Tailored Bed Skirt Tutorial: An Easy Sewing Project

I have been looking for an easy way to make my own bed skirt, one that would coordinate with my slipcovered headboard. I like a tailored bed skirt, as opposed to a pleated dust ruffle or a ruffled bed skirt, just because it’s simpler and more minimalist.

The dust ruffle I had in mind is one that is easy to remove and throw in the washing machine.

I also wanted a bed skirt that was three panels that tuck up under the mattress, but not all the way. This way they can be easily removed and washed without taking the mattress off.

Materials Needed:

Fabric. I chose an indigo denim fabric partly because I wanted a dark color. Be careful when you order fabric online to determine if it is one piece of fabric or individual 1 yard pieces. If you have a queen or a king size bed you will need to buy a lot of fabric.
Thread
Sewing machine
Iron
Scissors or rotary cutter
Measuring tool
Straight edge
Fabric pen or chalk pen
Straight pins

A word about choosing fabric. Pay attention to the weight of the fabric. You will want a fabric that is cotton duck or canvas weight. That’s the problem with many of the cheap bed skirts that you can buy on Amazon, is they are so light weight that they don’t hang properly.

Make sure you wash the fabric before you begin to prevent the final product from shrinking.

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Step-by-Step Guide to DIY Bed Skirt

This bed skirt is really like three panels, each with a header that slides under the mattress. You make each panel separately and then sew them together.

Measuring For Your Bed Skirt

First, measure the length of your bed from the head of the bed to the foot of the bed to determine the length of the side pieces. For example, my king bed measures 80 inches on the sides.
Next, measure the width of the end of the bed from one side to the other. A king bed measures 76 inches.
Lastly, you will need to determine the “fall” of your bed skirt. Usually this will be from the edge of the mattress to the floor. My fall is 14 inches. Because the pieces are quite long, I found it to be easier to mark out my measurements with fabric chalk.

Cutting Your Fabric

Lay out your fabric on a large surface. You will need to cut a total of 6 long strips of fabric. You will need to cut 2 long pieces, one for each side and a piece for the end.
In addition, for this design, you will need to cut 3 narrow panels that will lay between the mattress and the box spring, the header. These header panels will be the same length as the sides and the end, but much narrower, I made mine 6 inches.
Remember to add about an inch to ALL your measurements to account for seam allowance and hem allowance.

Sewing The Pieces Together

Hemming the Raw Edges: With a hot iron, press a 1/4 inch hem to the bottom of each panel, then turn that on itself and press again. Essentially you will have a half inch hemmed edges along the bottom of each panel.
Using your sewing machine, sew a straight line along each pressed hem. Do the same to the sides of all your panels.

Attach the Header : Before you sew the sides and end together you want to attach the narrow header panel that will go under the mattress to each piece separately. You can do this by simply placing the narrow header panel right side down on each of the main skirt pieces, 2 sides and one end. Using a straight stitch, sew the small panel onto the larger panels of the bed skirt.

Sewing the Panels Together: Now all you have to do is attach the side panels to the end panel. Because the panels are a bit bulky, I used straight pins to hold everything in place for this step. With right sides together sew a straight line to connect each side to the end.

Attaching Your Bed Skirt

The wonderful thing about this bed skirt is how easy it is to put on AND take off. You don’t have to remove the mattress and fight to keep the skirt in place when you put the mattress back.

There are a few options. If your mattress is really heavy (like mine), you can just tuck the header under the mattress and you’re done.

If you feel you need more stability you can use upholstery pins to fasten the bed skirt to the bed frame or the box spring. So easy!!! This means no shifting when you change your sheets or wash your custom bed skirt in the washing machine.

My mom has a bed skirt like this and we secured it with duct tape (if you don’t have the pins).

Traditional bedskirts often don’t offer the perfect fit. So, why not make your own bedskirt?

With this easy DIY bed skirt you can customize your fabric and ensure it fits the length and sides of your bed, all the way to the bottom of the mattress. I am so happy with the end result and the best part is it was easy to make and easy to put in place.

If you liked this post check out how to make a slip cover for your headboard and a rug size guide for bedrooms.