How to Make a Butterfly Bed Canopy
By Mary | March 10, 2010
Here are some simple steps so that you can make your own butterfly bed canopy at home. There are lots of different types of bed canopy, but this project is ideal for a girl’s bedroom as it is for a suspended canopy that hangs above the bed and drapes either side and around it. Be careful though – although this canopy is not very heavy, as it is suspended from the ceiling, you must make sure that you are able to screw a hook into the ceiling over the head of the bed.
You will need:
• a chandelier hook
• the inside ring of a large embroidery ring
• 12 metres (13 yards) of lightweight light coloured material (muslin is ideal)
• a further supply of fine lightweight cotton fabric in different colours, about 1 metre (1 yard) pieces in 4 or 5 colours
• 5 metres (5.5 yards) ribbon and some trimmings if you like
• a supply of iron-on fusible fabric webbing (make sure it’s suitable for the material you’re using)
• some iron-on fusible hem strip (make sure it’s suitable for the material you’re using)
• a hot glue gun
First, decide how low you want your canopy ring to be from the ceiling, take that measurement and cut the ribbon into 4 lengths of that measurement plus about 10 cm extra. Tie the ribbon onto the embroidery ring at the four compass points and then tie all the pieces of ribbon together at the other end so that they will loop and hang off the ceiling hook.
Then cut your canopy fabric into four equal lengths (each at least 2 metres long, so that they will hang all the way from the embroidery ring to drape over the bed). On the bottom end of each length apply some iron-on fusible hem strip so that it doesn’t fray
Next cut the different colored pieces of tulle into butterfly wing shapes in different sizes (making sure you have at least 4 wings of the same size per butterfly) – the easiest way is to think of each wing as a teardrop – or you can go online and find a butterfly pattern. You can have as many butterflies as you like!
Then carefully following the instructions on the fusible fabric webbing, iron on the wings to your canopy fabric in a butterfly shape. Use remaining pieces of ribbon and trimmings to make up the bodies of the butterflies, sewing or gluing them in place.
Once you’re finished decorating the canopy fabric, take each of the four lengths and fold one end over the embroidery ring in between the four ribbons (this can be a bit tricky on your own, so get someone to help) – fold enough fabric over so that you can attach the fabric to the embroidery ring with the glue gun.
If you have spare trimmings or ribbon, you can glue some of that onto the embroidery ring to finish off.
Finally screw the ceiling hook into the ceiling, carefully hang your canopy so that two lengths of fabric drape behind the bed, and two pieces drape over the bed. And voilà – a butterfly bed canopy fit for a princess!
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