Monday, October 15, 2012

{Master Bedroom Curtains on a Shoestring}

Paneled Curtains


So, I have these huge ceilings - which I TOTALLY love! - but I haven't been able to find curtains that are long enough and still anywhere near my budget. It was time to get crafty. I already had some white sheers I had used to "screen" in my porch when I live in the apartment (which was quite awhile ago, they were pretty wrinkled when I unpacked them. 

Enter my hero: Target Clearance! I bought two of these shower curtains (which were the same sheen as the sheers I already had) for a brilliant $4.98 apiece.



I began by cutting the first curtain into three even pieces.


Then I ironed where I would be creating seams - because I don't "love" sewing, this makes my job SO much simpler!


The most complicated part was probably pinning it on - it took me a minute to see what I was doing. You will pin the right sides together, and you want to make sure you will be sewing ABOVE the seam on the curtain (or you will be doing what I did, more on this in a minute). 


The shower curtain was longer than my sheer, so I just cut it off where it needed to end and then pressed the future seam in place. When I went to sew I sewed all of the "hems" first and then did the attachment to the panel. 


Then I sewed the first seam. This seam would have been the only one, except I wasn't consistently above the hem on the sheer. Insert heavy sigh here.


Because of my "mistake" I had to go back through and sew over the top of the newly added piece. This actually gave it a more "finished" look which I was pretty happy with.



Here is the finished work - I tried to take pictures of the whole window, but they turned out so dark. I love it when the curtains puddle on the floor like that. Perfection!


Faux Roman Shade that Costs Next to Nothing

The other window in my bedroom is pretty small, only about twenty inches wide, but just as long as the other. I had seen this idea on Pinterest (which, of course, I didn't pin, so if anyone recognizes this please pass along the original site!)

I didn't want to overwhelm the tiny window with a long, bulky curtain, so I thought I would copy that idea I saw and make my own Roman Shade out of the existing mini-blind. This is seriously easy and perfect for a renter with terrible window coverings!

Start by measuring VERY SPECIFICALLY! The piece really needs to fit perfect, so measure twice, cut once :) 


Then cut out your fabric and finish all four sides. My shower curtain was actually long enough for my window, so I only had to finish one side.


You'll need some paper clips - this is a box of misc paper clips that was on my grandfathers desk FOREVER.

After sewing you'll simply attach the panel you've just made to your mini-blind. It really is as simple as that! I attached the fabric on every fifth blind piece with paper clips on both sides. 


That was easy right? Now comes a little more complicated part. I used the shower hook holes to thread paper clips through like this (across the top). 


Then I pulled them open like this. 


I did that so they would stay when I pushed them between the top of the mini-blind and the top of the window frame. It really did work like a charm!


The finish project!


Tips for this Project

1. Take the wand off of the mini-blind before starting. You won't be using it anymore, but the curtain won't work with it still on there. 

2. Pull the cord through one of the button holes OR cut a tiny hole (which you could sew up in you were so inclined, in the top of the panel for the cords to come through. 

3. Iron the whole thing before you hang it. Mine is wrinkled and it makes me crazy, but I'm too lazy to take it down.

Total Project Cost: $10.71





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