It's Curtains for You, Doll

A couple weekends ago, I finally got around to making some custom curtains for our master bedroom (along with channelling my inner 40's gangster as well, it seems). There's an idea for the Man Cave - Speakeasy! I could whip up some little cigarette girl outfits for the cats lickity split.

Ok, ok - back to the curtains. If you remember my inspiration for this room, the drapes were the most striking feature of the bedroom. Thankfully, Sarah Richardson (designer of my dreams) has a source list on her website, so I was able to track down the exact fabric at Designer Fabrics up in Toronto. I love this fabric store - they have an incredible selection at fantastic prices and amazing customer service. And so far, all of the fabric I've ordered has made it to the states in under two weeks. This particular fabric is called Maranta Simum, and it's available in both gray (which I purchased) and orange. The best thing about this fabric besides it's subtle colors and modern pattern? It's a double width fabric, which means it's 110" wide = you only need half the yardage for drapes (5 yards instead of 10).

I had a minor freak-out about this fabric the week we were moving. After months of stalking it, the day I went to purchase (had to wait until we not only officially bought the house, but could also get inside and measure the windows), the link was no longer active. I almost threw up. I had built the ENTIRE master bedroom scheme around this fabric. What the f*ck was I going to do? (And yes, I swore, I was that crazy-panic-stricken). While reminding myself to take deep breaths, that my brain did indeed need oxygen, I hoped against hope that, like so many fabric places, the link was only inactive because the stock dipped below 10 yards. I fired off a quick please-save-me email to Designer Fabrics, knowing I'd have to wait until the next day to hear from them. But I don't wait. So I also fired off plans B, C, and D - emails to all the major fabric suppliers in Massachusetts and the US.

I didn't really sleep that night. I wish I was kidding, but I'm not. I'm that pathetic. Designer Fabrics opened at 9:30 in the morning. It took every ounce of patience I could muster to wait until 9:35 to call them. But the girl on the phone confirmed my hopes - they did still have some in stock, and they pulled the bolt for me to make sure I could get the 5.5 yards I was requesting. And in under a week, that fabric was in my eager little hands.

So today I would like to share with you the steps in making custom curtains - because really, it's not that hard.

The first step is measuring out your panels. Now I'm terrible at math, so I always measure twice, cut once. To make four 90" panels with a 3" hidden seam, I needed 94" per panel, which includes a half inch seam allowance on each end (I always go with half an inch on the seam allowance, it makes the math easier).

Since the fabric was double wide, it was easy to slice the panels right down the center, instantly creating 4 panels. The drapery lining however, was only 54" wide, so I had to cut out each panel. For the drapery lining, that was cut in 89" lengths, in order to create that hidden seam at the bottom.

For the foreseeable future, the Mystery Room has been transformed into my sewing room. Important elements to have in your sewing room; large table (helps to keep the fabric straight as you sew, especially when working with large yardage), sewing machine, comfortable chair, notions (scissors, thread, etc.), ironing board and iron. The iron becomes your best friend when you sew, trust me.

I set up my trusty old Singer with white thread. Why white thread, when my fabric is gray? White thread is cheap and I have spools upon spools of it so I like to use it for interior seams - stuff no one will ever see. When we get to finish seams, I'll swap over to gray - more on that in a bit.

For lining, I picked a crisp white. No worries that it's a bit translucent, when the drapes are done, it will fall on the reverse, unprinted side of the fabric and look solid. Your first step is to match the ends of the printed fabric with the drapery lining, making sure to put the "right" sides of the fabric together (right = printed or finished side).

Next, pin the edges together. Pinning helps keep everything nice and straight as you sew. I like to double pin my ends. I don't know why. Could be OCD. The curtain fabric is one inch wider then the drapery lining (no big deal since we're going to be creating seams on either side), just estimate half an inch out from the curtain fabric and start pinning.

This is important: as you sew, pause at each pin and remove it before continuing. Why? Well, if you enjoy small, sharp, flying shrapnel heading in the direction of your eyes, by all means, keep the pins in. If not, it's best to take them out as you go. Yes, it's rare that the needle catches a pin, but when it does, it can snap both the pin and the needle, and lock up your machine. Personally, I like pinning horizontally to my seam - you don't catch sensitive finger pads on pins as you feed the fabric through the machine. Another tip; stop with your needle in the down position, through your fabric. Helps lock it in place and prevent shifting while you remove the pin.

Once you have both seams sewn up, press the seams open. It's important to press the seams open, like butterfly wings, rather then to one side. Pressing to one side can result in some unsightly bunching, depending on the fabric. 

