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a home + living guide for the post-college, pre-parenthood, quasi-adult generation

07.28.2003

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dressing 
y
our dresser

by Kristine Goodwin | 
1 2

My dresser was once a thing of pride. It was a beautiful, dark—almost black— piece of furniture that really made my day every time I walked by it and caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye. Okay, it really never made my day, but it was something that I was proud of. My dresser was the first thing I bought when I graduated from college: it represented a new chapter in my life.

Over the years, unfortunately, the dresser had slowly become a haven for everything and anything: receipts, pocket change, books, magazines, cordless phone. And the few spots that peeked through all that mess had also become stained and scratched. Clearly, I needed to figure out a way to stop the clutter from accumulating, to find a solution to my dresser problem that would also ensure that nothing else could ruin the wood. Something pretty wouldn't hurt either. It was then that the idea of a dresser runner came to me. Think table runner, only sized to suit your dresser, and with one handy additional feature: pockets on the sides, to serve the dual purpose of looking cute and providing a place to stash stuff.

The only problem: I can't sew. Luckily, I remembered reading about no-sew tape in the Lazy Decorator's Bag Of Tricks. Now there was nothing that could stop me from making this runner!

what you'll need
tape measure
scissors
no-sew tape
fabric
iron & ironing board
pins

1 Measure your dresser
Take the tape measure out and begin measuring. Start by measuring the depth and width of the dresser's top surface. I subtracted a few inches from the depth to make sure that the fabric didn't protrude over the front edge of the dresser. Decide how far down you'll want for the runner to hang on each side of the dresser.

1 Decide on pocket size 
Now, you need to figure out what type of pocket you want to make. If you have some sewing skills and want to add a fancy little pocket, then you're on your own. I wanted something really simple so I decided a fold-up pocket — constructed by folding the fabric from the bottom up to the desired pocket size and then "sewing" the sides together— would be best. If you want to use this pocket method, add a few inches to your length measurement so you not only get the pockets but the hanging length you like as well.

fabric length = 
dresser length + 2*(pocket height) + 2*(overhang length)

skedaddle on this-a-way please

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