Monday, June 30, 2008

Curtain Call

So I've been spending a lot of free evening time lately with my new best friend, "Singer" or "Singy" (as I like to call him:)...
...measuring, cutting, pinning, ironing, sewing, ironing, pinning and sewing again.  


Making lined curtains has been a painstaking process, I must say!!!   GG wisely encouraged me to go online and find some instructions before beginning the project.  What a smart man! :)  I was going to try to wing it based on some thorough investigation of other tailored curtains in our house.  But thankfully I managed to find a really informative website here, which talked me through the various steps necessary to make tailored, lined drapes.  Thank goodness!!  What would one do without the internet??

I started off with an assembly line approach, doing each step of the process on all 6 panels before moving on.  The measuring and cutting took ages and my knees were so sore after scooting around on our hard floors...  Nonetheless, I finally finished and moved onto hemming both the liners and fabric.  Last night I started joining the two together (inside out) and then inverting them to make the almost-finished product.  Around 11:30pm, my first "baby" churned out and was hung this morning.  Here it is, limply and rather lonely, as it adorns the middle window.



Not too shabby!  While I think it still needs a little something, I am happy to say it is well-made and should not fall down!! :)  The fabric choice did end up looking somewhat "30-year-old-man's office" and not quite "toddler bedroom", but I'm still happy with the choice.  By starting out basic, I can always add playful, colorful elements later (but you can't always take away!)   I am really thinking now of adding some sort of hooks to the top and perhaps changing out the drapery rods.  I'm also going to look into some red tie-back cords to make it a little more fun and playful.  

All in all,  I'm thrilled to have one done (but am lamenting the other five I have to finish!)  Oh well, all in a day's work.  Before I leave, let me include a pic of Heidi's beautiful valences she shared with me--if you zoom in, you can see the adorable Osh Kosh effect she created at the top.  Too cute!  Heidi, you are a talented woman!  I decided to play it simple by default... (too tired=no creativity!)  Maybe next time I can rise to your prowess!! ;)

Thanks for enduring all this decorating talk.
I'll hopefully be updating you on the finished project very soon!
Hope you are all enjoying a glorious Monday.  God bless you!

4 comments:

Jess said...

I think the red cord tiebacks are a great idea. It'll help remind you to pull them back. My biggest problem with curtains is I just let them hang, when they look so much better during the day if they're pulled back. Great job!

Carolina Girl said...

It looks GREAT!! I'm very impressed!
I agree, the red tie backs will help give a splash of color for the boys room. I also think a different curtain rod would help make it more fun.

Here's to speedy sewing on the other panels. Now that you've done one, hopefully the others will come faster for you.

Shannon said...

wow!
i think tieback will look awesome too!
prayers!

Krissy said...

I'm impressed with your industriousness! And GG is a smart man. I decided to just wing it and my curtains don't look nearly as professional as yours. Good work!

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