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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The Rooster and the Hen

Raise the Roof!

Or raise the curtain height in this case.  I have been starting at the curtains in my living room for a year and a half wishing they were longer and finally go around to matching up the fabric to do so.  This week I actually have 2 curtain projects to share with you but today's is the simpler of the two and thats adding length to a curtain. 

Here is a before shot of the living room (kitchen has the same curtains at the same height)

I decided that it would look better if the curtains were at the ceiling height so off to Joann's I went in search of a fabric match.  It was pretty hard to find an exact match but the color match was very very close.  The store associate actually made a great suggestion to add ribbon to the seam to try and make it look pretty seamless so I decided to go with that idea.  As a side note...none of this requires a sewing machine.  Arguably it would have been better if I had sewn it, but since I cant sew a straight line to save my life I figured hem tape would work better.  Below is after the curtain rods were taken down, and you can see what a big difference even sheers make to a window.  It looks so boring and bland, but with the curtains it brings more life into the home.  Dont get me wrong its cool if you dont want curtains, I just happen to prefer having them.

Here is what i started with...

 Thats the bottom of the curtain and the fabric that I used to make it longer.  First I measured with width of the original and cut the new fabric plus 1 inch on either side to match.  The 1 inch on either side is to make the hem so that the unfinished edges dont show.

 Here you can see the pinning of the hem.  What I do is first pin the hem, then iron over it so the hem stays down then I insert the hem tape between the fabric and the edge.  Make sure you read the instructions on the hem tape so you know how long to leave the heat on for.

 Here is a closer shot of the edges hemmed down.  Not the best shot but you get the idea.  I did the 1 inch hem on 3 edges to make sure there were not going to be any unfinished edges showing.

 Above is a better picture of all 3 edges hemmed and ready for the next step

 To attach the extra length put the original curtain face down and the new addition face up so they are back to back.  The white line you see at the bottom of the brown is the hem tape before I put it in between the 2 fabrics.  Once you have both fabrics as close to perfectly lined up as you can, put the hem tape between the 2 pieces of fabric and iron away.

 Once them hem tape has had about 1 minute to cool flip the extra length piece down and then iron at the seam to help it lay flat.  As an extra step I also flipped the curtain over and put a piece of them tape at the seam as well.  Since both fabrics were pretty heavy it helped to have the extra bonding to keep it from flopping around.  If you have a lighter fabric this wont be necessary.

Now for the decoration.  I have a hard time with straight lines so ribbon really is my best friend and helps me hide a host of problems.  Same is the case here, so I put hem tape on the curtain where I wanted the ribbon to go (aka cover up a mess haha), put the ribbon on top of that and ironed it all together.  Below you see the sheers have also magically grown in length as well...well I spent another 2 hours taking a seam ripper to them to make them longer.  These babies had like a 6 inch hem on them which was great because that meant I didnt have to add any length to them I just had to take the seam out.  Major score on that one.

All in all I had 4 curtains to do and it took about 3 hours to do all 4...and thats including distractions from the dog and the TV shows I was watching...oh and another 2 for the sheers.  Truth be told I am actually going to move these curtains to the kitchen with their sisters because i want to make a sheer valance for in here...but seeing as I used all my fabric allowance in here and the bedroom that will have to wait a few more weeks.  Oh and cost on this, the fabric was $13.50 for 3 yards, $5 for 2 spools of ribbon and $3 for 2 rolls of hem tape.  Total for this project of 4 curtains is $21.50.  Not bad considering you cant really buy a 100" length curtain for that price!

My back is killing me from all the sitting on the floor but I think its worth it, makes the room look taller and it was pretty cheap to do as well which always makes me happy.  Do you have curtains you like but would love to make longer?  Whats holding you back?!

Project Housewife Out!

Im Linking Up!  Come check me out at Add a Pinch, Alderberry Hill, Flour me with Love, Six Sisters Stuff 
The Rooster and the Hen
Joy in the Jumble, Tidy Mom, Bacon Time, Blissful and Domestic, Create Craft Love, Addicted2Decorating, Petals to Picots, Serenity Now, While He was Napping, 
Not Just a Housewife, Romance on a Dime, Southern Lovely 
Lil Pink Pocket, My Girlish Whims 
Tip Junkie, Ginger Snap Crafts 
Beyond the Picket Fence, House of Hepworths, Michelle's tasty Creations, A Bowl Full of Lemons