Making The Bed

I've spent the afternoon making a bed... or, I should say, making bedding!  This is a doll bed for Lucy Ann for Christmas. There's no better way to get into the spirit of Christmas than spending hours on end in the sewing room watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel and making gifts. I do hope my granddaughter, and her dolls, will enjoy this bed as much as we have already; because, before I could make this bed up, Mr. Goodneedle actually made the bed; this is a gift of handmade love from both grandparents.

It's a trundle bed; Lucy Ann's doll can have a doll-friend sleep over!

The bed is a treasure, handcrafted from maple, it will match the furniture in Lucy Ann's bedroom.
Mr. Goodneedle designed the raised panels and cut out the heart detail for the panel in the arched headboard; he made the mattresses for both beds from a thin sheet of plywood wrapped in upholstery weight batting.

The upper bed is completely outfitted with a fitted sheet/mattress cover, top sheet and matching pillows. The lower bed will have to wait until next week to receive the same treatment. I added a bit of piping to accent the sheet and pillow cuffs. The trundle bed's mattress is a bit smaller; the sheet set for it will be the opposite fabrics as the top (periwinkle polka dots with the whimsical print cuffs) so that Lucy Ann won't be frustrated trying to figure out which sheets fit which mattress!

I made the quilt from my stash collection of 2.5" strips, pulling out coordinating colors. The quilt is backed and bound with the same print as the sheets. (The quilt for the lower bed will be backed and bound likewise with the polka dot.)  Instead of batting I used a heavyweight flannel to achieve a soft quilt with a "drape" to it, I didn't want the quilt to be too thick or stiff and not hang well when the doll is asleep in the bed; I chose to quilt it simply with diagonal lines. Without a doubt, this is the most fun I've ever had making any bed!

Life is Good!