We're making the most of every minute this weekend to get some stuff done, floors are cleaned, shelves are dusted, dishes are done, laundry is running and Adelle is napping! It's been a grand morning with a visit from Grammy and Papa!
Well we have these eyelet curtains I made a while back for our old house. They were nice and simple but they hung too low on the window and always got dirty from dishes.
After a year I finally decided to fix that problem with a simple valance made from a mystery fabric found in Grandma Jan's sewing room. This is probably the easiest thing to sew and seriously considering the simplicity of it you should never have to bother with buying such a simple curtain.
So to start off measure your window and find the width, mine was 40" so I added 7 inches onto that for seam allowance and to give it a bit of a gather and wave. then measure your length by finding where you want your curtain to stop. We have some nice detail to our old windows, that you can't see in the picture because of the sunshine (not a bad thing), so I wanted to preserve it so my length was at 11 and I added an extra 3" for seam allowance.
Now that you have your measurements cut your fabric.
Set your iron to the proper setting as per your fabric choice and by starting on the side seams your edges will be clean. fold your edges in a 1/2" and iron, fold your edge again using the 1/2" seam allowance, pin and sew.
Now that the sides are done turn your fabric to work on the bottom hem. Fold your hem up 1/2", iron and then another 1/2" and sew. If you're looking for a thicker band at the bottom increase your hem length.
Now for the top. Measure the thickness of your curtain rod. Mine happened to be a good 1" and I added an extra 1/2" for a little wiggle room. I was lucky enough to have a nice finished edge to work with for the top so I folded my edge over 1 1/2" and sewed the casing. If you do not have a finished edge go ahead and turn down your edge then fold again to make your casing for the rod.
Very simple and has opened up our kitchen so much and lets the sunshine in, best of all it won't get dirty from overflowing dishes. Do you have any projects up your sleeves this weekend?