green bicycle: DIY duvet cover

It's time to move June into a twin bed - not sure I'm ready for the transition but we're forging ahead. On the upside, I get to start hatching a plan for her bedding and was shocked to find out how expensive duvet covers are. So I decided to make my own using two flat sheets, loosely following the directions found here at Prudent Baby. The sheet design had brown, pink and orange polka dots. Pretty cute and not too girly.

Here's the breakdown....
Twin down-alternative comforter from Target
Two full size flat sheets from Walmart
Snap kit from here
Water-soluble pen from Joann Fabrics
Prayers that I don't swear too much while making this thing

Mind you, when I say loosely following the directions, I mean it. Hence the swearing. Flying by the seat of your pants and sewing often don't mix. :)

Our sheets were long enough for the finished product to have an inch of wiggle room. But we had to trim the width a little to get the right measurement, where we had a 1/2 inch seam allowance on each side, plus a little wiggle room. The double folded 4" hem at the top of the sheet is a perfect place to put the snaps. The Prudent Baby version calls for putting the snaps through only 1 layer of fabric but my husband thought 2 layers would be better. So we folded down the top hem and started marking things off with the fabric pen.

We measured in 10 inches from the edge before starting the "snap line." With the 4" hem, we measured down 2" and put the snaps in the middle, spacing them about 5 inches apart.

We did the same on the other sheet's top hem and did some serious double checking that the snaps would line up. While this project isn't rocket science, it's a little tricky if you haven't done it before. In the middle of helping with the snaps, my husband got annoyed and said I should have just bought one online. Hello, Garnet Hill!

But we persevered, matching the Right Sides of the fabric together and pinning it, starting a few inches in from the snap line on either side. Then I sewed all around, starting at one end of the snap line and going all the way around. Cut the points off the corners, flipped it inside out....Voila!