Add instant style to your bedroom with an easy-to-make bed canopy. Barbara Buxton, host of Homebodies, and sewing expert Pamela Hastings explain how. Make an easy bed canopy with a length of fabric mounted on the wall over the head of the bed and draped to the sides. Sew a hem along the edges and ends of a long piece of fabric: you'll need 5 to 10 yards, depending on the height of your wall and the desired amount of drape. Fold the fabric in half, end to end, wrong sides together, and sew two rows of stitching an inch or two from the center line of the fabric to form a casing for a curtain rod. Insert the curtain rod into the casing (figure A). Install wall brackets -- one at the top point of the canopy and one on each side of the bed about 45" from the floor. Use wood screws if you're installing the brackets into wall studs, wall anchors if not. (Note: Canopy kits include all the hardware necessary for installing a canopy. The hardware is also available separately at fabric stores.) Slip the curtain-rod extender onto the top bracket (figure B), and attach the fabric-covered curtain rod to the extender. Frame the head of the bed by draping the fabric panels over the side brackets. Cover the side brackets with fabric rosettes created with a plastic doughnut and button, included in a canopy kit (figure C). Cut a large circle of fabric, loosely wrap it around the doughnut, and hold it in place with a fabric-covered button. Another type of canopy features a panel of fabric hung on the wall at the head of the bed, topped with a half-moon valance that extends over the bed. This type of canopy is best made with the aid of a kit, which contains all the necessary hardware and dimensions. The canopy's back panel is hung on a regular curtain rod installed on the wall, and the valance is hung on a flexible bow rod extending from the wall.
| 
)
)
)
)
)
