It's DIY Xmas present time! This project is super easy, but takes about 30 hours for the Queen-sized version (6 for a baby). So start now!
(Apologies for the blurry photos & the deleted ones I couldn't retrieve that show the finished product). [Mr. ESB: read no further! This is your hidden Xmas present!]
1. Pick out your fabrics and make sure they'll meet your desired measurements for front & back of the comforter. Standard sizes for completed comforters are:
Twin: 65" x 88"
Full: 80" x 88"
Queen: 86" x 93"
King: 104" x 93"
California King: 98" x 97"
Baby: 18" x 18" to 36"' x 42" (this depends on where you're using the comforter. You want to measure it based on the crib size if that's where you'll use it. If you're just tossing it over the baby in the carriage or car seat, the smaller version is more reasonable. The larger version is if you're kind of swaddling/wrapping the baby up in it and carrying him/her around.)
(helpful weblink: http://www.denverfabrics.com/pages/static/yardage-estimator-bedspread.htm but note the fabric estimates are based on 54"-width fabric.)
2. Sew the front and back together in a u-shape: the top edges minus about 24" (or leaving enough room for you to stuff the comforter with batting), the sides, and the bottom. This makes a kind of comforter shell that's similar to a pillowcase.
3. Decide the batting thickness you want to use. Quilts use up to 4 ounce-thick batting so usually comforters are heavier. 6 ounces plus. I chose 10 ounces.
Next put the batting into the comforter. It takes a bit of time. And before you do it, just remember that unless you're making a baby comforter or a lap blanket, the batting won't be wide enough for your project, so you'll have to buy double the length of your sewn comforter shell.
I prefer to do this step at a friend's house with lots of space, my home being too small. It so happens that my exercise studio owner-friend loaned me her space a few consecutive Tuesdays in a row. (Remember it's always nice to vacuum after you're done for the day.) I used her exercise equipment weights to hold two corners of the comforter shell down while I stretched out the other two corners. (See photo of comforter shell above).
Be sure to bring fabric scissors, thread, & needle, too. If you're going to tie the layers of your fabric together in this same session, have a tapestry needle and your chosen yarn or ribbon on hand. (Avoid fuzzy yarn as it tends to fray and slide with agitation of the layers.)
4. Roll out the batting so that it slightly overlaps the edges of the comforter shell. This is done to your aesthetic. I love fluffy, over-filled things so I overlapped the comforter shell edges by about the width of my hand. This is round 1 of laying down the batting.
5. Trim the batting so you can roll out the batting for Round 2. Make sure that you don't cut the comforter shell as you do this.
6. Trim the second layer of batting to meet the desired width overlapping the comforter shell.
Notice I've overlapped the two layers of batting. This is very important.
7. Whipstitch the two layers of batting to each other where they overlap. Avoid attaching the comforter shell at the same time!
8. (This is an optional step that I like to do at this point in case of layers shifting.) Trim the second layer of batting to meet the desired width overlapping the comforter shell at its width.
9. Now the quasi-athletic moment when you stuff the batting into the comforter shell. Wear loose, comfortable clothing that allow your legs to straddle the whole project at times. (!) (You can also use this in the future for putting down comforters into duvet covers.) Make sure that your comforter shell is inside out.
Roll the corners toward the center, leaving the comforter shell opening at the top handy for you to pull the batting through.
(You can see my pants, calf, and green sock! Ahhhhg!)
Usually it ends up being a bit like a diamond shape, but this time around, the project kept unrolling on me so I rolled it up tight like a mummy.
10. Now go to the top where the comforter shell opening is and flip the fabric right side out. See blurry action photo!
11. Now stick a yardstick or wooden dowel inside the comforter shell to push the batting into the far corners. Careful not to rip the batting while you do this!
This is what the comforter shell looks like with the batting inside, puffy corners because of my preference for big batting overlap at the corners.
12. Decide how far apart you want to space your ties. I usually do a square distance of my hand length, but you want to make sure your hand length will result in even ties from one side to another. I begin at a corner farthest away from the comforter shell opening, preferring to sew from right to left, I start at the bottom right hand corner. I measure one hand length up from the bottom of the comforter and one hand length in from the side edge of the comforter. Then I look for a visual mark on the fabric and push the needle through all 3 layers at that point.
Start to sew the layers together with your tapestry needle. If your fabric is particularly difficult to pierce, use pliers to help pull the needle through.
This is a blurry photo showing how I tie a knot with my yarn. In the past, I've used quilting thread. That required several hours of piercing the same spot over and over again. I don't recommend it. I strongly encourage using yarn or ribbon (thin spaghetti ribbon, but NOT rayon rattail as that's just too slippery!). I'm an avid knitter but I just use scrap or waste yarn -- even crafter yarn for latch hook rug making because I'm looking for durability versus a sensuous, soft hand to the yarn.
13. When you've finished sewing the ties of yarn/ribbon from bottom to top of the comforter, you can machine sew or hand sew the top of the comforter together to seal the remaining raw edge. (Apologies: this photo got deleted) and you're done!
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