Thursday, March 17, 2011

DIY Book Sling (an Ikea Hack!)

Ever since I first saw it, I've loved this book sling at Sew Liberated:

Isn't it fantastic?

So when I was re-doing Eleanor's room I was intent on making one. There's a great tutorial here but I did mine a bit differently. Here it is:



I hacked an Ikea Grundtal double towel rail!

I measured my fabric for my sling, adding a generous allowance on all sides for the casing and hems (1 inch in my case). I then hemmed the (short) sides of the rectangle (making sure the finished width matched the width of the rail) and then sewed the casings for the rails on the long sides. I then simply unscrewed the rails, slipped the sling on and...voila!



It's functional, adorable and very quick. I think this took me about 20 mins, tops.

14 comments:

  1. Oh I wish I could sew... this is fabulous!!!
    Thanks for sharing :)

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  2. this makes me wish I had a sewing machine!

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  3. Holy cow - this is great! I was already planning on making this for my daughter, but this is even better than what I had planned! Thanks for the inspiration!

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  4. I, too, was inspired by Sew Liberated's slings and made some using the dowels and curtain brackets. It took a few weeks to find the parts--the towel rack idea is great. Next time, I'm trying this. :) I love that fabric, by the way! And Cars and Trucks and Things that Go is one of our very favorites.

    You can see my daughter's booksling here: http://www.sillyeaglebooks.com/2010/09/decorating-childrens-rooms-juliets-big.html

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  5. That's a gorgeous fabric you used Vanessa! (I'm also in love with your daughter's headboard...I'm loving yellow right now!)

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  6. @silly eagle books - I love your daughter's room and esp the book sling. Rachel and I definitely have a weakness for yellow!

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  7. I'm totally going to make this for my daughter! GENIUS!!!

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  8. great idea!!! this week I will go to ikea for buy the Grundtal towel rail, I can't wait to do it, thanks for your visit in my blog. Kisses

    http://www.atiasroom.blogspot.com/

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  9. Thank You!
    Very good ide.
    I have a Grundtal in my home and make in the way you have done.

    (Sorry my english are bad. Live in Sweden, land of Ikea)

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  10. That's wonderful!!! please send us pictures once it's made!

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  11. Love this! found you on Ikea Hackers!

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  12. I have a sewing machine and have no clue how to use it. Now that I know you're so handy maybe you could give me a crash course??? Love the sling. Can you make it more shallow? (Victoria)

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  13. @Lori - glad you found us! Thanks for visiting

    @Victoria - anytime!

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  14. Such a good idea! Thanks for sharing!

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