Homemade trundle bed attempt (winter 2013)

"Finished" product - unfortunately not successful

My son's bed had just enough space underneath it for a spare mattress. But pulling it out without some sort of handle was impossible. I could barely pinch the corner or yank by the fitted sheet, if there was one, and I bend back a few fingernails that way. An idea rattled around in my head for a while and finally I went out and bought a piece of plywood that would serve as a platform. Then I found some wheels online that were small enough to allow the whole thing to clear the underside of the bed. I had considered some sort of runners instead of wheels (maybe a few 1x4 strips) but wasn't sure how to get the edges smooth enough to glide in and out.

Pilot holes for the wheels

Unfortunately I had to trim the plywood down to size. For some reason when I bought it, I was sure it would fit under the bed as-is but no, it was too long by an inch or so. When I discovered that I was so deflated, I left the wood propped against the wall... where it stayed for a good month. Then one day, I had a free hour or two after work and decided to search for a power saw. Thank goodness for sales reps - the man at Lowe's gave me the pros and cons of jigsaws, circular saws and miter saws. The miter saw was tempting but could not make long cuts, plus it was bulky and expensive... if I need to cut trim I'll use my handsaw and miter box. The circular saw brought out a primal fear of tools that can easily maim me. I walked out with a jigsaw for about $30.

Actually making the cuts was interesting. It went really fast but WOW it's tough to keep a jigsaw straight. The guy at Lowe's warned me but of course I plowed ahead without buying a guide or anything. It turned out well enough, though.

In progress with a lot o' little wheels!

I figured I needed to attach quite a few wheels to distribute the weight. The finished result was a bit weird. But no one was apt to see the bottom so I crossed my fingers and kept going.

This boat cleat was lying around and I thought it could work as a handle

I thought I would finish the edges off with some trim eventually, and stain this, but I never got that far. This project was a big FAIL.

So... unattractive and impractical!

Where did I go wrong?

1. The wheels. They were cheap to buy but still not worth the cost because they started shedding ball bearings the first time they rolled. That's probably my fault for thinking they could work on carpet, under a heavy weight. 
2. The cleat. For one thing, the edge of plywood can't possibly have the "teeth" required to hold screws. For another, that thing is a toe-crusher. It sticks out exactly where your feet are while tucking a kid into bed.
3. It's ugly. I knew it was going to be under a bed and a mattress and not particularly visible, but still... I would rather not add something that's practical but unattractive to my house. I'm not in college anymore (haven't been for many, many years).

Flopping a mattress on top doesn't help

 I won't even bother trying to sum up the cost. It'll just depress me.

Ottoman slipcover (spring 2013)

Slipcover camouflages the war-torn ottoman

This ottoman has been with me for years. It's practical: it has storage and matches a "chair and a half" with a fold-out bed. It's been tough to ditch them for newer furniture because (a) I have kids who are still young and therefore destructive, (b) I hate to get rid of something so functional, and (c) I'm not sure what else would fit in that space.

"Before" shot of the beaten-down ottoman

I figured it might make sense to try to make a slipcover. But I don't have a sewing machine and anyway, I've always messed up the bobbin when I've used one in the past. So I decided to drape the fabric and sew as little as possible. Anything would be better than the existing marker-stained, tattered fabric and plastic wheels. I hit the Calico Corners up the street again, the back discount section of course, and found this neutral remnant. Stripes are the only pattern I've avoided for some reason so I gave them a whirl.

Tucked corners with stitches from the inside

After figuring out which direction the stripes looked best, I tucked in the corners and made a few stitches on each. I am not sure if they will eventually rip through because there is nothing behind the fabric to reinforce them, but it seemed like a pretty decent gamble. If the stitches don't hold, I can redo them. If they tear through the fabric, I could probably tuck a little more and hide the damage.

Midway through attaching the bottom border

The corners had a lot of extra fabric that would have dragged on the floor. So I pulled it taut while trimming along the floor line with a pair of scissors. I tried to make the cuts in a smooth arc. Rather than trying to hem it the normal way, which I was afraid would be crooked or flimsy, I decided to sew a band of webbing around the bottom edge. It seemed like a good way to keep the slipcover in place, as there is some heft to it.

Finished project... the wrinkles eventually sorted themselves out

The most time-consuming - and tedious - part of this project was sewing the bottom edge. It probably took 2 hours; I spent the time on speaker phone, catching up with my Dad. I'm not a phone person so multi-tasking like this is perfect. Music is also a good distraction, and often when I look at a finished project I can flash back to the Pandora station I had on.

Finished project

Was this a success? I'm not sure. It's not awesome but it's not awful either. My daughter likes it, and it didn't cost too much, so I don't cringe when I look at it.

Time to complete: approx. 3 hours

Cost: approx. $15 for 2 yards of fabric, plus some leftover webbing (can't recall the cost)