The next VERY important tip is to look at your fabric, and determine what the "top" is. Depending on the design of your fabric, the pattern might run in a particular direction. The worst thing you can do while sewing with patterned fabric is to not have the design running in the right direction, up or down. Because believe me, you'll sit in bed and stare glare at that one panel you got upside down! So once you've determined what will be the top of the curtain, press the seam over so you have a nice crisp edge at the top. Now, I'm making this up on the fly - a professional would probably put a nice big seam a the top as well as the bottom, but I only had enough for one or the other, and since the top will be hanging, I opted for the bottom.

Now this is when you can start to get an idea of what your hidden seam is going to look like at the bottom. The difference in length between the curtain fabric and drapery lining naturally creates this kind of seam. Looks almost professional, right?

The next step is to cut some interfacing in long strips to help support the top of the curtain. I used a mid-weight, non-fusible stabilizer (which just means it's not feather-weight, and it's not heavy-duty-weight, and if you iron it, it won't fuse to anything). I realize that you could sew the interfacing in along with the top seam, but I don't like the look of bulky seams, so I decided on just inserting it afterward. I've found the easiest way to cut long strips of anything is to fold it up on itself. I'm going to sew a nice, thick 3" seam at the top, so I cut the interfacing at 3.5 inches, so that it would catch in the seam.

Slip the interfacing in between the drapery lining and curtain fabric, and pin to keep in place.

This is where I swapped my bobbin to the gray thread that matches the fabric, since the finished seam will be seen on the front of the fabric. (Bobbin = Bottom Thread). I kept the top thread white, as the drapery lining is white, and it would blend into the back.

A good tip to sewing a straight line is to put a marker on your machine. I like to use blue painters tape, as it's hard to miss. I measured out 3 inches from my needle and taped a line. It was then a cinch to stitch a nice, straight seam along the top of my panel.

Now we come to my least favorite part. It's back to the ironing board (I told you you'd be best buds). I like thick seams on the sides of curtain panels - they help to keep the panel from twisting once it's hung, and they make the drapes look like a professional did them. Fold in 2 inches on each side of the panel, and press with the iron.

Then tuck under half an inch and pin, leaving you with a 1.5 inch seam on either side of the curtain. You can really see that lovely hidden bottom seam now - but don't press it out yet. If you start to press it and it goes crooked, it can ruin your seam on the other side, and you'll get a twisty curtain - always work from the top down. Back at the sewing machine, I switched over the top thread to gray as well, so now both the bobbin and the top thread are gray, since we're now sewing exclusively on the patterned fabric. Stitch all your seams, remove your pins, and then iron out the entire panel.

I know it looks like you're done - but not yet! (Although, if you are using clips to hang the curtains, here's where you are finished!)

Stitch plastic loops in even intervals on the top of your curtains. I did 7 loops per curtain, so I divided the width of the curtain by 6, and put a placeholder pin in the fabric. I'm using cafe clips, which have a 1" drop, so I then measured one inch down from where I put my placeholder pin, and made a mark with a bright pink disappearing ink marker (a nifty little tool you can find in the notions aisle at the craft store). Then stitch halfway around the ring using a hand whipstitch.

Clip the claw end of the cafe clip into the ring and hang. It's a lot easier to hang the rods once you have the drapes on them, so you don't end up with floodwater curtains. I like to have curtains "just touch" the floor, so they puddle a bit. I also didn't want the drapes to go to the ceiling - I thought they might be a little too tall (But, I also don't like putting tall furniture in rooms because I'm little and I'm convinced it's going to fall on me. Squish). So I decided to split the difference and float the rod between the top of the window and the ceiling, which ended up being almost exactly 90 inches. When it comes to curtains, I like mine wide (insert inappropriate, colorful commentary). I run the rods off either side of the window so that the curtain doesn't actually fall on the window, but frames it. That way you get the maximum amount of light through the window. For these windows, I had Mike install the rods 8.5 inches past the window frame on either side, so the rods ran 52 inches across the window. Mike was Mr. Doubtful when he saw the rods that wide - admittedly it does look a little strange with the rod so far off to the sides of the window, but I knew hanging the actual curtains would change his mind.

Ta da! Custom drapes! Easy, right? Apologies all around for the really crappy after pictures - it's been raining all day every day since I made the curtains, and getting a decent interior shot has been a challenge. But I should have an update on the progress developing in the entire room within a few weeks - so I should have better photos forthcoming.

Ok, granted, I've been sewing for 20 years (taught by my great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother) - but I promise, sewing your own drapes isn't rocket science - it just takes some patience and a penchant for ironing.