PLATFORM BED DIY

Today I want to share an easy way to DIY a platform bed.  If you’ve ever used a drill and screwdriver, you could make this bed!  It’s really that simple.

Jeremy built our platform bed when we first moved into our home.  At the time, we had searched everywhere for the perfect bed but just couldn’t find one we loved.  He opted to build a wood platform and attach Ikea legs to the base.  It served its purpose for 7 years, but recently he decided the bed needed a serious makeover.  As we both love the muted tones and raw wood found in Scandinavian design, we covered the platform in grey felt and replaced the legs with poplar dowels.  Here’s the full how-to:

Materials:

1” thick wood – enough to create a platform to fit your mattress.

2   1”x 9”x 66” hardwood beams

4 to 6 Ikea Capita legs (the number of legs will depend on the size of the bed you are creating) 

28  1¼”wood screws

28 washers

Drill

2” drill bit

Sander

Medium and fine grit sandpaper

Wood glue

Linseed oil/ Polyurethane

Sponge brush

Screwdriver

Grey felt – enough yardage to cover the platform

Staple gun

5/16” Staples

Tape Measure

NOTE: You could use the Ikea legs as is, but if you prefer the look of the wood dowels include this in your list of materials:

4   2”x 9” poplar dowel legs

1 or 2   2”x 9 ¾ “ poplar dowel supports (optional)

Method:

1]  Measure the mattress to figure out how many pieces of wood you will need. If you need any pieces cut, a local lumberyard will do it for around 50c/cut.

2]  Using the 2” drill bit, drill 4 to 6 holes in each piece of wood. This allows heat to escape and preventing condensation from forming on the underside of the mattress.

3]  Sand the wood to remove any splinters.

4]  Seal the wood with polyurethane or linseed oil.

5]  Lay the wood pieces side by side forming the platform. 

6]  Glue the supporting pieces 7” from the top, bottom and side edge of the platform.  Evenly screw wood screws along the length of the supports.

7] Attach the Ikea leg brackets approx. 14” from the bottom and top edge of the platform centering them on the supporting beams.

If you prefer dowel legs, drill a hole slightly smaller than the bolt on the Ikea leg bracket.

8] Screw legs into the leg brackets.

Note: Depending on how large your bed is and how many pieces of wood you’ve used to create the platform, you may want to add another leg or 2 to stabilize it. We added an extra leg to the very center of our queen sized bed.

9]  Flip the platform over. Your bed should now look like this. Just ignore the fact that our bed has one side table. 

10]  Drape the felt over the platform and staple it to the underside. I needed two pieces to cover the width of our bed, so sewed these together before stapling. You could also just staple the two pieces in place. 

Done! 

Get Happy :) 

Please feel free to leave any questions/comments below. I do so love hearing from you. ☺  If you enjoyed this tutorial please share the love by liking The Felted Fox on Facebook. Also, don’t forget to subscribe or follow The Felted Fox on Bloglovin to receive free tutorials and patterns to your inbox. Nicole

SQUIRREL PINS SEWING TUTORIAL

When I first started to sew, every piece of fabric seemed important.  After each project I would end up with a pile of scrap fabric that I just couldn’t bring myself to throw out.  I knew that I could use the fabric for something, but I just didn’t know what!  I eventually created these squirrel pins from my leftover felt to give to the little people in my life.  Each pin uses about a 3” x 6” piece of felt.  If you have larger pieces of felt, you could easily enlarge the pattern to create adorable squirrel pillows for your child’s bed.

Supplies:

My free pattern

Grey felt

White felt

Grey, white and red thread

Polyester fiberfill

Safety pin

Super glue or a glue gun

NOTE: this pattern is for domestic use only and cannot be used commercially or sold. 

Method:

1)  Print pattern and cut out templates.

     2)    Cut felt according to template.

     3)    Sew white cheek piece onto face.

      4)    With right sides facing, sew top of head and sides of head – do not sew ears and bottom of head yet.

      5)    Turn felt right side out and sew eyes, nose, mouth, a few running stiches across forehead and little hearts on ears.

     6)    Sew ears together and trim any excess.

      7)    Stuff head with fiberfill and sew the bottom closed.

     8)    Use super glue to adhere pin and pin cover to the back of the squirrel’s head.

And you’re done!  Give these to your little ones on Valentines Day, and, if you have the time, make extras for them to share with their BFF’s. 

HIS AND HERS LAPTOP SLEEVES

These laptop sleeves would make the perfect gift for your techie friend or family member this Christmas. These sleeves can be sewn in under an hour and are easy enough for the beginner sewer.

PLEASE NOTE: these designs are solely for domestic use and cannot be used commercially or sold. 

WOMEN'S LAPTOP SLEEVE

Supplies:

2 pieces of felt in contrasting colours – 18” x 26”

1 piece of white felt 3” x 14”

18” x 26” fusible webbing  

¾” x 6” Velcro

White and grey thread

Method:

1) Measure the width of the laptop.  Cut 2 pieces of felt approximately 2 inches wider than the laptop and 26” long.

