A COT BUMPER Use washable fabrics and quilt the bumpers with heavyweight polyester wadding. The instructions here are for a bound edge – but bumpers can equally well be finished with a frilled or piped edge. Measure across the inside of the top and half way down the sides of the cot and Decide where the ties should be positioned – the top edge of the bumper should be tied to corner posts and to bars half way down the side of the cot. If the cot has a solid headboard, make long ties which can fasten around the back of the headboard.
Cut main panels of fabric and a layer of wadding to the finished measurements. Join widths of fabric with flat seams and the wadding with a lapped seam if necessary. Cut a 15cm wide strip to bind the edges of the bumper; these strips need not be cut on the bias since they do not have to be eased around curves. Cut four ties, 20cm long and the 5cm wide.
Sandwich the wadding between the two panels of fabric, right sides outwards; pin, then tack together all around the edges. Tack at intervals to hold the layers in place while you stitch the quilting – tack along the length of the bumper for vertical stitching, or up and down for horizontal quilting.
Turn under 2.5cm down each long edge of the binding, position on the inner side of the quilted panel, with the raw edge of the binding 2.5cm from the edge of the panel, right sides together. Stitch along the fold line, making tucks to turn the corners.
Turn the binding over to the outside of the quilted panel and slipstitch in place by hand or machine just inside the previous line of stitching. Make up ties by turning in 12 mm (! in) down each long edge and then folding in half, press and stitch, turning in the ends. Stitch the center of each tie to the appropriate point on the outside of the binding by hand. Do not make the ties too long; if they were to come untied, they could become entwined around a baby’s neck.
POCKET STORAGE A simple fabric pocket storage system, hung on the back of the door or at the foot of the cot, can be used to store baby-changing equipment or small items of clothing. Decide on a suitable overall size for the storage system: about 60cm wide by 100cm (40 in) deep is suitable for most needs. Plan the size and number of pockets: the instructions here are for three rows of pockets across the width of the panel, 30cm.