How To Make a Bed Skirt Using Dental Floss

The 2 Seasons
by The 2 Seasons
4 Materials
$40
2 Hours
Easy
I love to have pretty bed skirts on our beds, and I bet you do, too. If you have shopped for bed skirts, then you probably know they come in all different colors, sizes, qualities, and prices. Just so I can have the colors and quality that I want, I have started making the bed skirts for the beds in our home. I prefer the gathered look rather than the pleated look because that fits my decorating style better. I learned an easy tip to make the gathers easier to sew, and it involves dental floss. Let me show you how.
Select a beautiful decorator fabric at your favorite fabric store. Then buy a plain inexpensive white cotton sheet that is the size of your bed. Wash the sheet to eliminate any shrinkage. Then lay the sheet on top of the mattress and just cut the sheet to be the same size as the mattress. Then set that sheet aside. Later attach a gathered piece to both long sides of the sheet and to the shorter width at the end.
Next up, determine how long the bed skirt will be from top to bottom. (This can be longer if your bed is taller.) Then cut out the fabric long enough to allow for a two inch hem and one inch at the top for the gathers. Also, the thickness of the gathers will be one and one-half times the length and width of the mattress. That means that for an 80 inch length on a queen mattress, you would need two long pieces (one for each side) that measure 120 inches. For the end of the bed, which is 60 inches wide, you need a piece that is 90 inches.
To make the gathers, guide a piece of dental floss along the top of the bed skirt, and zig zag stitch over it. This step is the magic that will make the gathers easy to form. Do this for all of the lengths of fabric.


When that is finished, gently pull the dental floss, and gathers will form.  Put the right sides of the skirt to the right side of the sheet and attached them with pins. Then slowly sew the ruffle to the sheet using a regular stitch. Keep that up, and you will have a bed skirt that you made with dental floss.
If you like layers the way I do, then layer the bed skirt you made over another one that you love. I have a link for that bed skirt on my blog,http://the2seasons.com/2018/09/09/diy-bed-skirt-using-dental-floss/
If you like this sewing project, then you might enjoy learning how I make DIY designer throw pillows using painters' drop cloths:http://the2seasons.com/2015/03/10/diy-custom-throw-pillows-cheap/
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  • Candice Gollam Candice Gollam on Jul 23, 2023

    My iPad keeps saying the addresses are invalid. Can you redirect me please? Thank you

  • Jennifer Toler Elks Jennifer Toler Elks on Jul 23, 2023

    I need an easy way to make a bed skirt without putting anything under the mattress. I have a water mattress and once it's filled there is no lifting it to put a bed skirt under the mattress. I am thinking I can put hook and loop tape, soft around the edge of the mattress and sew the hook portion to my gathered bedskirt. Do you think that will work?!


  • Joan Ludvik Joan Ludvik on Oct 18, 2023

    Why not just use nylon thread? Or fishing line? A whole lot cheaper than floss


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  • Patty Patty on Jan 15, 2024

    Beautiful material! Looks so nice.

  • Karen Whelan Karen Whelan on Jan 30, 2024

    Been using dental floss to gather for many years. Also works on tulle when making an underskirt for full skirts, gowns & dresses!

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