Lily's Big Girl Bed

There are lots of changes going on in the Partridge household. We are taking away Lily's "ga" otherwise known as a nuk after she turns two and tonight we will set up her big girl toddler bed. Bye, Bye crib!

We are doing it this week so that she has time to get used to it. Initially, we were going to surprise her with her room makeover on her birthday, next Friday but since the party is Saturday I thought it would be best to make sure she is well rested. So we've decided to set it up a week early so she has some time to get used to it. I think she is totally ready, I'm just not sure that I am! I can't beleive my baby is out of a crib now.


Since I am a huge frugalista we decided to reuse Logan's toddler bed that I bought at a garage sale. Unfortunately, it was the "moon and stars" theme from his nursery and doesn't go with Lily's fairy room. Therefor, I decided to sew slip covers for her headboard and foot board to cover the blue and white stars.


Sewing slipcovers for headboards is surprisingly easy. Measure the size of your headboard/footboard and then calculate the yardage. 2 yards was plenty for a toddler bed. Next, you trace the frame of the bed on the back of the fabric you plan to use. (I admit that I used a shortcut and just cut around the frame instead of tracing and then cutting.) Make sure that you trace about 1.5 inches out from the actual frame so you have a little give when it is time to fit the slipcover over the headboard.

To create a padded headboard, you need to have three pieces of fabric and batting. The first piece of fabric will be the front, the second piece will be backing that should be white, and the third piece will be the back. The front and back should be the fabric that you want everyone to see.


Face the front piece inside out so that the back of the fabric is what you see. Then pin the form and stitch it, when done turn it right side out and then stuff it with batting. Sew the bottom closed. The next step will be to face both the front and back forms inside out. Pin the pieces together and stitch them. Finally turn the slipcover inside out and place it over the headboard. Wallah, you have a totally different look for your bed!

Lily is going to be so excited to have a pretty big girl bed! I made a matching quilt to go along with it from the old quilt we used to have when our office was a guest room. Overall I spent about $15 to recycle the toddler bed and make it "new" to Lily. :)