Girl Bumper is now a BOY Bumper

I took my girl bumper and transformed it into a BOY bumper by simply making a slip cover for it.

Not only did it turn out so much cuter then any store bought bumper (I just couldn't find anything I liked) I also saved myself a TON of $$$ in the process. I refused to buy one of those crib sets.  I could not believe how expensive those things are now.  I bought this bumper for less then $15 at Target 5 years ago....good luck finding anything like that now :)  boo. 

Here is a sneak peak at the fabric:

 Here is the BEFORE: cute girly flower bumper

 Here is the AFTER: handsome boyish robot bumper

All I did to do this was measure the total length of the bumper then double it, add a few inches for the seam on the end of the bumper as well as the opening of the slip cover to get the total length of fabric you need to make the cover.  Mine measured 159" so I doubled that and added 3".   Then measure the width of the bumper.  Mine was 10" so I cut my fabric to 11" to allow for a 1/2" seam allowance on both sides for sewing the cover together.  I cut strips of two different fabrics (11" x 44") and sewed them at random together to make my 2 long strips then sewed those right sides together (like you are sewing a pillowcase) and left one side open to turn it right side out.  BEFORE you do this, you will want to lay one of your complete strips on top of the bumper and pin your ties(i just used a white twine) were they are on the bumper you are covering. Then place you other completed strips on top of that making sure right sides are together, then sew around the whole thing. That will take the guessing game as to where the ties should be later on. After sewing you just simply turn it right side out and then slip your bumper into the new cover.  Sew the opening shut or I just left mine open.
**tip to save you even more $$$   When you go to cut your fabric, keep in mind that most fabrics are around 44" wide so you can use that width as the length of your strips.  Use the width of the strips as a guide as to how many yards of fabric you need.  (I was able to cover my bumper using just over 3 yards of fabric by doing this) So in other words, you can get 3 strips of fabric that are 44' long and 11" wide out of ONE yard of fabric which then gives you around 132" of length for your strips.  See where this can save you $$$?!?!  Make sure to add a few extra inches for the amount you will loose when sewing your smaller strips together.

I love this idea for the fact that it only cost $9.00 to make it, and I didn't ruin my original bumper.  I hope this helps and that it does not sound to confusing.  It totally spaced me to take pictures of the process until it was to late :)  boo.