Fleece Guard Rail Tutorial

What do you do when your baby starts to personalize their crib with teeth marks?

It's like this the entire way around :-/

What else is there to do but get crafty and find a solution?

I take issue with this for two reasons:

(1) I do not want Clara ingesting wood and finish

(2) I don't want Clara damaging furniture

 

So I was telling the other moms at our playgroup about this problem and we brainstormed. Beth suggested using fabric of some sort, and Lauren suggested adapting the idea of the "no sew" blankets. I took those ideas with me to Hobby Lobby today, and here's what I did:

So many choices!

First, I recommend picking out a fleece. Flannel or other hardy fabrics would work, but I like fleece because it's so soft and yet fairly thick. I want it to be easy on her gums, but also protect the crib rail.

Giving her opinion

Once you've picked out your fabric, you will need to measure the length of each rail. For the purpose of this tutorial, I'm only doing the front one.

After you figure out how long it needs to be, use your measuring tape to figure out how far on each side it will need to fall to be able to comfortably cut strips that you can tie. 

When you cut your fabric, make SURE you've measured and allowed room for both sides of the rail!

Once you've cut your fabric, rehang it on the crib and figure out how high you need to cut the strips. You are going to need to tie it tight up underneath the rail, so make sure you cut it high enough.

Take it back off, and go down the entire length of the fabric. I am *ahem* not a detail oriented person whatsoever, and believe that imperfections = beauty, so I just eyeballed the rest of it :)

If you are somewhat OCD, or will go nuts if it's not all even, I suggest using some pins to ensure you get a straight line and they are all cut the same length.

Then I used quilt batting to make the guard even softer, and pad it even more against damage from her teeth.

You can really go any width with the batting, but I didn't see the purpose of it going all the way around, so I cut it 1/2 the width of the fleece. That way it will protect the top and the inside part of the rail.

AHEM. Try to not get overly enthusiastic when cutting and cut your measuring tape in half ...

*sad face*

If you want you could use some ticky tack or double sided tape to help getting the batting in place, but once you put the fleece on top it will actually stay in place fairly well. 

I used some ticky tack to keep just the middle in place

When you unfold the fabric it should look like this, solid in the middle, with strips of fabric off to both sides:

Sorry it's kind of hard to see in this picture

Drape the fleece over the batting, making sure it's even on both sides.

Notice I did it about 3 inches too long. I recommend this because fabric bunches a little bit as you tie the knots.

Pick which end you want to start on, and tie over the outside of the rail to keep it in place.

Then, since you've cut the strips together, there is one strip on the outside for everyone on the inside, MAKE SURE YOU MATCH THEM CORRECTLY, or you will be untying double knots to make it work at the end ... gah ... not that I had to do that or anything :)

I tied double knots because I didn't want Clara to be able to untie them, nor did I have the patience to attempt to tie that many bows out of strips of fleece. I quite like how it looks too.

I started by tying them all, and leaving them long until I was finished.

I didn't really care for the super shaggy look, so I went back and trimmed them all shorter.

I think it turned out pretty cute!!

And it was soft enough for Clara to chew on, while still protecting the furniture from those sharp little teeth. I will finish the other two sides tomorrow, but for now Clara needs to actually sleep in the crib so I have to wait :)