Throughout history, bed canopies have been used to provide privacy in the bedroom and to conserve heat during the night. Today, these canopies can perform these same functions in addition to adding an elegant, decorative flair to your bedroom. If you like the look of the bed canopies you’ve seen in magazines and on television shows, you do not need to pay the steep fees a custom designer would charge you. Craft your own bed canopy using an inexpensive foam wreath ring and a bolt of fabric.
Step 1 – Prepare a large foam wreath ring by removing any plastic wrapping or price stickers. You can find foam wreath rings at your local craft store in a variety of sizes. The size of the ring depends on the size of your bed — use a 16-inch or larger ring for queen and full beds and a 10- or 14-inch ring for smaller beds.
Step 2 – Drape a measuring tape loosely on the floor around your bed, from the left corner at the head around to the right corner. This provides you with an idea how long your canopy needs to be. Measure the height of your ceiling to determine how tall to make the canopy.
Step 3 – Select the fabric for your bed canopy. Select a washable fabric that is soft and pliable, not rigid. The color or pattern of the fabric should match the existing decor in your room.
Step 4 – Gather enough fabric to accommodate the height and width measurements you took. It is not likely that you will find a single bolt of fabric to cover the entire area, so divide the width of the canopy into sections. Fabric is usually sold in 48- and 52-inch widths; once you select your fabric, you will know how many pieces you need to complete your canopy.
Step 5 – Pin the sides of your fabric pieces together, with the right sides facing in, and hem them with a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Once you have connected all the pieces, hem the entire length of the top and bottom of the fabric, as well as the two sides, using a 1/2-inch seam allowance.
Step 6 – Gather your fabric and drape the top edge over the foam wreath ring so that the fabric extends beyond the bottom of the ring by several inches. Your length of fabric will be much wider than the foam ring, so bunch the fabric for it to fit.
Step 7 – Sew through both thicknesses of the overlapped fabric extending from the foam ring. The fabric may be thick so, if you use a sewing machine, use a sturdy needle. Hand stitching may be the easiest option.
Step 8 – Decide where you want the canopy to hang over your bed. You may choose to position it directly in the center of the bed or position it near the head. Once you determine which position you prefer, screw a ceiling hook into the ceiling in the desired location.
Step 9 – Tie four equal lengths of 1/2-inch ribbon around the foam ring at equal intervals. The ribbon should be a little more than twice the length of the distance from the ceiling at which you want the canopy to hang. You may need to make a small slit in the fabric in order to pass the ribbon through.
Step 10 – Tie each ribbon loop in a knot and slip the loops over the ceiling hooks to suspend the canopy. Arrange the fabric of the canopy around the bed as you desire. You may choose to leave the open end of the canopy positioned on a particular side of the bed or leave it open near the head or foot. To change the position of the opening, simply remove the ribbon loops from the ceiling hook, rotate the foam ring and replace the loops.