Hmmm. I am not at all a crafty person and my hand-eye coordination is not good either, but I have had this little project in the back of my mind and we're tackling it.
We have this little room, we call it the yellow room, that is still missing curtains. You guessed it, we're going to make them. Here is where I ask for your advice / help / input. We would like to have rolling curtains, as a matter of fact we already got the support from Ikea (that came with boring gray curtains) so all we'll do is replace the actual cloth.. The project does not seem too hard, as we basically need to make 2 rectangles (1.82x0.63m and 1.82x1.20 m), that will be then pasted to the support with double sided tape.
Choosing a fabric was very hard, we had seen a few that we liked at the Swedish place, but not one that really convinced us. Then I discovered the beautiful fabric's Sol designed and we fell in love with her "bubblegum stained glass" pattern. It reminds me of a PCR gel. The thing is we needed 6 yards of cotton canvas, and when you add the posting (45 USD !!!!) and 25 % taxes (that we would have to pay for sure) we were a bit shocked with the grand total. But don't worry Sol, we still plan on using your fabric for something, that's how much we love it.
To make a long story short last Tuesday we went to a huge fabric shop in The Hague and we found a fabric that convinced us. So project curtain here we go. We were also silly enough to buy 2 m. of each fabric (the blue one is "darkening" , for the side of the curtains that will look outside) and as soon as we got home we realized we needed another 2 m of each fabric.
Have any of you made rolling curtains? Do you have any tips? This will be the first time I touch the sewing machine, so I need all the angels with me.
I haven't made curtains before but if your not bothering with all the curtain tape etc it should just be a case of sewing the blue to the patterned material, with the pattern facing in, then turn it inside out. But don't trust me!!!
ReplyDeleteI am really chuffed with myself because I worked out what was causing my sewing machine to misbehave. I am currently making table runners for the wedding but am also getting excited about making dresses and other exciting things.
Love the material.... really lovely choice!! xox
Oh so smart, of course I have to sew it facing in. I kept wondering what I was going to do with the "flare" edges. See. I deeded your help.
DeleteSo exciting your table runners , and dresses :) You have to show us sometime.
And thanks, we really do love lots of color and this pattern was just so happy and somewhat similar to the one we fell in love with.
So, I used to work at a blind store and I think I know the type of curtains you mean, that go on a tube and you roll up and down? - if I'm wrong obviously disregard my tips. I've never made them myself but I have done repairs and I do have a few tips.
ReplyDelete- Leave at least 10-12 extra inches of fabric at the top so when your curtains are rolled down the tube is still covered. This both helps the fabric stay on the rod and it's good for the pretty factor (you don't have to see the rod when the curtains are all the way down)
- A good double sided tape can be a pretty nifty way to attach the fabric, and when you've left the extra few inches it will hold
- Weight at the bottom helps the fabric hang nice and even. Probably the Ikea rod came with a weight rod at the bottom that you can use. If not, you'll want something down there to keep the drape right
Oh yes, that is exactly the type of curtains we are making. We already have the rod.
DeleteSo all your tips are very helpful, and yep, we were planning to use double sided tape and we do have the weight from Ikea for which I will just have to make a "pocket" (just a fold).
Thanks !
qué alegre la tela! nunca me he aventado a hacer nada de tela porque soy un poco torpe, así que no tengo consejos; pero la idea es genial! seguro quedarán muy bonitas las cortinas :) ya nos mostrarás el resultado final.
ReplyDeleteSí, yo soy super torpe. A ver que sale--- aunque igual y Mark las hace, porque dice que tienen que quedar derechitas y perfectas y yo no garantizo perfección en mi primer intento !
Delete(Not sure how/why I deleted my previous comment)
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog the other day and I keep coming back every day!
I was trying to find a video that showed how to do this since I learn by looking at something, but no luck! However, I found these two links that have step by step pictures, next best thing! Hope they help! :)
http://www.designsponge.com/2010/06/sewing-101-roller-blinds.html
http://annasnest.com/article/how-to-make-lined-curtains
Hey thanks for coming back and saying hi :) I am glad you like it.
DeleteThanks for the links I am going to check them out now.
Have a great day :)