Dreamy DIY Daybed

Posted on September 18, 2013 by jewelsathome

I have a serious thing for daybeds. There is something so primally cozy about curling up on a deep bed, surrounded by cushions.

Daybeds are practical, too. I have one in my craft studio, which is also our guest room. It’s a twin bed for our single guests, and there is a pop-up trundle below that can be combined with the main bed to make a king bed for couples and families.

When we added built-in closets to our master bedroom, they created a little alcove under the windows that was perfect for a window seat. Rather than a narrow bench, I decided to fill this space with a deep daybed, perfect for reading, napping, or lounging and taking in the view.

This space will also work out for those nights when a nightmare brings a little one into our room in the middle of the night… see, practical!

I considered building something myself, but I was nervous that that kind of project might never get done, with three kids running around. So, I did a lot of browsing and measuring to find ready-made materials that would fit together into an almost-built-in deep window seat and then added handmade touches with the pillows and storage boxes.

I found that three of these Closetmaid 3 Cube White Storage Benches filled the space almost end to end, leaving just enough room to access the electrical outlets on the walls at either end. The benches I bought are only 14″ deep, but I was able to add extra depth with some existing pieces boxes and shelves around the house, to create a luxurious 30″ deep daybed. To top it all off, I used two basic crib mattresses which fit perfectly across and provide great support. This Safety 1st Heavenly Dreams White Crib Mattress is reasonably priced and on the larger side (did you know crib mattresses were not a standard size?!), so it fills up the bench nicely.

Although I used benches out of a box and ready-made mattresses, this project has lots of handmade touches as well:

seat cushion cover
round bolster pillows and other decorative pillows – I used a variety of fabrics that capture the color scheme of the room – warm neutral gray with accents in red and turquoise.
fabric-covered storage boxes – JJ is potty-trained now, except for overnight, and these are overnight diaper boxes, that fit perfectly inside the cubbies, with just a half inch trimmed from the top. I have complete instructions for these and other storage boxes in another post.

I’m beyond happy with out new window seat and am looking forward to enjoying many quiet moments here.

“Jewels”

Pillows for Dressing a Daybed

Posted on September 5, 2013 by jewelsathome

I’m making a daybed window seat in our master bedroom, and it makes me so happy!! This is going to sound weird, but I think I like to look at it as much as I like to sit on it…

The whole seat just about done now, so I will get the final pictures up soon. So far, I have shared the bench cushions, and today, I’ll show you some of the special pillows I sewed to dress it up: round bolsters, flanged shams, and a ribbon-bordered pillow.

I’m not going to go into the basics of how to sew throw pillows, as you can find that in this old post.

Ribbon-bordered pillow

This was just a basic pillow, and I used to add ribbon the same way I did for our master bath curtains. This time, I did sew down the ribbon as well.

Round bolster pillows

Okay, I’m pretty proud of these. I was feeling intimidated by sewing the circles, but now that they are done, I’m so pleased! I made these round bolsters out of the same fabric, Robert Allen Souk in Dove, that I used for the bench seat. They sit on either end and really make the daybed feel finished.

The pilllow design is very simple, with just three pieces and some velcro. For each pillow that has a finished size of 24″x 8″ diameter, I cut a rectangle that is 25″ wide by 27″ long. I cut two circles that are 9″ in diameter (pictured below). I hemmed the short ends of the rectangle and finished all the other edges with a zig-zag stitch.

Pillows for dressing a daybed. Instructions for sewing round bolster pillows. Jewels at Home

Three simple pieces for sewing a round bolster pillow.

Next, I joined the two short ends of the rectangle, with one inch overlapping, to make a cylinder and pinned this in place. Then, I fitted a circle into the open end, with right sides facing. I used a lot of pins, to make sure that it fit evenly (pictured below).

Form a cylinder with the rectangular piece and fit a circle into the open end.

I sewed the circle into place by hand (pictured below). You could definitely try this by machine, but my fabric was quite stiff, and I thought I would just end up with a jagged circle and unpicking it 10 times. Repeat on the other end.

Stitch the circle onto the open end of the cylinder.

Last, I added Velcro to the long opening to hold the pillow closed (pictured below).

Add velcro for the pillow closure.

What’s inside my bolster pillows? You can purchase these forms, but I was able to construct some pillow forms from supplies I already had in the house. Yes, that’s right. While I may fantasize about being on HGTV, I think I have a better shot at getting on Hoarders. I used one thick piece of foam and two thinner strips for the core of the pillow, wrapped it all in batting and then stuffed it all in a simple tube sewn from scrap fabric (pictured below).

Making a pillow form for a round bolster pillow.

And here’s the finished bolster pillow. Something about conquering those circles is very satisfying!

