Saturday 25 January 2014

Curtains


Back in August, (yes, August!), I ordered some material to make curtains for DD's room. It has been languishing on the top of her wardrobe since then, while I made all sorts of excuses why I couldn't possibly start on them. Yesterday I finally stopped procrastinating.

This is the first time I have made curtains. Determined to finally master sewing, last year I invested in the book from "The Great British Sewing Bee". 

Image from Mollie Makes
It assumes no prior knowledge whatsoever, which in my case is a good thing! The instructions for making curtains appear reasonably clear. There is also an instruction video from the show here.

It took me a whole hour to figure out what size panels of material I need to cut out. The material isn't quite wide enough, so I need to sew two panels together for each curtain. To complicate matters further, there is a repeating pattern. I haven't even picked up a pair of scissors yet! For two pins I would put the material back on top of the wardrobe for another six months, which is why I am writing this post. Hopefully in a few days I will have some progress to show you!

5 comments:

  1. Lesley I am with you here - I am new to sewing and curtains would be an absolute nightmare to me - you are a brave woman Lesley so I am sending you good luck and lots of cuddles.
    Dorothy
    :-)xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  2. I have a sweater that has been half sewn up since before bear was born. Good luck with the curtains, they will look brilliant when they are finished. WS xxx

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  3. Give it a whirl - my hairdresser cuts hair and she always says " it's only hair, it will grow back!" You can always buy more fabric if it goes really wrong or you could learn loads of things, make your daughter really happy and have a pair of curtains. What is to lose? Sending you positive vibes. i have a giveaway if you want to check it out. Jo x

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  4. Instead of cutting and matching your fabric up could you buy some plain toning material and put a strip on each side, then if you make tie backs using both it would balance. You could cut the fabric and insert a strip instead. Matching the pattern across both curtains can be tricky, it is all too easy to have a small difference that looks like a mile out. I have made the curtains then slip stitched them together and then sewn the top and hem in place. Good luck.

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  5. Thank you everyone for your encouragement!

    @ Pam - I've bought plenty of material, so I will try to match if I can. I'll tack by hand first!

    @ Jo - Learning loads of things is my aim! If it all goes terribly wrong, I'll turn them into cushion covers.

    @ Sybs - Leave it long enough it will be vintage.

    @Dorothy - According to the book, if you can sew in a straight line you can make curtains. No zips!

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