DIY Crib Skirt and Crib Sheets

George's mum has been visiting for the last couple of weeks, and all of the Madeleine-Grandma reading time has given me time to sew. It's good timing, too, because a) I'm nesting like crazy, b) I've returned to my earlier prediction of baby boy arriving early, and c) I expect to be busy at work through baby boy's arrival (ie I'll be losing the occasional days of being home without Madeleine).

Let me start by showing you the crib skirt. Each one is a unique engineering challenge, and this one was no different. I think I'll be happy that I've used velcro in a couple places to hold the skirt's top to the crib frame so that sheet changes don't require crib skirt adjustments.

The fabric is by Moda, and the houndstooth pattern matches the quilt that I made for baby boy. I went back and forth on fabric for the skirt, seriously considering at least a half a dozen different prints. Although I wanted to keep this room a little more subdued than Madeleine's super bright nursery, I ultimately felt drawn to this print and hope that the heavy white crib covers the skirt enough to achieve a bright but subdued look once the room is done. Speaking of the crib, this is also a preview of the crib, which is both as sturdy as we'd hoped but also more awkward* than we'd anticipated.

As I've previously hinted, I love pleats in crib skirts. So, of course, I sewed pleats into all three sides of this crib skirt. Beautiful, perfectly matched, carefully calculated to hide a seam, classy pleats. Guess where they fall? Yep - behind the bars of the crib. DOH!

The project that really made this (crazy) nesting mama happy was making the crib sheets. I made sheets for Madeleine and have been very pleased with how they have held up, so I definitely wanted to make them for baby boy. Sheets are easy to make, even easier when making them in bulk. This is my go-to tutorial, which I only modify by using about ~75 inches of non-roll elastic per sheet to achieve a tight-fitting sheet.

Once I'd finished the sheets, I felt the relief of a lifetime knowing that baby has a place to sleep should he decide to come earlier than anticipated. My hormones have definitely been a tad out of control lately.

It feels terrific to finish things on my to-do list and to watch the nursery slowly come together. Unlike Madeleine's nursery, I don't have a great image of how this room will ultimately turn out, so I'll be just as surprised as you!

*Unexpectedly, the short ends of the crib don't have the same finishing trim as the long sides and, instead, both carry these lovely warning stickers. Any ideas on how we can cover these ones in a way that won't involve removing the warning stickers or drawing more attention to them? Leave 'em in the comments, please!