Sunday, July 14, 2013

Lining retail curtains

I planned to make  professional curtains several times now but I always come across something that will require less work.

When I found these curtains at the thrift store as two pair, I knew immediately that they were for my bay window.  I also knew that I wanted to line them so they will look professional but figured that I would go ahead and hang them and then take them down later once I bought the lining.  I won't say how long it has been since then but I will say that during that time I decided that  instead of a simple white liner, I wanted to use a contrast detail.  My first thought was to just line the back in a patterned print but I didn't want to waste good decorator fabric in a way that will end up sun-faded and that I'll only see from outside the house.


Can you tell that I didn't even iron these things.....I figured I'd be taking them right back down, real soon.  Right....

I wanted to add a contrast border that will showcase the fringe and just use a white liner on the back.  This allows me to use less of the expensive fabric.....which is funny because none of my decorator fabric is expensive.  I should say, use less of my TREASURED fabric.

I'll tell you, that is one little problem that I am always trying to overcome, actually cutting a big piece of fabric.  Because of my tendency to buy my fabrics at the thrift store, I go into a  project knowing that this is the only piece of fabric I have.  If I mess it up, there is no buying more.  I also have to keep myself from freezing up when I need to cut a big piece of fabric because I am thinking ahead about what I can do with that same piece of fabric later.  Most people would be liberated because they know they didn't pay much for it....not me.  It is not about the price, I just don't want to waste anything.

In the end, I came across some pretty pre-made toppers from the thriftstore that I had packed away and decide to not add a contrast piece, just go with a tone on tone look.  Remember, I had that busy fabric on the cabinet curtains at the time.  I did line the curtains and it really filled them out, made them look so much more professional and of course blocks some of the light and heat.  I bought the liner fabric but later found that white sheets from the thriftstore work just as well.  Oh, and an iron does wonders.




Bad picture due to the sunlight but this shows that you can just push the side ones to the side for some light to come in.



To line them, I just unstitched the existing seams, put the liner in and resewed it all but with a blindhem.  That is the secret of professional curtains.  You shouldn't see stitch lines on the outside.  You'll notice it from now on.  They shouldn't be wrinkled either. :)





Now get this....we had a real estate agent come in to give us some advice on staging if we sell soon.  I expected most of what she said about decluttering, less furniture, etc.  I did NOT expect her to tell me that these curtains were a bit much for the kitchen and I should swap them out for little kitcheny toppers.  Oh the horror!  Oh well, she also told me to remove my cabinet curtains under the bathroom sinks too.  :(  Why would I want to show someone how crappy our vanities look?  Speaking of, I'll show the new curtain I put in the powder room next.  New kitchen post, coming soon too.


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