As promised, here is a tutorial to make your own crib rail guards to prevent the damage caused by your baby gnawing on his/her crib while teething (and keeping the yucky varnish from flecking off in their mouth!).
This tutorial is for a convertible crib and makes 3 guards: two short "end" guards and one long "front" guard. It's easily adapted to a standard crib by making an extra long guard, but you'll need extra yardage. When finished, you will have two short guards that measure 10" x 27" and one long guard measuring 10" x 52".
Please let me know if anything is unclear or you have any questions.
Basic Information:
You should measure your crib before starting this pattern. The inside measurements are pretty standard, but due to decorative railings, your crib might be slightly different than mine and you want to make sure these fit! On my crib the distance between the rails on the short side is 27" and 52" on the long side. If yours is a little shorter or longer, just add or subtract the difference to the lengths below when you cut (e.g. if your short side is 28", cut your pieces to be 12"x30" (A) and 10"x28" (B and batting)).
Also make sure to wash all your fabric and batting before cutting anything! Otherwise your guards will shrink the first time you wash them and while they'll have a nice old-quilt wrinkled appearance, they won't necessarily fit your crib well anymore.
Supplies Needed:
Fabric A & B – 1 yd each of 44” OR 2/3 yd each of 60”
I used quilting cotton in a solid and a print for contrast, but you can do whatever you like! Sticking with cotton or fleece is best though because you’ll want to be able to throw these in the washing machine. Keep in mind that if you use 44" wide fabric, you will need to join two pieces on your long guard. With a stripe like I used, it's not too obvious, but it might be more so with a different print.
Quilt Batting – 2/3 yd of at least 60”wide
Quilt batting comes in many forms. Stick with a thinner, cotton batting, like Warm & Natural and skip those that have lots of loft (are very poofy). They also come in a variety of widths, usually quite large, so keep that in mind when you buy it.
Basic sewing supplies (sewing machine, scissors, iron, etc.)
Safety pins (regular or curved quilting type are fine)
Rotary cutter & mat (optional)
Bias tape in a matching or contrasting color (optional)
Grosgrain ribbon in a matching or contrasting color (optional)
Instructions
1) Cut your fabric:
One piece 12” x 54” of fabric A
Two pieces 12” x 29” of fabric A
One piece 10” x 52” of fabric B & quilt backing
Two pieces 10” x 27” of fabric B & quilt backing
2) Press under all sides of each piece of fabric A ½”.
3) Center quilt backing and fabric B onto wrong side of fabric A (fabric A wrong side up, batting, fabric B right side up). It’s okay if your fabric B or batting overlaps the pressed ends of fabric A at this point. You can trim it later, so just center it the best you can.
4) Place safety pins at regular intervals through all three layers of fabric. I did three rows of columns spaced about 6” apart.
5) Using 2 strands of embroidery thread or a double thickness of regular sewing thread, take one stitch through all three layers at each safety pin. Tie the thread in a knot in the back and cut off the thread ends as close to the knot as you can.
6) Remove safety pins.
7) Make the ties. You can either make ties from fabric A (the brown fabric in my example) or cut lengths of grosgrain ribbon. Making ties from your matching fabric probably results in the neatest look, but ribbon is faster and hangs a little nicer. You will need a total of 20 ties (6 for each short guard and 8 for the long guard).
a)To make your own ties, cut 20 strips measuring 1.5" x 6" from fabric A. Fold in and press the long edges 1/4". Turn under one short end by 1/4" and edgestitch. The other short end can be left raw as it will be enclosed in the binding. Repeat for all ties.
b) For ties made of grosgrain ribbon, cut 6" lengths of grosgrain ribbon to make 20 ties.
8) Press fabric A another ½” over the batting and fabric B to create a binding. Pin in place. Miter your corners for a nice neat look (this is a great tutorial)
9) Attach the ties: You will need to make sure the ties fall between the slats of your crib for a nice look and easy tying. Drape the pinned guard over your crib rail and mark the placement of each pair of ties. For the short guards I had a pair at each end and one in the middle. For the long guard I had a pair at each end and two more pairs spaced equally about a third of the way in from each end. Back in your sewing area, pin the ties to the marked areas, between fabric B and the turned up binding.
10) Edgestitch around the turned up binding, catching the ties as you sew.
11) You’re done! Tie to your crib with whichever side up that you like!
Instead of turning up fabric A to create a binding, you can use bias tape. It won't give you the nice, smooth look on one side, but it is a little easier and faster. If using this method, just cut fabric A to the same dimensions as fabric B and your quilt batting. Then skip the steps that involve pressing under the edges of fabric A and move right on to lining everything up and pinning it together. You may choose to make your ties out of matching bias tape too.
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