I've actually dreaded writing this post because I know it's going to be a long one but we must conquer and overcome! Ready?? We can do this.
Last Wednesday I finally found a curtain rod style and price that worked well within my spending range. Why are some curtain rods $50+? And of course, I found them at my favorite store, Lowe's. No I do not get paid for talking about Lowe's but if they want to pay me fore it, call me!!
The winner...this guy (and may I once again remind you to not stare at the ugly green wall...I should really work on finding a setting on my camera that captures the true color of our walls.)
I bought two 24-48 inch rods for the windows and these clips to hang the curtains with.
Not only did I find curtain rods and clips I liked, I also had a coupon for "Spend $50, Save $10. Double bonus. When I gave it to the lady at the register, it wasn't scanning and when she started punching in the numbers of the coupon I realized that it expired 10/14 and all along I thought it was 11/14. Do you know what happened? She honored it anyway and gave me the $10 off! Whoop! Whoop!
So then I had the hubby help me put everything up on Friday. We don't believe in ladders as you can tell. haha
The first reveal looked, well...pathetic. The curtains still needed to be finished but they looked skimpy.
Especially when you pulled them shut.
Even with the minor disappointment, I pushed forward and had him put up the other curtain rod for me. Which only to lead to another disheartening moment. I knew the window was a little wider than the other one but I still thought the rod would be long enough. Nope, it was barely holding together. Luckily for me, Lowe's came through for me yet again! I was able to keep the hardware up on the wall but just return the rod for the bigger size rod. Booya.
After Joe and I starred at the semi-finished curtains, we decided that there needed to be more fabric on each panel. They just didn't look right and to be honest I was sad my first attempt at making curtains didn't go as I had hoped. I guess that's the beauty of DIY, you just never know what you're going to end up with.
Saturday morning I set out on my mission early. I went to Lowe's to return the rod and get the bigger size rod and then headed to JoAnn to see if they still had the fabric I used for our curtains. It must have been my lucky day because it was there! I picked up another six yards of the white patterned fabric and another six yards of the blackout fabric. Oh and the white fabric was 30% off and I had a 40% off coupon for the blackout fabric. Not that it's a big deal though... :)
After I got back home I went to work on making two new panels for the one window and sewing the four panels I already had made together. (Two panels sewn together to make one panel and the other two panels sewn together to make my second panel for the window.)
So there I was, laying, ironing and cutting fabric again. Instead of cutting the patterned fabric down the middle (like I did the first time) I left the width and cut the blackout fabric down to be the same width.
I used a fabric cutting board underneath, a fabric rotary cutter which works so much better than scissors and a ruler to keep my edge straight.
Then I put the panels together just like I did the first time around. You can see all of the details here. After I made the two new ones, I was on to fixing the first ones I made.
I pinned the two pannels together down the middle and sewed those right up. And to figure out the length I hung them up and marked with a pin where they hit the floor.
Next, I chopped the extra fabric off and hemmed up the bottom edges. Bada Bing Bada Boom. DONEZO!
This is what could have been and what is. Notice how the new, wider curtains look ten times better because of the extra fabric! So glad I decided to make bigger panels!
The final look!!
They probably could be up off the ground like a half inch more so they hang better but after an eight hour day of sewing curtains I had had enough. Maybe I'll save that for a snowy day. So there you have it. Our curtains are done (for now) and we couldn't be more happier with them. They aren't perfect by any means. I notice little things that I wish were different but it is what it is. Now, onto the next project and I'm crossing "make curtains" off my to do list for our bedroom.
The "To Do" List
PaintNew BedInstall BlindsRefinish DresserPaint Window TrimNew Closet HardwareMake Curtains- Paint Closet Trim/Base Trim
- Get Nightstands
- Add Closet Storage
- Find Beside Lighting
- Add Mirror
- Add Photos/Art
Get Hamper- Add Rug?
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