Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The making of a bed...

..that seems like a silly thing - "making" a bed.

Not the actual act - but what we call it. You can "make " a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, or "make" a table and chairs (and, I guess, a bed)..

..but I think it would be better to say "dressing the bed" which is, actually, what we do.

If we hang towels on the towel bar, we don't say "making the towel bar"..

Hmm..thoughts to ponder..............or not.

Anyway, while I was "dressing" the bed, I thought of how that has evolved over just the past few years.

Remember bedspreads? Not comforters, or quilts or coverlets, but bedspreads. They were smoothed out and the pillows actually had a little flip-over thingy that made them look as it they were part of the upholstered piece of furniture known as the bed.


If you were really fussy, you'd slide your hand underneath the fold and make it smoooooth..

There were really steps in "making" the bed:

1. Bottom sheet tight. If you were lucky, you had contoured sheets - if not, flat and "hospital corners" were the thing of the day.


2. Top sheet. Design down so that when you flipped it over (instep 4) you'd see the pattern. It also provides a prettier bed that allows both sides of printed sheets to appear when the bed is turned back for entry. Then, when you slipped between the covers, your were sandwiched in between patterns. Oh joy.

Again, hospital corners. Tight. Toe-suffocating-tight. Get-mad-and-pull-the-bed-apart-tight.

3. Blankets, with the satin edging pulled up to about 8 inches from the top of the top sheet.

4. Fold top sheet over on to the blanket. Smooth all and tighten. Again. Hospital corners.

5. Now the bedspread....remember, not a comforter that can be whipped up and over the bedding - no - this was a bedspread that was larger - much larger - than the bed itself. Once the footing was sufficiently covered, the excess (and there was a lot) was folded down on itself . You now have about 2 feet of fold-over.

6. Place the pillows, with the open end of the pillowcase to the outside of the bed, on the bed with their edges crossing over the spread by about 6 inches.

7. Flip bedspread over the pillows, smooth and make sure the material is under the pillows, making an upholstered-looking top.

8. Place 3 square throw pillows, on their points (triangle) and you're done!

Can you say...Oh. My. Heck.

I was ecstatic when comforters came into being. Imagine - tossing the comforter up, tossing your pillows on, and walking away.

New words came into my vocabulary - comforters, duvets, pillow shams, dust ruffles.

Many, many (many) throw pillows tossed haphazardly on to the sleeping pillows.

But, even now, I do toss, smooth. Pillow-pile . Daily.

Sometimes I see a lump in the middle , only to discover Braxton, asleep and not wanting to move.

Ah yes, life and "bed dressing" is has come a long way...

So, do you "dress" your bed??

-me

8 comments:

A Wild Thing said...

I have that lump in the middle problem too...this was a great post that brought back all those memories of dressing the bed(thank you very much!)

I also was taught to iron the sheets and pillow cases(along with Dad's hankies and boxer shorts)

Did you hang your clothes on the line longest to shortest, dark to light. I'll never forget the day my Granny taught me how to 'dress' a clotheline..ahhhh, the good ol' days.

Aren't ya glad us semi-old gals have those grand ol' memories! AND aren't ya glad we ain't that fussy anymore...I love my lil' lump at the foot of the bed!

Hugs...s

Betty said...

Yep...lots of memories here. We always 'made' our beds; but, at my Nannie's house, we would make the bed and she would come right behind us and 'fix it just so'...always bothered me that I couldn't make the bed to suit her. I still make our bed, but it suits me just fine no matter how I do it..haha. Thanks for the laughs.

Shari from Big Yellow Farmhouse said...

Wow, thanks for the memories! That is exactly how my mom made the bed. And yes, she ironed all the sheets, Dad's hankies and just about everything else! The patterned side of the sheets went in so they looked pretty turned back, hospital corners and all the rest. Actually all that neatness and precision was kind of comforting - it doesn't exist at my house, though!!!

RoeH said...

I gotta say....I never ever understood the "design down" thing with sheets. It makes more sense to me when the design is up because then you can see it. Who cares about the little flap at the top that folds down. I'm just gonna cover that sucker up with a bedspread anyway. My SIL is a total freak with that and I love to make the bed my way when I stay there. Just sorting out thoughts.

the tattered nest said...

I love the snow angel way of making the bed! did you try the celebrity morph? who did you end up morphing into?

ancient one said...

I found an old yellow newspaper clipping that my MIL had saved in a vase and the topic was exactly what you posted about today. Dressed or Made

I learned the bedspread way with the hospital corners in Home Economics Class...

Now I just climb out and back in... most of the time not made up...

But now when I do make the bed I use a quilt on top and pillow shams.. I think bedspreads were easier...

diane b said...

You are a hoot. Dress the bed!The Doona sure beats the blankets for making a bed.

Neabear said...

I remember those kind of bedspreads. I used to have that kind. This was a fun post.

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