Baby C’s Nursery: DIY #5

It has been a while since I’ve done one of these posts!  But don’t let that fool you—I didn’t lose interest in decorating this nursery with lots of do-it-yourself touches.

When trying to put together a room, curtains are ALWAYS my downfall.  I can’t grasp what looks good.  So many lengths, weights, curtain rods to choose from!  (times like this I need my girl, Cole from Just Cole, to come put her talents to use!  Must remind her to blog about curtains for those of us who are interior-design-challenged….)

In the interest of saving money, I simply looked for a fabric that matched my color scheme and purchased 2 yards (from http://www.etsy.com/shop/imaginefabric).  At first I was looking for vintage fabric, but ended up caving and getting this vintage-inspired floral print.  I also purchased a yard of purple gingham fabric from Jo-Ann Fabrics to give my curtains some interest (ok….and because the 2 yards I ordered wasn’t enough to cover 2 windows!  Oops.).

First things first, I cut the floral fabric into 4 panels.  I then sewed the gingham to the bottom of each pattern to add some length (and to make them cuter!).

(photo 1- a sketch of the plan…or more like, a sketch of the LACK of plan and how to fix it!

photo 2- adding extra length by sewing a contrasting print on the bottom

photo 3- floral and gingham—a match made in baby nursery heaven!)

Next comes the most time-consuming part—hemming ALL edges.  I simply folded each edge twice and eyeballed it.  The gingham pattern worked as a great guide for straight lines!

(photos 4, 5, 6—hem and hem and hem….)

After all the edges were finished I folded over the top edge to make a space for the curtain rod.  To make it a little fancy, I measured down one inch and sewed a seam and then did the other seam and the bottom of the fold.  The rod will go in the lower of the two openings—this allows for a little bit of a “ruffle” on top, above the curtain rod.

(photo 7- measure the fold-down length, based on how long you want your curtains to be

photo 8- sew two rows, so that the curtain rod doesn’t have to go right at the top of the curtain—makes a cute ruched top detail

photo 9-final product should be two openings at the top.  Put the curtain rod through the middle one)

Lastly, IRON them!   Ironing sewing projects give them a much more finished look.  It smoothes out imperfections and gives curtains a much more crisp look.

(photo 10- take that extra step and iron!)

Here is the finished product—a happy accident of two-toned curtains!  I wish they were a teensy bit fuller and a smidge longer… but they are made with love and I can’t wait for little Baby C to see how hard I worked to make her room pretty!

Excuse the poor photo quality!  The sun shines into the room so brightly, but there's no light going out...so taking pics of windows is next to impossible!  I will try again once I do the final nursery tour!  Stay tuned...

xo

Jayme