Tutorial: Making a Twin Bedspread Using 45-Inch Fabric

Twin bedspreads can be pretty expensive, especially if you buy one made of a high quality fabric. And, if you buy a themed bedspread, or one that feature’s your child’s favorite cartoon character, you can end up paying a pretty penny.

Luckily, there is an alternative. You can save by making the bedspread yourself. And, because you are making it yourself, you don’t have to try to pick and choose between the limited selections your local department store has available. You can make the bedspread exactly the way you want it.

A bedspread is one of the easiest sewing projects you can tackle. Here’s how you do it.

What You’ll Need

• A center piece of fabric that is 45” wide and 94” long.
• Two side pieces of that are each 16” wide and 94” long.
• Straight pins.

Making Your Twin Bedspread

1. First, lay the center piece of fabric flat, so that the right side (the side you’ll want people to see) is facing up.
2. On top of the center piece of fabric, lay out the two side pieces of fabric, wrong side facing up. Line one side piece up to the right edge and pin it in place. Line the second side piece up to the left edge and pin it in place. When pinning the side pieces together, make sure leave room for a ½” seam.
3. Take your project to the sewing machine, and sew a seam along the length of the right and left edges, giving yourself a seam allowance of ½”. When finished sweing, ress the seams with an iron.
4. Make the hem. On all four sides of the bedspread, fold the edges in about half an inch, using straight pens to hold them in place. Sew the hems and, finally, press the hems with an iron.
   When it comes to sewing projects, it’s hard to get much simpler than that. But here are some more tips that will help you make awesome twin bedspreads.

Round the Bottom Corners

1. If you want to give your bedspread a more finished look, simply round the corners at the bottom of the bedspread.
2. Before making the hem, lay your bedspread flat, wrong side facing up.
3. Lay a plate, or some other round object, in the bottom right corner of the bedspread.
4. Using a fabric pen, trace the plate.
5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 in the bottom left corner of the bedspread.
6. Cut along the marks you drew.
7. Create the hem for your bedspread.

Matching Patterns and Prints Along the Seams

When doing a sewing project where you have to sew different pieces of fabric together, using a fabric with pattern or print. But, when making twin bedspreads for children, using fabric with prints or patterns is part of the fun.

When using a very small pattern, matching the seams isn’t necessary. However, with smaller patterns and prints, matching the prints along the seams will make a world of difference to your finished project. And here’s an easy way to do it.

1. First, give yourself a little extra fabric to work with by making the side panels a few inches longer and wider. Making the side panels 20” wide and 100” long should do the trick, but you can make even wider if you think it’s necessary.
2. Lay the center piece flat, right side facing up.
3. On top of the center piece, lay the first side piece so that it’s wrong side.
4. Fold the left side of the side panel in about half an inch, and press with your iron.
5. Starting about an inch from the left edge of the center piece, move the side piece around until the pattern or print along the edges on both pieces line up. This might require you to move the side panel in or up. Don’t move it down.
6. Once you have a pattern match, pin the two pieces of fabric together, placing the pins just beyond the edge of the fold.
7. Undo the fold, using your iron to press the fabric flat. Trim any excess fabric from the center panel.
8. Finally, sew a seam along the length, giving yourself a ½” seam allowance.
9. Using the second side panel, repeat steps 2 through 8 on the other side.
10. Trim excess fabric from the bottoms of the side panels.Before hemming your bedspread, test it out. Because your side panels were a little wider than in the instructions, the drape of the bedspread on the sides (or how far it hangs from the top of the mattress) might be a little longer than you’d like. If this is the case, trim a few inches from both sides of the mattress. Your seams don’t have to match perfectly. But the closer you can get, the better.

Now your child can have half-a-dozen themed bedspreads for their twin sized bed, and it won’t cost you a small fortune. Just some fabric and an hour or two of free time.

Pls send us pics of your bedspread to info at sewmyplace dot com. We’d like to post them here on the site for others to see.