Simple crib bumper tutorial

This is my first tutorial.  It is by no means technical in regards to terms or methods as I am a novice seamstress, but it gets the point across. I came up with a very simple way to make cute crib bumpers and I wanted to share my method in case it would benefit someone else.  Let me know if you have any feedback or questions!

What you need:
- six 1" x 10" x 26" of Nu-Foam baby crib bumper pads
- two yards of a patterned cotton material
- two yards of a matching plain cotton material
- matching thread
- 16 yards of ribbon (I used 3/8" - you could also use 5/8")
- straight pins
- scissors

What to do:
1. Wash and iron your material.  You do not want to it to shrink or bleed after you have assembled the bumper.  I found it really easy to iron after I had cut up my material.
2. Cut out six 11 3/4" x 27 1/2" pieces of patterned material.  Do the same for the plain material.

3. Cut twenty four 24" pieces of ribbon.  If it will fray on the ends, seal it with a flame.
4. Pin one piece of patterned material and one piece of plain material together inside out with a 3/8" seam allowance.  Only pin the two short sides and one long side.  One long side will need to be open to place the pad inside.

5. You will add four ribbons into your seams before sewing (two ribbons to each short side of the bumper).  Fold each ribbon in half and pin it into the seam 1" from the edge.  The tails of the ribbon should be on the inside with the fold barely poking out.  Please see photos below for clarification.

6. Sew around the three pinned sides.  Pay close attention to your ribbons staying straight.
7. Turn right side out, with special attention to keeping your corners sharp.
8. Place pad inside.

9. Pin the open side and sew (see photo below for pinning clarification).

10. Place your bumpers in the crib!

                                      

                                      

Simple DIY Changing Pad Cover

So I haven't blogged since I got pregnant last July.  The main reason is that my pregnancy has been a bit tumultuous and my focus has been on taking care of me and baby.  The other reason is that I really have not made much new arts and crafts wise (just the same old crocheted hats and scarves and a few burp clothes) or cooked anything mind blowing.  Actually, Wes has done most of the cooking.

However, today that changed!  I embarked on a new project: a diaper changing pad cover!  While the tutorial is not my own, I wanted to share it because it is very simple.  I am not a sewing whiz and I was able to complete the task.  A couple of quick notes though: (1) I added an extra 18" of elastic because it was too tight on the corners of my changing pad; (2) you can see  in my photos that mine does not fit snug on the front because we have a strap attaching it to the dresser.  Click here for the tutorial.

Good luck!