Flanged pillow sham

I wanted pillows of different sizes on the daybed, so I beefed up some standard 20″x26″ pillows by sewing flanged covers.

For this project, you’ll need fabric, fusible interfacing, velcro, and thread.

I cut a large rectangle 29″ wide x 70″ long and hemmed the two short ends. I cut the fusible interfacing into 3″ strips and ironed the strips into place along the long sides of the rectangle and cut 6″ strips to sew, as show below, where the sides of the pillow will be.

Pillows for dressing a daybed. Instructions for sewing flanged pillow sham covers. Jewels at Home

Iron strips of interfacing onto the inside of the pillow cover.

I folded the rectangle as show below, so the hem overlaps on the back where the closure will be. I stitched along the top and bottom edges.

Fold the rectangle to make the pillow cover, and sew with the right sides together and the interfacing on the outside.

Then, turn the pillow cover right side out, iron, and sew around the pillow 2 1/2″ from the edge. I put a strip of painter’s tape on my machine to mark this distance (shown below).

Sew around the pillow cover on the outside, 2 1/2″ from the edge.

Ta-da! Pillow cover with edges that will stand up nice and crisp!

And here’s how the window seat is looking so far, with all the pillows and throws. I just need to finish the storage boxes to go below, and I’ll be done! This is one of the projects that got me so excited I could barely sleep, so it feels good to be almost done… I might need to catch up on sleep with a nap on this cozy daybed!

The blue pillow and knit throw tie into the art in the master bathroom. Ahhh….

Not much longer until I’ll show you the finished project with all the details!

“Jewels”

Window Seat Bench Cushion

Posted on September 3, 2013 by jewelsathome

I occasionally get obsessed with a project that I just can’t get out of my head. The window seat daybed in our master bedroom was definitely one of these! The daybed itself was easy to assemble from purchased benches and crib mattresses, but projects for this cozy alcove went on and on! One of the biggest was sewing the covers for the daybed mattresses. I love the Robert Allen Souk fabric in Dove, and I’ll show you how to make these covers yourself.

As a guideline, I used these instructions from Kate at the Centsational Girl blog to sew the covers. My dimensions are different, and I didn’t see how she did the back corners, so I’ll show all the steps here.

Supplies for covering two crib mattresses:

5 yards of 54″ wide fabric
Velcro – total of 104″ sew-on strips for both mattresses
thread, scissors, pins, general sewing supplies

Because the daybed is made from crib mattresses that are 52″ long, I was able to use the full width of a standard 54″ wide decorator fabric across the mattress. For each mattress, I cut a 70″ long x 54″ wide (full width) section of fabric and zig-zagged the raw edges of each piece.

I laid the fabric over the mattress and marked where the front seams would be. (Pictured below)

Instructions for sewing an cushion cover to make a daybed out of a crib mattress | Jewels at Home

Mark the fabric to where the front seams will be.

I then folded the fabric at the seam and sewed with a 3/8″ seam allowance to create a clean seam for the front edges of the cushion. (Pictured below)

Fold and sew to create the front seams.

Each mattress required two 6.5″x 32″ side panels, and I again zig-zagged the edges. These are longer than the width of the mattress, so they can wrap around the back to keep any of the mattress from showing.

To attach the side panels, line up the end of the side panels with the front of the main panel (between the seams) and sew that small section with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. (top left picture below)

Next, turn and pin the long edge of the side panels in place and sew with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Since the side panels are longer than the mattress, I marked on the main panel where the back edge of the cushion should be and sewed up to that point. (top right picture below)

Adding the side panels to the cushion cover. Sew the front edge first and then the side seams.

After attaching all the side panels, I finished the ends of the panels by folding under a 1/2 inch hem and stitching. (Top left picture below)

For the back closure, I had one short flap and one long one, so the closure was along the edge of the cushion. While this looks very neat when finished, in retrospect, I would have centered the closure on the back, so I could flip the cushion over if it gets worn without any of the closure showing at the edge.

I sewed one side of the Velcro to the outside of the short flap and the other side to the inside of the long flap. (Top right picture below) It looks very neat when done!

Finishing the cushion cover. Finish the edges of the side panels, so they can wrap around the back of the cushion. Sew velcro to the inside of one back flap and the outside of the other. Ta-da!

I’m so happy with how these new cushion covers fit and look! A neat tip: to keep the cushions from moving around, I used a rug pad underneath.

We’ve already started hanging out on our new window seat already, and there are just a few more projects left to finish up this cozy alcove!

I’ve got more cushions planned, including round bolsters to finish off the ends of the bench. I’m looking forward to showing you the finishing touches soon!

“Jewels”