Creating a Fabric Baby Gate for a Large Opening

With a very mobile baby, it was time to start making our stairs safe.  Even though Amelia is not walking yet, she can crawl up the stairs very quickly.  We bought a wide baby gate for the bottom of our stairs since it is so wide but it was not wide enough.  We had to come up with something creative and fast.

I always have fabric in the house and after perusing Pinterest I decided to make a fabric baby gate for the bottom of our stairs.  Fabric gates only work at the bottom of the stairs.  They are not strong enough for the top of the stairs just in case they push through.

Here is how I created the gate.  It is very simple and very adaptable for the width of the opening at the bottom of your stairs.

1. I gathered my materials.  I used 2 yards of a whale flannel, 6 inches of blue cotton, zigzig ribbon, and matching thread.

2. I attached the blue fabric and the whale fabric to make an extra 6 inches.  I put the right sides together and then sewed a seam attaching the two fabrics.

3. I hemmed all four sides of the fabric.  You could just leave them as is if you want to make this even quicker to get it up.  As you can see I did not even trim the selvage end.  I did not do a lot to the fabric so that I can reuse it one day.

4. I then attached the ribbon to all four corners after hemming.  I sewed each ribbon to the fabric so that it will be secure and not come out if pulled.  I made loops so that I can attach it and detach it from the wall for easy movement of the big people in the house.  

5. I attached it to the wall using 30 lb picture frame holders.  This makes it easy with the loops to get easy access to the upstairs for the big people and strong enough that the little one can not pull it out of the wall.  Make sure to make adjustments and pull it tight so that your little one can not crawl under or around it.  We have had ours up for a few days and it has been a lifesaver.  We have not had to make a beeline to the stairs to get Amelia down from the stairs.  Also you can see that I made it very tall.  Amelia was 30 inches at 9 months and she is even taller now as she approaches 11 months.  When she stands, I did not want her to be able to reach the loops and take them down.  

I hope this helps for those that also have a weird size opening at the bottom of your stairs.  Just remember this is for the bottom of the stairs only!