[Thanks to all of you who entered the Sew Retro Give-away! We have a winner: Caryn who commented: “Oh this book has my name written all over it 🙂 If I don’t win it here I will definitely be buying a copy asap! My fav clothes decade has to be the 50’s, also like many things about the 70’s as well (just not the polyester!)!” Congratulations Caryn! I loved reading everyones comments about your favorite decades in fashion. Fascinating! Thank you for sharing!]
My boys sleep in bunk beds. Youngest sleeps on the bottom. His stuffed animals are suspended above his bed by a hammock (square of fabric with twill tape ties stitched to each corner) tied to the slats on the underside of the top bunk. Perfect. Oldest, on the top bunk, has no such place to stash his stuffed animals. In addition to getting a little old for his plush friends, his growing body needs more space up there! Not wanting his bed to be completely devoid of fuzzy friends, I knew I needed to think of something. (This age is so sweet and funny, isn’t it? So much internal growth during those early double digits. Lingering between little kid and big kid…)
So I came up with an idea to make a long row of pockets that would hang from the railing on the top bunk. That way he could stash just a few stuffed animals in the pockets, as well as a book or magazine or two, and a flashlight for reading in bed. (The rest of the stuffed menagerie has found a home in the closet for now.) I retrieved the leftover sheet piece from my stash, hemmed the raw edge, then folded it lengthwise. Then I stitched the short ends along with a few vertical rows of stitching to segment the length into 5-6 pockets. Next I stitched twill tape ties at intervals along the top edge to tie around the top bar of the railing. Viola!
Last night he tried it out for the first time. I think he thought it was pretty cool. He had much more room to spread out yet still had a few favorite things close at hand. When you share a room with your brother, you need to have your own special space with your own special stuff. Y’know?
What a brilliat idea – I can see I will be making this for a little person I know.
thanks for sharing
Happy Week
My boys are almost 11 and almost 8–and neither will sleep with a top sheet!
OMG, I have pjs made out of that flannel! They are my favorite! You did a great job with those sheets 😉
Oh that’s great. I love it. I should make something like this for my kids.
This is such a great idea. We are always picking up books and toys off the bed before my kids go to sleep. I am definitely going to make this.
my 14 yo daughter has a loft bed and this would be a perfect project to add to her space. a place to keep her current reading material as well as headphones and remotes that seem to get lost in her bedding.
Great idea for the bunk bed pocket – boys do love to bring stuff to bed, don’t they? That’s how you know it’s a winner – they bring it to bed. Love that! I often find cars, pokemon cards and even rocks in the kids’ beds.
I remember sharing a bunk bed with my sister. We slept on the top and turned the bottom into a blanket covered clubhouse 🙂 Best idea ever.
My house is full of boys who all love reading and playing in bed. Last winter I made wall pockets from felted wool, fun prints, and stitched their names on each one, with all these boys it’s very important to have your OWN stuff!!!
Mariah,
That sounds really awesome!
Betz
Such a lovely print!
Thanks for this idea! I made one for my 4 year old who now has a bed rail. It is brilliant and simple. Two things I love:)
http://www.falafelandthebee.com
~Michelle White
Great idea with the pocket! My kids don’t sleep w/ top sheets, either. And, my 9yo has so much “stuff” on her bed (stuffies, flashlight, books, notebooks, pens, etc) that she could really use something like this. Love it 🙂
This looks like a great idea! My bed is the top of a bunk bed and I have a ton of books up there, so I have a couple of small shelves attached to the wall next to my bed that (so far) hold all of the books I have up there. But, alas, I do not have a side rail to attach such a book holder to. And so far, I have not fallen out of bed. Maybe I should put up another shelf? One thing the shelf does (that you may not want) is it holds things, such as a plate or glass, that I use while I am reading in bed. I also use the shelf to hold a test tube that holds pens for me (it is wedged in between books). This looks like a great idea, if I just had a side rail.
i love it! my boys sleep in bunks and i thought of making one for the sides– but i like it along the backside. might have to give it a try. thanks for the hints.
http://patchworkposse.com/blog
what a great idea– now I know what to do with the extra wiggles sheet!
THANKS
My boys are six and eight and also sleep in bunks. I’ve thought of making one of those pocket things for the top bunk before but just haven’t gotten around to it. Just need to DO IT! But, I LOVE the idea of the stuffed animal sling for the bottom bunk. Not just keep the animals off the bed, but keep one specific animal (our 2yo golden) from stealing said stuffed animals and carrying them around the house!
I love this-it’s perfect for my son’s loft bed. Thanks so much for sharing! I blogged about it here: http://makealong.blogspot.com/2011/01/book-pockets.html
This is great! I posted about it on my blog – http://wp.me/pkcUM-AU
Perfect for the bunk beds we just bought for our grand kids! Love the hammock idea as well. Thanks for sharing the idea … you rock!
Great idea with the top bunk pockets. I think being a mom makes a women more special and valuable.. We just love to do simple things for our little monkeys.. Can’t wait to do something little special for my little angel.:)
I just found this idea on Pinterest and loved it! Already made curtains for my boys’ room and I am so excited to use the leftover fabric in such a great way. Thanks for sharing your project! 🙂