilt covers but also there’s an a piece about fleece. This weekend I’m making a quilt cover for my daughter’s 16th birthday but she wants fleece to be the backing! I think it’ll be too hot and heavy. Last night I got her to try a normal patchwork quilt (‘here’s one I made earlier’ kinda thing) so she can see if it really is ‘cold!’ So today’s sewing relies on how the experiment went – quilt cover or quilt, that is the question 🙂 She’s almost 16 though, so I won’t know until midday probably 🙂
You could try micro fleece if she’s really adament, it’s really soft and lighter weight – could be a good compromise!
Hi Kellie. I’d already bought the fleece and it is lightweight but I’ve no idea if it’s micro fleece, as the shop didn’t have any signs for it. Not many places round here do; it tends to be in a corner with the batting etc. I’m dying to try some of that minky stuff I’ve seen on youtube and in American blogs. I don’t know if that is more lightweight than what I have or not.
My idea for the experiment with the traditional quilt with a fleece backing, was a last ditch attempt at avoiding doing the quilt cover but it didn’t work as she said she was too cold with just that 🙂
Minky (called plush over here for legal reasons! See this post http://blog.plushaddict.co.uk/2013/05/08/wot-no-minky-2/) is ridiculously soft! It’s nicer than fleece, it’s pricier but you get what you pay for 🙂
I love reading about others’ makes, thanks for sharing. I agree with you about washing day – I love hanging up things I’ve made myself! I made a duvet cover too. It was so simple and he really loves it. He gets excited when he sees it on his bed. Very cute!
You could call Baby Plush, Littlest Plush…?
Thanks Rachelle, Littlest Plush is a great suggestion! Thanks for commenting