Thought I'd share the secret of the bed skirts around our house.
They are not really bed skirts but simple strips of hemmed fabric which is safety-pinned to the mattresses. We have them on all beds and they work great. Cheap and (not so) nasty. Just measure around the bed's circumference and the height of the bed. Add for the hem at the bottom and ends.
I've stitched several parts together to make one looooooooong piece which just overlaps slightly at the head end. Lay the fabric strip on the bed. I like it to be about 2 cm / just under an inch off the floor to prevent dust from the floor getting caught on the skirt.
Fold in at corners and attach to mattress with safety pins. If you wish you can pleat the corners at this point but keep in mind to add quite a lot of more fabric for this. You'll want pleats that stand out and not look like you made a sloppy job at folding. I'm speaking if experience here, ladies and gentlemen. Continue by safety pinning all along the sides. I used about ten for the single bed in the boatroom.
Plop on the overlay mattress and bedding...
... add the bedspread and know one knows you've been cheating.
