Ever since we bought Woodward Point nearly 3 years ago, I've had basic (read: cheaptastic Walmart) white curtains hanging on my living room windows. I strongly dislike them and they are wrinkled all the time. I want something that I can wash, dry and hang up, because seriously: who has time to iron their curtains? They work for privacy, but they're crap at blocking any light, which makes watching Game of Thrones and other darkly colored shows or video games incredibly difficult to see, and since two of the three walls in my living room have windows there isn't anywhere to put the TV that's naturally glare-proof.
Blackout curtains are the obvious answer, but $20 or more per panel is not really budget friendly for us right now, and I've found few printed panels that I have really really liked at Target or Ikea. The other obvious option is to make blackout curtains. The downsides there are that fabric can quickly get pricey as you need several yards, and that I don't know how to sew.
Mum to the rescue though! She's passing on her old Singer (early 90's maybe) sewing machine to me, all serviced and ready to go. I found some white paisley curtains at TJMaxx (seriously I love that place, love!) that would be great if they were lined. I don't need these to be voluminous curtains, so according to her we can split each panel in half since the windows are not particularly wide. Which means I only needed 2 packages (four panels in total) to cover all three windows.
She is coming up on Saturday to show me how to use the sewing machine and pretty much hold my hand through splitting and lining the curtains. I'm going to pick up some inexpensive black rods and clip rings tonight (under $12 a window for hardware seems pretty manageable). I also need to stop at Joann's and pick up curtain liner. I found this one on sale for under $4 a yard, and it's still blackout liner, so I'm very excited!
Eventually I'll want curtain holdbacks of some kind, but I'm on the fence about what style to go with, so I'm going to be patient for now. I need to keep reminding myself that well-decorated homes take loads of time and are always a work in progress.
Please keep your fingers crossed that I don't ruin these curtains!
-Nicole
That sounds really exciting, Nicole! Imagine sewing your own curtains, and how that means you get to decide what design and pattern you will be making. Sometimes it's really an advantage to learn how to sew. Not just because it will be your own design, but also because you can save a lot compared to buying ready-made ones. Thanks for sharing and I hope to see those curtains soon!
ReplyDeleteBob Ward @ Allure Window Treatments
Thanks Bob! Just got back from vacation, so hopefully I'll find time in the next week or so to finish up the curtains. There was quite a bit of pinning involved, since I was lining pre-made curtains.
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