Bedrail Cover Tutorial

Vera has learned to climb out of her crib so she will be moving into a regular bed soon. We are skipping the toddler bed and going straight to a twin-sized bed with a bedrail. My mother-in-law found a bedrail for us at a rummage sale. It was in great shape but had a bright blue cover, not exactly the look I was going for. Luckily the cover was removable, and I made a simple slipcover for the rail out of unbleached cotton osnaburg (the same fabric I used for these projects).

Materials:

1 1/2 yards of fabric

21" (approx 3/4 yard) Velcro

Coordinating thread

Sewing machine

Fabric marking pen

Pins

Rotary cutter or scissors

Serger or pinking shears

Tape measure or ruler

Instructions:

All seams are 1/2" unless otherwise noted.

First, trace your existing cover, adding 1/2" to the sides and top and 1" to the bottom for seam allowance. Cut two, one for each side of the cover.

Press the bottom edges of both pieces 1/2" then another 1/2".

Increase your stitch length to 3.5 and edge stitch the bottom hem for one side of the cover only.

Measure the zipper on the bottom of the original cover. Mine measured 39" so I cut a strip of fabric 40" x 7" long. This will become a flap with velcro at the bottom of the cover. Fold the strip of fabric in half lengthwise, right sides together, and sew both short ends. Trim the seams, clip the corners, and turn right side out.

Take the other side of the cover, the one with the unsewn hem, and lay wrong side up. Tuck the raw edge of the flap into the bottom hem of the cover, making sure it is centered. Pin in place.

With your stitch length still set at 3.5, edge stitch the hem, sewing on top of the flap as you go.

With the cover still facing wrong side up, press the flap down toward the bottom of the cover.

Turn over so right side is facing up and pin flap in place. With your stitch length still set at 3.5, edge stitch.

This is how the cover will look from the right side (outside) once the flap is finished.

Pin the two main cover pieces together, right sides facing. (Make sure you set your machine back to its standard stitch length, usually 2.5. If you're unsure of the fit, you can first sew the two pieces together with a basting stitch, then test the fit on your bedrail frame before sewing together with a smaller stitch length). Sew the two pieces together along the sides and top, leaving the bottom side with the flap open. You can use either a serger or pinking shears to finish the seams.

Turn right side out.

Cut seven 3" lengths of velcro (both the hook and loop sides). The soft side will be attached to the main cover and the rough side will be attached to the flap. Mark the main cover 2" up from the bottom edge, spacing the marks 3" apart. Repeat for the flap, marking 1/2" from the outer flap edge.

Sew on the velcro.

Pull the cover over your bedrail frame and secure with velcro.

Reversible Crib Rail Cover Tutorial

I wish I had thought of this sooner...

before Vera's six little teeth made this happen:

Better late than never I suppose.

Below are step-by-step instructions for making your own reversible, padded, machine washable crib rail cover. 

Materials

2 yards 1/2" wide twill tape or ribbon
Two 52 1/4" x 9" pieces of coordinating fabric
Two 51 1/4" x 8" pieces of batting or fusible fleece
Thread
Sewing machine
Button hole foot for sewing machine
Scissors or rotary cutter
Tape measure
Fabric marking pen
Pins
Safety pins
Iron
Fabric turner

Instructions

My crib rail measures 51 3/4" across so I wanted the finished cover size to be 51 1/4" x 8". Measure your crib rail and adjust the measurements as needed.

Cut out two 52 1/4" x 9" pieces of fabric. (I pieced together one of the sides from two different fabrics because I didn't have a piece of fabric long enough.) Also cut out two 51 1/4" x 8" pieces of batting or fusible fleece.

Cut 6 lengths of twill tape, each 12" long. Fold the ends over 1/4" and press. Fold over another 1/4" and press. Stitch along the edge.

Right side facing up, make 6 marks along the long edge of one of the pieces of fabric. Make the first mark 4 1/2" in from the short edge and space the remaining marks 8 1/2" apart. (You may need to adjust the spacing depending on your crib).

Fold the twill tape in half and pin to the right side of your fabric at each mark.

Using safety pins, pin the batting to the wrong side of the other fabric panel, from the right side of the fabric. ie the clasp should be on the right side of the fabric so you can remove the safety pins when you turn the cover right side out. Make sure it is positioned so there is about 1/2" of fabric hanging over on each edge. This will keep the seams from being too bulky. If you're using fusible fleece, press one piece of fleece to the wrong side of each piece of fabric.

Place the two panels right sides together and pin. The batting should be on the outside.

Sew around all four edges, 1/2" in, leaving a 4" opening in the side with the twill tape for turning. Clip the corners, turn right side out, remove the safety pins, and press.

Close the opening with a slip stitch and topstitch 1/4" in from the edges.

Fold the cover in half lengthwise and make a mark on the side opposite the twill tape. This is where your button holes will go.

You will be making two button holes for each piece of twill tape. You want the holes spaced about 1/4" in from the topstitch and 1/4" apart.

Attach the button hole foot to your sewing machine. Select a button hole stitch and button that will give you a button hole slightly longer than the width of the twill tape. Sew the button holes.

Now you're ready to attach it to your crib! Wrap the cover around the crib rail, pull the twill tape through the button holes, and tie a knot. The knots should be on the outside of the crib.

Here's how it will look from the inside:

Now crib and baby are protected!