Laundry Room Counter Skirt

I gave a hint in my last laundry room post about an update I was adding to the new counter top.  Just a reminder, here is the new countertop and the post showing the before is here.  If you guessed a skirt you were right!

I wanted to hide the laundry cart and make this area look a little prettier.  I’ve always liked skirted tables, counters, etc., so knew I would incorporate that in here somehow. I decided to use drop cloth.  I picked some up at Lowe’s.  This particular one is soft feeling to begin with, but I did wash it anyway.  It was $5.98 for a 4 ft. x 5 ft. drop cloth.  I bought two because I can use the left over drop cloth for other projects.

I decided to use a tension rod so I could easily remove it if needed.  I cut the drop cloth to size (from the floor to the clip of the clip ring) and added a ruffle to the top.  Then used clip rings to hang it from the tension rod.  I already had the tension rod and clip rings so I saved some money there.

I cut the drop cloth so that one of the finished edges would be the bottom and measured up from the floor to the clip ring which gave me 32 1/2 inches (I added a half inch for the seam allowance in adding the ruffle so cut it at 33 inches).

I used about 15 inches in width from a second drop cloth to give me the width I was looking for (about 66 inches wide).  The opening is 33 inches wide.  The ruffle was cut with a 6 1/2 inch drop and this piece also had the finished edge that came already sewn on the drop cloth.  I made that the bottom.  I cut the full width of both drop cloths with the 6 1/2 inch drop, and gave myself 112 inches of fabric to make the ruffle (sewing the two pieces together first for that extra long piece).

I attached the ruffle to the wrong side and then flipped it over to the showing side.  This gave it a finished look to the top.  I did pin it first to make sure this was going to turn out correctly. Better to take the time to make sure than have to rip stitching out!   I ruffle as I sew, which works for me. 

Now I have a pretty way to hide the cart holding the dirty laundry, yet it is still easily accessible. 

You can make a project like this easier on yourself if you can take advantage of the finished (sewn) edges already on the drop cloth.  I did with the bottom of the skirt, the bottom of the ruffle, and the two sides.

I’m loving the flirty ruffle and the sturdiness of the drop cloth fabric! 

*If you have any questions about how I made this, you’re better off sending me an email directly (kpassarette(at)yahoo(dot)com) rather than asking in comments.  I don’t always get the comments in my email because of whatever has been up with Blogger for the past six months and so I can’t reply. 

Linking up with:

Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life

Show and Share at Coastal Charm

Sizzle Into Summer at DIY by Design

Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage

Make It Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House

Sundays Best at My 1929 Charmer