Curtain Call

I don't love working with large amounts of fabric. I have only made curtains once and we moved soon after and of course every place has different windows, or amounts of windows and since we were moving so often i gave up on curtains all together and stuck to blinds.  But I found some fabric i just loved, and wanted to make use of it in my bonus room, so my ever-so-crafty mother in law convinced me to make curtains.  She showed me how to make some valances that are super easy, and look so great.  They have made my room so much cuter.  I am not a very frilly person when it comes to my curtains, i like it simple, and these are simple to sew (it's just a rectangle), and simple decor. . . but it adds a lot of personality.

HERE'S HOW WE DID IT:

We measured the width of the window and cut the fabric it the width of the window plus half of that measurement. {If you want to have it really bunchy you can double the size of the window for you fabric}  I think mine dropped down 15 inches, but you can do that side whatever your preference is, just remember you will be tying it up at the end and you will need to fold it over to make a pocket for your curtain rod, so you may want to have it hang just a bit longer than you think.  I lined mine with a cheap tan cotton muslin so the sun wouldn't distort the front fabric. 

With both piece of fabric right sides together sew around the edges like you were doing a pillow.  Leave a 2 or 3 inch openining, so you can turn the fabric right sides, and then fold those few raw edges in and top stitch there.  Then fold it over on the top, from front to back, just enough to make a pocket to fit your curtain rod.  Sew a straight line, leaving the hole open on both ends to slip the rod through.  Finally, you can iron it, Hang it and tie two ribbons around the whole thing you can either turn the bows to the back so you can't see them or leave them in front.  Now go, dress up that plain room!