Ribbon meets linen in today’s post that shows you a clever way to add a beautiful detail to your bedding. I already showed you how easy making a linen duvet cover is, and now you can make that bedding even more special. Grab some ribbon and get crafty!
Whether you feel like adding one or two rows of ribbon along the edge of your duvet cover and pillows, this border will boost your bedding to another level!
Before we begin, I should mention again why linen makes an excellent choice for your bedding. You know by now that linen is actually soft against the skin (forget all those burlap bag comparisons!) and that it just gets more luxuriously soft with each wash. Linen is the best thing to wrap around you while you sleep! Need more reasons? I’ve got you covered!
Here is just a few more reasons I choose linen for my bed:
- Linen suppresses live pathogenic bacteria, micro flora, and fungi and is allergy free.
- Stimulates blood flow and promotes relaxation.
- It is a breathable fabric that keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. No more waking up in sweaty damp polyester/cotton sheets.
- Has an excellent ability to absorb superfluous moisture.
- Stronger than cotton.
- Long lasting and grows more comfortable with every use.
- Linen is environmentally friendly. It is a renewable resource and biodegradable.
The white linen with a border of black grosgrain ribbon looks beautiful, but there are so many colors to choose from!
Get creative and mix up colors.
Grosgrain ribbon can be found just about anywhere. Your local fabric store is a great place to look.
The clean border is a classic touch and makes your bed linen look so beautiful! The grosgrain ribbon trails along the length of both sides of the duvet. Why not make something gorgeous and handsewn to show the care you give your bed linen? This delicate feature adds elegance to decadently soft linen and will transform your ordinary bedding.
To show you just how easy it is, I decided to do a single ribbon border along the edge of a small pillowcase.
All you need is some linen and ribbon to get started. I chose to demonstrate this technique with IL020 linen in Cerulean.
IL020 is a lightweight linen is good for decorative pillows like this, but I would stick with IL019 for bedding. IL019 is a medium weight linen that is ideal for bedding. If you want to use IL020 for bedding, that is fine, but just keep in mind that it is a little more delicate (think handkerchiefs).I naturally chose a white ribbon to go with this blue shade of linen!
I measured my linen to extend over my pillow 3 inches; this allows extra material to create a border with. I cut two identical pieces like this.
Sew the ribbon onto the inner stitch by making two seams along the edges of the ribbon. If you like, you can make a border with two rows of linen (like the the black and white bedding). Fold the ribbon at each corner so you can continue sewing.
Once you place the pillow inside, you can finish all the seams by hand.
I love how the ribbon adds a classic border that is super easy to do. This is so simple to add to a duvet cover! All you need is some ribbon and you can make a straight stitch to keep it in place. It is just the thing to add something extra to your linen bedding.
Here’s another idea….why not add some lace? This same technique for adding a ribbon border to linen bedding, can be applied with lace. Lace trim is a beautiful touch that looks like it took forever to do, but in reality takes just a few minutes to add!
I hope you all found these tips to be useful. Linen is a great canvas for creative ideas. Even the addition of ribbon can make your bedding look like it belongs in a home decor magazine!
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17 Comments
You can also make the back of the pillow with an envelope opening so as to finish all seams and top stitching with a machine. Or a zipper can be placed near the bottom of the back or in the middle. Thanks, Janice
Am trying to make a twin sheet and wondered if can keep the selvedge on and use
in place of double hemming the sides?
Thanks
Lynn D
Lynn, all sheets used to be made that way years ago. the selvedges were stronger though in heavy the old cotton muslin sheets so be aware, they can wear out and need hemming or use bias tape on them when that happens.
this looks like kind of blend of linen and other material,too soft and bad quality.If yes,i wonder what the other blended material it is.
@Alvin I’ve had no issue with linen sheets top or bottom. I have given up “fitted” sheets and have 2 identical sheets (and just tuck around the mattress) giving the ability to rotate my sheets and spread any potential wear. It’s been a year and my sheets are incredibly soft and strong!
I want to know the same thing. I have been looking all over for extra-wide linen to make nice sheets for a custom-size bed, and I can’t find it anywhere!
Linen bedsheets and pillow covers are much cooler and drier than cotton and cotton/poly sheets, however, to make a long lasting sheet or pillow, you need a tightly woven fabric (i.e., high thread count). Otherwise, the twisting and turning of our bodies during the night, will tend, after a month or two, to push the yarns tightly together in some places and subsequently leave gaps in other areas. It is hard to make linen or linen/cotton blend yarns as fine as a cotton or cotton/poly yarn so you will not get linen thread counts anywhere near as high as with cotton or cotton/poly. The best you can do is get tightly woven linen or linen/cotton. Even sleeping under a linen sheet is much cooler than a cotton one and you don’t have to worry as much about wearing out your linen sheet because it is on top of you rather than underneath you. Now get cool!
Thanks Nicole! I appreciate your recommendation.
@Clare- I do not pre-wash the ribbon and haven’t had any problem with the colors bleeding. Happy sewing!
Nicole – please share how to make the seam in a bed sheet hidden. Linen for sheets; what a wonderful idea. Thank you!
@Karen- I would go with IL019 for a quilt. You can order free samples on our website to get a better idea of the different linen weights too!
@Joyce- I’m so happy to hear that, Joyce!!
@Michelle- It is impossible to make a bed sheet without a seam, as our linen has a width of 59 inches. However, making the seam hidden is very do-able!
Hello, I love to read your projects chronicles. It really stimulates my creativity, and the colours you show make me really want to try the linen. I suspect that your linen is addictive! I had a question about the cushion covers. Do you have to pre wash the ribbon, I was wondering if a dark coloured ribbon would bleed onto white or pale colours?
Do you have wide widths for making seamless bed sheets?
I’m no expert but in old days a person would lay a length of fabric up the middle of the bed and use another length divided in two for the sides so as to avoid laying on a seam. . IF that doesn’t work, Not wide enough and the seam would be under you then try using two widths and put the seam in the middle as in general we never lay in the middle of the bed. Also, you can butt the two selvages to each other and stitch them together to avoid some of the bulk.
FWIW, Kitty
Thank you so much for your suggestions. I have used most
all of them.
Very nice! You have so many wonderful ideas for using linen. I like them all! What weight linen would you suggest for making a quilt? Would linen be a good fabric for quilting? Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful idea. Even use the lace alone adn create some beautiful cases and sheets. Thanks