How Wide Can You Go?

I want to start off by saying...this was really hard.  I mean really hard but I think it was well worth it in the end.  Not much story here for you just straight into the instructions.  If anything here doesnt make sense please let me know and I will be more than happy to try and articulate myself a little better, I feel like Im rambling a little today.

Remember yesterday when I showed you how to make a curtain longer?  Well if you dont remember just click here and you can see that post.  Today Im going to combine yesterday's post and add on to that.  I have curtains in my bedroom that I dont love, I liked them but the valance was throwing me off.  The picture below sucks but its hard to get a good picture when the sun is shining in through the window.

I decided to get rid of the valance but modify the curtain panels.  I wanted to add width to make a more lush look and then move the curtain panels up to where the valance was, which means I was going to have to make the curtain longer.  First things first, I had to cut the panel in half.

 Cutting the panel did need some help.  I dont have a large enough flat surface to cut on so I had m husband hold one end while I cut the other.  Be careful if your curtains have lining and make sure you cut the curtain and the lining at the same time so everything is the same size for hemming purposes.

**Side note, please note that the panels I am working on dont have the traditional pocket for the curtain rod but belt loop esk loops, so if you have the traditional pocket make sure you follow the instructions from my first curtain post found here**

 Remember from yesterday the hemming we did to the edges, but on this cut curtain you only have to hem the cut edge so that the fabric doenst come unraveled or anything on your seam.  Make sure its even all the way down, pin it in place, then iron it down, then hem it down.  Since I had a lining I actually had to hem the lining down then hem the fancy fabric down.  Honestly this probably would have been better to sew to save on hem tape but i cant sew in a straight line and thought that would be tackier than a lot of hem tape.

 Truth be told this took a lot of time...like 2 hours per panel...so I forgot to take some of the pictures because my back was hurting and my knees hurt and blah blah blah sorry!!!  So the above picture is all the pieces put together so let me explain what I did.  After I had the two sides of the original curtain hemmed.  I went on to the addition fabric.  I hemmed the top and bottom at the length to match the original panels.  Make sure it matches 100% so it doesnt look off when you hang the curtain, which means leave enough for a 1 inch hem but the rest should match up.  The 2 edges I hemmed to each panel one at a time the same (so back to back with the hem tape in the middle).  I didnt hem the unfinished edge of the new fabric because it was going to be covered in the seam.  After you hemmed the fabrics back to back, flip it over and iron out the seam.  Then on the front put a piece of hem tape where you ironed the seam, flip the curtain back over and iron the hem tape in place.  Repeat the same thing for the other side of the curtain.

For the bottom, thats going to be the easiest.  Measure your piece to be same length as the new curtain panel and to the width you want, then follow the instructions from yesterday's post (here)

I know a lot of steps with like no pictures to go with it and I have failed you!  I am sorry.  But if you are going to attempt this and want some extra help just email me!

The next step is to make the loops to hang the curtain from.  From the scrap fabric I cut 2 pieces on the edge of the fabric so the top was a loop.  I them hemmed the bottom edges together, then hemmed the top and bottom edges to the top of the curtain in line with the other loops.  This doesnt have to be an exact science just make the width you think works best and space it at what you think is best.  Make sure you let that sit for about 5 minutes before you hang it so it has time to set.

Now comes the most fun part, is hanging the curtains!!

 Wow looks cool right?!  I was pretty impressed that it looked better than I thought it was going to.  Oh and a side note I am going to paint the walls gray so there wont be so much purple soon!

Here is a longer view for you, I love these now they are much more what I had imagined and that makes me happy...now what to do with the valances?!

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