We decorate a crib with our own hands

The newborn spends most of the time in the crib, and the desire of the mother to make this place not only comfortable and safe, but also beautiful is quite natural.

In specialized departments of children's goods stores, you can choose interesting and practical sets consisting of a mattress, blanket, pillow, bumpers and a canopy, but it is much more pleasant and cheaper to sew everything you need yourself. With the help of the recommendations and tips listed below, it is easy to decorate a crib with your own hands, make it comfortable, cozy and safe.

Bed dress

To create bedding for a child, it is best to use natural fabrics:

• flannel - soft, highly absorbent and easy to care for, it is most often used for children's clothes;

• linen;

• chintz;

• fleece;

• calico.

Mattress cover

In order to protect the mattress of a crib, it is usually covered with a waterproof mattress cover, and it is not at all necessary to buy the latter - it is easy to make it yourself.
To do this, use a design, the bottom of which is often an oilcloth, and the top is a knitted, flannel or chintz fabric. Elastic bands are fixed at the corners of the product so that the mattress cover does not slip off.

A blanket

An undoubted plus of any hand-sewn product is the ability to choose the size of the thing, composition, color of the fabric and filler.
An interesting solution is a patchwork quilt. Its unusual pattern will attract attention and delight the baby, and the manufacture of such a product will take a young mother very little time. You can sew a blanket for decorating a crib with your own hands from patches of any shape (squares, triangles, stripes or hexagons) and colors.

A blanket made in patchwork technique can be made voluminous. To do this, each individual element is stuffed with any filler (synthetic winterizer, cotton wool, synthetic fluff or other).

Another successful technique is a quilted product. To do this, a roll filler is laid between two cloths of fabric, then the entire structure is sewn along the perimeter, after which the surface is marked and a decorative stitch is laid using a sewing machine.

Pillow

When making a pillow for a baby, remember that the product should not be too voluminous. In infants, the formation of the cervical region continues, and a high pillow can interfere with this process.

The best option is a pillow in the shape of a butterfly. Such products have recesses in the center, thanks to which the baby's head is securely fixed, and the natural curve of the neck is not changed. To decorate a crib with such a pillow, it is not necessary to buy it - you can sew it with your own hands from cotton wool, latex, buckwheat husk or synthetic winterizer.

When using buckwheat, it is important to make sure that its smell and peculiarity (rustling) will not cause concern to the child.

Linens

To make it pleasant for the baby to be in the crib, you should use linen sewn by yourself from natural fabrics to decorate it. Kits depicting favorite cartoon characters are suitable for both babies and older children - colorful drawings will stimulate the development of visual perception.

When choosing the color of bed linen for a baby, it is worth remembering that excessively bright or saturated colors (red, orange, fuchsia) will excite the child's nervous system and prevent him from falling asleep. It is better to choose sets designed in soothing colors.

In order to decorate bed linen, it is best to use embroidery - modern technologies allow you to decorate textiles and paints, however, after several washes, the pattern will lose its brightness and begin to peel off.

With the help of embroidery on the corners of a sheet, pillowcase or duvet cover, you can not only decorate linen - according to popular beliefs, such decor serves as a talisman for the baby. As a pattern, you can choose a simple pattern or perform complex detailed embroidery.
The most important thing in this case is to ensure that the decoration does not cause discomfort to the child. Therefore, it is not recommended to use beads - volumetric elements can harm the baby.

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Decorating with your own hands the frame of a crib

Borders

The sides are not only decorative, they also protect the baby from drafts and protect him from bruises when he begins to try to crawl and stand up on his own.

Finished products offered by stores are most often decorated with colorful drawings, but self-sewn bumpers can be made in the form of a developing panel. Making them is pretty easy.

The only thing to remember is that every detail must be securely fixed so as not to harm the child.

Fabric applications

The soft sides of the crib are decorated with hand-made appliqués made of felt or cotton fabric. It is important that each element is large enough and firmly sewn to the base - at an early age, children learn about the world, trying to feel and even taste all the surrounding objects. They can tear off loosely sewn appliqués and injure themselves.

stickers

You can also decorate the sides with the help of special stickers, you can find them in the household or furniture departments. Such products are easy to remove if necessary, they do not leave sticky marks on the surface of the furniture.

Ready-made applications

In the store you can buy special applications on an adhesive basis. The choice of such products is huge: from simple patterns to fairy-tale characters. They can be glued to any furniture, they will hold firmly.

To decorate the baby's crib, do not use products decorated with rhinestones and other easily detachable elements.

Dye

You can decorate a crib by drawing a pattern on the frame with your own hands: an ornament, a floral pattern or images of cartoon characters.

For this purpose, it is recommended to use water-based latex or acrylic paints: they dry quickly, do not smell and do not contain toxic substances.

Canopy

The canopy, designed to protect the baby from drafts, insects and light, also provides great opportunities for decorating the baby's bed. A bed with a canopy installed above it looks cozier and more elegant.

You can also buy a finished product for every taste in the store, but a do-it-yourself canopy is much better. A few recommendations for making a canopy:

To work, you will need a holder (you can buy it separately) and a cloth. It is best to use natural materials (cotton, linen).

The amount of fabric that will be needed to create the canopy depends on the level at which the finished product is planned to be placed. It is worth buying a cut a little longer than necessary so that the material is exactly enough.

The finished product can be decorated with frills, fabric stickers and other elements.

According to child psychologists, the environment in which a child grows up greatly affects his personal qualities, and therefore it is especially important to create a comfortable and friendly atmosphere for your child.

