Making bed(linen) with kids

It is 15 past midnight. We came back home yesterday evening after more than a month of being away. Life started going on immediately. I was confronted with a long list of what P will be needing at his kindergarten only one of which is bedlinen. So a little before midnight I went to make one he will be able to take with him in the morning. I made it really easy, you know this is what I like doing… no nerves for anything else. But, I will show you THAT some other time.

Now I though I’d re-post the bedlinen P and me made together (originally posted on Budapest Moms in March)

I took a cheap Ikea sheet I had at home, some foam beads I bought who-knows-when, fabric paint and fabric painting markers and then I told P he was going to make his own bed linen.

Make sure you put something under your sheet if you decide to do this, to avoid stains. We did some practicing for a start (I cut this out for the finished product).

Our stamps were, as I mentioned, foam beads. But there are endless possibilities for stamping, from store-bought stamps, to carved fruits and veggies, wine corks or erasers. Just look around the house, I am sure you’ll come up with something creative. Kids like unusual solutions.

Halfway though the stamping process he got a little bored with it (it is a big sheet for a 3 year old), so I let him create his own pillowcase using fabric markers.

Pictured above is an Ikea Bomull pillowcase, 100% unbleached cotton, it is cheap and fun for projects. They don’t always have them, so I stock up when they do.

After our little intermezzo with the pillowcase, we went back to stamping the sheet.

I let the paint dry for 24 hours and heat set it after that, but this will differ depending on the type of fabric paint used, so read the instructions carefully. After this it was just left for me to sew it up. It’s just straight stitching, very easy even for beginner sewers, or someone who wants to learn to sew and needs a success project to keep them going.

He also pulls it out of his bed in the morning and brings it to the living room to snuggle with his little brother.

Now get stamping, it is FUN!

Update since March: P is not that gentle and snugly with his brother anymore…