Monday, November 8, 2010

Curtains - Homemade w/ Love!

 Our Bedroom looked terrible, which made me sad. The frames all clashes and there was no colour, it still needs work due to waiting for wedding photos but that I will have to be patent for. I tried to find a curtain tutorial that I liked but no go.. So I am making my own! This is for one curtain, although I made two for my window.

You will need:
Sewing machine
2 feet of fabric
29 by 11 inch piece of fabric (for top)
Pins
Matching thread
Measuring Gage (optional)

Also I have had some people ask me about the measuring gage. It is so handy I love it, my mom loves her's and its just so easy. Want to know the best part? $2 at Walmart!


This is what your finished product will look like - A pleated curtain with a top panel



You want iron then pin the long sides of your 2 yard fabric. Fold 1/4 inch iron, fold 1/4 inch then iron again and pin.


Then sew it down, make sure you keep your lines straight


Then hem the bottom, I did a 2 inch hem to give it a seamless look at the button and to give it a tiny bit more weight at the bottom. Its up to you! Then Sew


You should now be done hemming and sewing the 3 edges of your curtain. Now cut your panel 29 by 11 inches.


Fold and iron the shortest sides of your panel


Lay your curtain and your panel right sides together - pin the first ends together and start pleating. This might very depending on the width of fabric you used, I just used a basic cotton. Hopefully I can explain this clear:

First I measured 3 inches and from 3 inches I pulled the fabric to the 3/4 line to make a pleat. As shown above.


Then when your done pinning it should look like this. Now sew that together, be careful to make sure the pleats stay the same.


Iron the top edge of your panel down as shown


Now fold it over to your seam line and pin down. But since we want to sew from the front you need to flip it over and pin it from the front. After it has been pinned int he front, remove pins from the back.




Sew down. This is what it should look like from the front (left) and from the back (right).



BEFORE!
 AFTER!
Ahh It looks so much nicer in there now. Adds colour and warmth and I'm proud of making these every time I come into our bedroom

6 comments:

Elizabeth Cranmer said...

Great tutorial.... I admire your patience to stop and take pics all along the way.

I really want to know where you got that adjustable ruler? It looks super handy! I can think of a few ways to use it already.

Christina said...

Great job! I love the fabric you chose ... glad you're using that new sewing machine!! :)

The Skårtist said...

Still enjoying following your blog. Sorry I missed the giveaway. The curtains look great. I'm in awe over how you find the time for all these projects -- not just to make them but to blog them!

Mom2fur said...

Those are really beautiful, like something out of a magazine.
It would seem curtains are easy to make, but I've had trouble with them for years--I never get them even at the bottom. There is a lot of exact measuring that isn't found in garments. You did a remarkable job! (BTW, a friend taught me some tricks so I'm better at it, but curtains still aren't my favorite thing to sew, so I admire anyone who is good at making them!)

Amie {Kitty Cats and Airplanes} said...

I love your choice of fabric! A "busier" fabric with a simple design is a recipe for a fabulous project. Great work!
Amie @ http://kittycatsandairplanes.blogspot.com/

AllieMakes! said...

Those turned out great! Excellent job!
Thanks for linking up to Making It With Allie! I can't wait to see what you have for next week!
AllieMakes.Blogspot.com