Sunday, January 9, 2011

Drop Cloth Dust Ruffle

I have had this same dust ruffle on my bed for probably 15 years, maybe more.  It is really outdated and well worn, so I was not the least bit unhappy when I dropped a bottle of OPI "Princess" nail polish on the floor beside the bed and it splashed up on the dust ruffle. 
I thought I wanted a ruffled bed skirt...made out of a drop cloth.  this is a trial ruffling I did to see if I remembered how to use my ruffling foot for my serger.  I had no problems, just whipped this out in less than a minute.  I used muslin for the trial ruffle.
So I bought a long drop cloth and cut it into 18" strips, because I wanted it to go to the floor. I used the flat part of the old dust ruffle as the base for the ruffle, since it was still in good shape. 
I cut four strips 100 inches long each as I wasn't sure how ruffled the finished product would be....
Well as it turned out, it was just barely ruffled at all, if you turn your head to the right and then to the left really fast, there is the illusion of being ruffled!  Trust me, it is just an illusion!  Apparently the problem was that the base was very light weight and the ruffle was so much thicker that the ruffler attachment didn't do its job!  But I must admit I love it anyway!
And I have to show off my $6 find from Goodwill...the quilt!  It is all cotton, machine pieced and quilted and I love the subtle colors.  By the way, the next time I take pics of my bedroom, I promise to vacuum first!
Another project done! 
Linking this project to:

14 comments:

Jess said...

It looks great. I want a bed skirt since I have oh so attractive mismatched turquoise box spring. I have been hemming and hawing about doing it out of a drop cloth. I think that you just made up my mind. Thanks.

amy said...

You got a steal on that quilt. Wow it is gorgeous.

Cassie Bustamante said...

what a great idea! i love the drop cloth as a bedskirt!

Anonymous said...

oh good job. I tried making a dustruffle once and for some reason it just tried my patience!

Maybe because it was so large.

Yours is very nice, too bad your other is wrecked. Maybe you can use it somewhere else and repurpose it!

Donnie said...

That's a great idea. Thanks for explaining it so well.

Jill said...

Looks lovely! Can't believe that quilt was only $6!! - very pretty!

Thanks for linking to A Round Tuit. Hope you have a lovely week.

Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

Megan Gunyan said...

Really?? I love it! So simple, cute and elegant. And...versatile! We change our bedding every winter and I hate how it totally clashes with our bedskirt! Ha! This would solve our problems. :)

Amanda said...

What a great idea. I bet it's very sturdy. Come link up at I Made It! Monday at Ninth Street Notions sometime.

Sassy Sites! said...

Thanks for linking up to Sassy Sites- Trash to Treasure Tuesday! We are doing a LABEL giveaway today, so come back and check it out!

xoxo!
Marni @ Sassy Sites!

Linda@Coastal Charm said...

What a NIFTY idea...thanks so much for sharing it at NIFTY THRIFTY TUESDAYS PARTY!!!!

Blessings,
Linda

Melissa said...

That looks great! Thanks for linking up to Tuesday Tell All.

Jenn Erickson said...

I love your creative use of drop-cloth, and even though the dust-ruffle didn't come out quite as ruffly as you had hoped, it looks beautiful! I think the elegant, pleated look complements that fabulous quilt (what a deal!)so perfectly! Thank you so much for sharing your creativity and experience at "A Little Birdie Told Me..." at Rook No. 17!

Betty said...

Nice job on the dust ruffle, but I'm blown away by that $6 quilt.

Lynda said...

Love the ruffle and the quilt! What a bargain. I used to buy quilts at the thrift stores but don't see them anymore. Glad you found one.

I do have a question. I assume you buy the drop cloths at places like Lowe's. Can a regular sewing machine be used on them? I'm wanting to try something but don't want to hurt my machine.