14 Days of LillyBelle.. Day 11. It's Curtains for Lara!
My sister just moved into a new home, and she desperately needed curtains. The sliding glass door she has is over 9 feet long, and the former occupants, had an 8 foot rod on the window and some seriously frightening curtain panels that didn't fit. On top of that, her toddler and 1 year old pulled the whole deal down the other day. Lucky for Lara, I'm in the midst of my self-imposed challenge and needed a good project. So off I went on my curtain making adventure.
Now, some of you know, that I have made a huge amount of curtains in the past. So, frankly, I was a little cocky going into this. This is actually the second set of curtains created yesterday. I had originally planned using white fabric where the yellow is. I had about 8 yards of white corduroy left, and I wanted to use it up. I cut everything very carefully, and set the leftover fabric aside. HOWEVER, when I went to put the corduroy panel on the second curtain, I grabbed the leftover fabric unknowingly. And it was 1/4 of the width. It was the end of the day, and I was exhausted, not to mention hungry... I didn't notice. Until we hung it on the window and which point I dissolved into a angry/weepy mess. Low blood sugar + exhaustion = really unhappy Bari.
I had wanted to photograph and get this post up last night. Instead, I spent the remainder of the night (until 12:30PM) remaking the curtains entirely... I had cut into the properly cut piece for another part of the curtain, and didn't have any left to be able to just fix the error.
All of that said, in the end, I like the second set better.
Lara didn't want lining because she wanted the sun to shine through a bit, so I decided to bind the curtains instead of hem the sides and bottom:
By doing this, I think it gave the back a bit of a more fininshed look. Plus, it really frames the whole thing nicely.
A basic how to on curtains:
Cutting:
WIDTH:
Lara's window was 112" the entire way across. I made two panels and each is 110" wide finished (nearly the entire width) in order to make them ruffly. i.e. = equation for each panel is 1/2 the window x 2.
Note: I actually used 3 pieces of fabric for each panel width... when you decide on width, take seam allowances between panels into account.
HEIGHT:
Here's what you need to take into account:
1. Rod pocket. I made a 3" rod pocket plus I finished the top of the rod pocket with a top top stitch that took up 1/4" inch. There for I added 6 1/2" for the rod pocket.
2. Hem. If I was going to do a hem, I'd add 1/2" to the bottom.
3. Height of brackets. Your brackets will be hung above the window. Buy your brackets first and measure them. Then decide where they will hang. Add the amount to the total height of your panels.
equation for panel length:
Window Height
+ (rod width x 2) + 1/2" for top stitching at top of curtain
+ 1/2" for hem (If you are doing one. I didn't because I used binding.)
+ bracket height
If you are going to bind instead of hem here's the equation for amount of binding needed:
1 side of curtain x 2 + width of the bottom/width of fabric = number of 3" strips needed
Step by step:
Binding (note: you'll be binding the sides and the bottom, not the top)
1. Attach the 3" strips together by mitering.
To miter...
a. Place strips in a backward "L" shape, right sides together:
b. Sew a 45 degree angle seam from corner to corner.
c. Trim off excess fabric in seam... here's what the miter looks like:
2. Press the binding in half lengthwise and press.
3. Open up and fold each edge into the middle and press.
4. Fold in half lengthwise again and press.
5. Open up the binding, align with the top right hand corner of your curtain, right sides together, raw edges matching. Sew along the first fold line.
6. When you get 1/2" from the corner, pivot and sew a 45 degree angle to the corner. Cut thread and take out from under foot.
7. To miter the corner. urn the fabric to the right...
... then back over itself to the left. Continue sewing along the raw edge.
8. Miter the other corner in the same manner, and sew to the top left of the curtain.
9. Once the binding is on the front, flip it over to the back, fold the raw edge in toward the wrong side of the binding and press in place on the back of the curtain. You can even use a little glue stick to hold it in place.
10. Top stitch the binding on from the front side (see the photo of the fininshed binding near the top of this post.
ROD POCKET:
1. Measure 3 1/4" from the top of the curtain and mark.
2. Fold the fabric down toward the wrong side 1/4" (so there was no raw edge), and then another 3" (where you just marked) for the rod pocket. Pin in place.
3. Edge stitch along the fold on the wrong side of the fabric to close the rod pocket.
4. At the very top of the fold, top stitched 1/4" away from the edge for a finished look on the top.
Voila! You are finished.
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