2) Cut 1 piece of fusible webbing to the same size.

3) Cut 3 strips of white felt 1” wide at varying lengths. 

4) Cut each strip in half at an angle.

5) Pin white strips to the front of the sleeve and sew in place.

6) Pin Velcro 4” from opposite edge and sew in place.

7) Pin and sew second strip of Velcro approximately 1” from edge of lining felt. (Note: distance will vary depending on laptop. Fold felt over laptop to mark placement of second strip correctly.)

8) Sandwich the fusible webbing between the 2 layers of felt and fuse according to packaging instructions.  The two strips of Velcro should be at opposite ends of rectangle.

9) Sew edges of felt.

10) With wrong sides together, fold felt approximately 1” shorter than the height of laptop.

11) Sew a 3/8” seam along folded edges. 

MEN'S LAPTOP SLEEVE

Supplies:

2 pieces of felt  - 18” x 26”

1 piece fusible webbing - 18” x 26”

¾” x 18” elastic

Grey thread

Method:

1) Measure the width of the laptop.  Cut 2 pieces of felt approximately 2 inches wider than the laptop and 26” long.

2) Cut 1 piece of fusible webbing to the same size.

3) Sandwich the fusible webbing between the 2 layers of felt and fuse according to package instructions.

4) Sew edges of felt.

5) Cut a piece of elastic to the same length as the width of the sleeve + 1” for seam allowance.

6) With wrong sides together, fold felt approximately 1” shorter than the height of laptop.

7) Sandwich edges of elastic between felt.

8) Sew 3/8” seam along folded edges.  

Have fun creating your own Christmas gifts this season. Nicole 

THE FELTED FOX GOES TO NORWAY: Felt Fox Pillow DIY

Jeremy recently traveled to Norway to visit his family.  We usually try to make the trip together during the summer, but given my work schedule this year I couldn’t take the time off.  I love these family pilgrimages - staying on the organic apple farm, picking wild berries, swimming in the lake and watching the midnight sun.  Visits also always include pulling out family photographs, apple cider and wonderful homemade cakes!  His family members are among the most welcoming and loving people I have ever met. 

Though I couldn’t visit Norway this year, I wanted to send along a few small gifts for cousin Tone’s adorable little girls.  As a wildlife biologist, I am always looking for ways to bring nature into my designs (if I had my way our home would be filled with animal figurines, wildlife-themed tea towels, duvet covers, and much more!). Having spent much of my early career working with leopard populations in South Africa, I have a particularly soft spot for predators. 

On previous visits to Norway, Jeremy and I had seen beautiful red foxes on the family farm.  Although still widely regarded as pests and persecuted for their pelts, red fox populations in Scandinavia suffered their most drastic decline in the 1970’s and 80’s, due to the spread of mange.  Thankfully, populations have now largely recovered, and I was delighted to see these beautiful creatures frolicking in the apple orchards.  They are amazing to watch: graceful, fast and usually very shy.  As I wanted to share a bit of my passion for wildlife with Tone’s little girls, I decided to make felted fox pillows.  Hopefully, the girls will grow to admire the breathtaking nature that surrounds them—especially the foxes—as much as I do.

To make your own felted fox, you will need:

My free pattern 

Inkjet printer

Freezer paper

X-acto knife

Cutting mat/board

White felt 15” x 22”

Non-toxic fabric paint in grey and red

2 Paintbrushes

Iron

Sewing machine (the pillow is also small enough to be hand sewn)

Sewing needle

Thread in white and grey

Polyester fiberfill (small bag)

NOTE: this pattern is for domestic use only and cannot be used commercially or sold. 

Step 1:

Print pattern directly on to 2 sheets of A4 sized freezer paper. Make sure to print the pattern on the matt side.  Place a cutting board underneath the freezer paper and cut out solid black lines.

Step 2:

Place freezer paper shiny side down on to the felt and using a dry iron, adhere freezer paper to felt.

Step 3:

Using small paintbrushes, paint over stencil. I used grey fabric paint to outline the body and red to fill in hearts. 

Step 4:

Once the fabric paint has dried, cut the felt along dotted line and remove freezer paper. Use the front piece as a template to cut back of fox pillow. 

Step 5:

With right sides facing, sew a ½ “ seam, leaving an opening at the base of pillow wide enough to fit you hand through. 

Step 6:

Trim excess felt around ears and tail.  This will allow the pillow to curve more easily.  Turn pillow right side out.

 

Step 7:

Use grey thread to add a few running stiches along face and tail of fox pillow.

Step 8:

Stuff pillow and sew base. 

Your felted fox pillow is now ready to put a smile on a little face. 

For those who are interested in experiencing the Norwegian countryside, the stabbur (first image of Norway) has been converted into a rental cottage. Visit grenske.no for more information.

If you have any questions/comments or would like to send photos of your finished foxes, please leave a note in the comments section or send me an email.  I’d love to hear from you, Nicole.