DIY Project :: How to Sew a Sink Skirt

Anyone who lives in an old building will know that there are tradeoffs. Character, charm and great old details make the place awesome. But age can also mean some not-so-lovely renovations have taken place over the years or, even worse, a little bit of neglect. As I mentioned earlier, my new place is in a big old house that is around 100 years old, so it has a ton of great features like big windows, wood floors and a fireplace. The kitchen has some new cabinetry, flooring, and appliances that are just fine.... but the bathroom is a whole different story. It's a perfect storm of cheap renovations and neglectful tenants.

I came up with one inexpensive and easy solution that I was able to whip up in an hour and it really made a difference to the look of the room! A cute fabric skirt to hide the plumbing under our old sink. It's not the sink that I mind (it's sort of retro so I like it), it's the icky pipes underneath that I object too! Here's a before photo:

Before I reveal the "after" shot I'm going to walk you through the process of making the sink skirt. You'll need a sewing machine, some fabric, scissors, a flexible tape measure and a package of adhesive-backed industrial strength velcro. I found my velcro at Lowes and it was about $3 for a big box.

First measure around the front and sides of your sink and add two inches to this number. Then measure from the bottom edge of your sink to the floor and add one inch to that number. Cut your fabric to these dimensions, using the selvage edge of the fabric as the top of the skirt. Finish the raw edges of the fabric by pressing them under 1/2 and inch, then pressing them 1/2 an inch again and sewing the edge with your sewing machine.

Now, cut some pieces of velcro to attach to your skirt and to the underside of your sink (the fuzzy side of the velcro will go on your fabric skirt, and the other side will go on your sink). I placed pieces of velcro across the selvage edge of the fabric every 2 inches, stuck them on using the self-adhesive side, then sewed over it to make it extra secure. If I were to to it again, I think I would just sew a continuous strip across the top of the selvage edge. Place the other side of the velcro inside the bottom edge of your sink.

Stick the velcro together and step back to admire your new skirt (and not the plumbing!). This is great for renters because you can remove it when your move... or you can change it out with new fabric when you want a different look!

Much better!