The Making of Eh to Awe

I hadn't originally planned on having this as 2nd post, but after thinking on it, and realizing just how photo-laden it was. I decided that it would be better. So without much ado....let's get going! 

The very first thing you need to do is decided how you want your finished curtains to look. I decided that I wanted these curtains to be back tab with the new fabric on the top. I decided this for a couple reasons: 1- because the fabric was on the heavier end of the mid-weight scale so having it up against the curtain rod would make it fold better and 2 - because its easier to alter the top of a curtain. Ok so the latter is not true, but it sounded really darn good. :) Before I did any altering I washed the curtain panels. The new fabric is Dry Clean Only....so it didn't get touched. 

After washing it was time to cut off the header. I decided to do this for a couple of reasons, first because to remove all the stitches from this type of fabric would have been a pain and I may have nicked an actual thread and caused a run, second was the fact that these have been professionally pressed and getting rid of those lines would have been difficult. Cutting off the header also allowed me to reuse the header as the 'belt loops' on the back of the curtain with minimal work for me. You have to love minimizing the workload!

 Be careful when cutting. Ooops, oh well there were four headers that I cut off so I'd have more than enough for the belt loops. I cut the header off from the wrong side so that I could make sure I didn't nick the folded edge of the lower portion of the header. I wanted to keep as many finished edges as possible.

Next I cut up the paisley fabric that I was adding to the top of the curtains. I decided that I wanted the finished section of paisley to be 24" long. So working with that measurement I then measured the chocolate panels. They were 40" wide. So I cut my paisley blocks so that they were 42" wide and 26" long. This would allow me enough to have 1/2" double hems on the sides and 1/2" seam allowance with a 3/8" double hem on the top.

The only problem with doing curtains is how repetitive it is. 

 So after I got the panels all cut out and ready to go it was time to start sewing. I did not line up the edges on the curtain panels with the paisley. I measured in an inch and then starting pinning. Remember I want to have a 1/2" double hem on the sides to match what the panels have. I also serged and pressed the seams towards the chocolate curtain panel.

This is what the right side will look like in a few steps. Harrison was helping me while I was sewing. :) 

 So after getting that seam in it was time to finish the top. I finished the top before finishing the side seams so that I did not have any raw edges showing from any of the edges. For the top hem, I just folded down the edge 3/8" and then folded it over on itself again. I pressed the edge then stitched close to the lower pressed edge.

After getting the top hem done it was time to finish up the side hems. I folded the fabric over until it lined up with the existing hem edge and then folded it back under itself. I pinned and ironed the edges and sewed the edge close to the inside pressed edge. I repeated this for all of the side hems. Your hemmed edge should be flush with the curtain panel edge, and no one will ever know that you didn't buy the panels. :)

 So now that the paisley panel was attached the panel needed something more. So I went to my trim stash and found the perfect gimp braid for the curtain. As you can probably guess....I buy a lot of the same color scheme so almost all the fabrics I have for the house will work for multiple seasons. Makes it quite easy when I want a quick change. I did not want to wrap the braid around the edge of the curtain, so I pulled out my clean nail polish and painted a line across the braid where I wanted to clean it up. I waited a minute or two for it to dry then I just snipped the braid in the center of where I painted the polish. The polish will keep the braid from fraying and will hold for forever. When Mom and I were working on adding the lace to my wedding dress we used clear polish to keep the lace in place and its still there. Even better it dries clear and you can't tell where you've put it after if fully dries.

The polish is still slightly damp here, but it had dried enough to keep the braid together after I clipped it. 

 So after cleaning up the first edge, I centered the braid over the seam and pinned it. I prefer to pin the braid so that the pin goes underneath the cords running down the braid. I find that its easier than trying to fight the pin though those cords. I only pinned the first few inches of braid on each panel and then just fed the braid as I sewed it down. I kept my stitches toward the outside edge of the braid so that you could not see them.  As I approached the opposite edge of the panel, I added another line of polish to the braid, make sure you put enough polish on the braid so that it soaks down to the opposite side.

 Well now the panels are completed enough to where I could have just attached rings to them if I wanted, but since I wanted a back tab I needed to do a little more work. I pulled out the header strips that I had cut off earlier. I decided that I wanted each strip about 2" wide, and I would space them 5" apart on the panel which meant 8 loops for each  panel. So pulled out my rotary cutter and got to work.

 After I got all 32 strips cut, I ran the cut edges through the serger. I made a mark every 5" on the back of the curtain panel, and then measured down a 1/4" from the top  edge and started pinning the loops down. After pinning the loops down I just ran a straight stitch across the top and bottom of each loop.

Now these panels are ready to hang!

 I hoped that you guys enjoyed today's tute! I had a lot of fun making this change to the Family Room because it was quick and easy. Tomorrow, I will be showcasing another curtain alteration that is even easier than this one! See ya later!