Canopy

“Stores offer ready-made frames for canopies for every taste, but if you want to decorate a crib with such a design, it’s easy to do it yourself”

Installing a canopy is another way to protect the baby from insects, dust and light during daytime sleep. The only drawback of this piece of furniture is the need to wash it regularly (and often enough), since dust quickly accumulates on the fabric.

For the manufacture of a canopy for a crib, it is recommended to use only natural fabrics:

• chiffon;
• muslin;
• cotton or silk veil;
• silk organza.

You can choose the frame of the product based on your own preferences: it can be installed around the entire perimeter of the baby’s bed or at the head, attached to the wall or ceiling, fixed on the back of the crib, or represent an independent structure and be placed on the floor.

Shops offer ready-made frames for canopies for every taste, but if you wish, decorating a crib with such a design is easy with your own hands. The base will require wooden slats, profile cornices, metal frames or other materials.

To decorate the canopy, you can use decorations in the form of butterflies made of light fabrics, stick thermal applications or trim the product with lace or ruffles.

Valance

Young mothers often use the free space under the crib to place the little things necessary for caring for the baby: diapers, favorite toys, baby skin care products and other things that may be urgently needed. So that an impromptu warehouse under the child's bed does not violate the interior of the nursery, it is best to decorate the legs of the crib with a valance.

Valance - a decorative element, made in the form of a skirt, framing the base of the crib. Made of bright fabric, decorated with frills, it can become an interesting detail in the design of the room.

Decorating a crib with a do-it-yourself valance is quite simple. This will require:

• about 6 m of fabric 110 cm wide;
• sewing machine;
• threads to match the fabric;
• ruler;
• tailor's chalk;
• pins;
• scissors;
• ironing board with iron.

The basis of the valance is made up of 2 parts - a canvas placed under the mattress, and a decorative part decorated with frills.

First, the base fabric is cut out of the fabric. The length and width of this part should be equal to the dimensions of the base of the crib; when cutting, 5 cm are added to each side.

Most of the prepared piece of fabric will be put on frills. To determine the size of these parts, a simple formula is used: the width of the base of the crib is doubled, and then 5 cm is added to it. Next, the distance from the bottom of the crib to the floor level is measured, 10 cm is added to the value obtained. Cut out 2 parts with these dimensions.

Future frills need to be ironed. This is done from the wrong side, the fabric is folded along the entire length at a distance of 12.5 cm from the edge. The edges of the frills are hemmed, laying a straight line. When everything is ready, sew the frills to the base.

The product is ready. If desired, it can be decorated, but even without additional decorations, the valance will give the bed an elegant look and help hide things folded under the bed from prying eyes.

hanging toys

After the first month of a baby's life, it is already possible to delight with hanging toys: for this, the child's favorite little things strung on a solid foundation (bright rattles, for example) are attached to the sides of the bed on both sides.

Instead of a garland of toys, you can use single items, securely fastening them to the side of the crib. The baby lying in the crib will be able to touch interesting and sound-producing objects, and in addition to the decorative function, such a design will bring joy and benefit to the child. The main thing at the same time is to periodically move the rattle from one side to another so that the child does not lie, all the time looking only in one direction.

Stuffed Toys

Soft toys sewn by mom's hands can become baby's favorite items. It is best to make them from natural fabrics, and fill them with hypoallergenic fillers of natural origin.

Pediatricians consider small tissue bags filled with cereals to be useful for the development of a child. A child, touching such a little thing, will be able to develop fine motor skills of his hands and explore the world with the help of tactile sensations. They should be fixed on the sides of the crib, in a place where the baby could freely reach them.

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“To decorate a crib, you can use small toys in the form of snowflakes, animals, cartoon characters and others made by yourself”

It is not easy to make a structure located above the head of a crib with your own hands, but nothing prevents you from creatively designing an already finished product brought from the store.

To decorate a crib, you can use small toys in the form of snowflakes, animals, cartoon characters and others made by yourself.

To make the product safe, it is advisable to use only high quality natural fabric for work:

• mahr;
• cotton (chintz, fleece, satin or calico);
• felt;
• flannel.

As a filler, it is best to use:

• cotton wool;
• synthetic winterizer or synthetic winterizer;
• fabric scraps.

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Recommendations

Some useful tips from experienced needlewomen with extensive experience in decorating a baby's crib:

• The canopy on the crib is not just an accessory, it helps to protect the baby from drafts, light, and insects. However, after a few months it should be removed - the baby can grab the fabric with his hands, pull and even drop the entire suspension structure on himself. It is very important to wash the canopy regularly and often, because dust collects on the fabric, which can lead to the development of allergies in the baby.

• To decorate the back, you can use ready-made or do-it-yourself applications, and if you have the appropriate skills, it is easy to decorate the frame with colorful drawings.Paint for any children's things should be water-based, as it is non-toxic, does not exude strong odors and dries very quickly. When the child grows up a little, the images on the back can be used for the child's leisure - to tell him fairy tales about the characters drawn on the crib.

• So that the baby can entertain himself during periods of wakefulness, it is worth fixing toys and rattles on the sides of the crib.

• A child's sleeping place cannot be cozy and comfortable without high-quality bed linen sewn from beautiful fabrics. Young parents should remember that pillows and blankets made of natural fluff can cause allergies in babies.

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Conclusion

With your imagination and based on the recommendations above, you can easily decorate your baby's crib with your own hands. The efforts invested in this process will pay off instantly - the child will have a comfortable, safe and cozy bed, where he will spend time with great pleasure.

Decor elements created independently will cost much less than finished products, in addition, you can choose the color of the fabric that suits the interior of the nursery and be sure of the quality and naturalness of the materials used.

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Photo gallery - decorating a crib

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