How to Sew and Make New Curtains

How to Sew and Make New Curtains

Here is a good lesson to learn an indoor DIY project: how to make new curtains. The carrying out is not difficult; if you can sew a straight line with a machine, you can make new curtains to slide over your windows. The challenge is in the planning.

Fabric

A medium-weight drapery fabric is a good choice; it is often wider than dress material.  Avoid large designs. They can be overwhelming in a small space, and you will need extra fabric to allow matching. Avoid dark colors, too, as they are prone to fading. Your curtains will last longer and offer more privacy if they are lined. Laminated fabric is hard to find, but drapery lining is widely available and can be sewn to your curtain fabric. Look for a medium weight lining that provides some sun and thermal protection. You also need a roll of "stay tape" (to stabilize the stretchy diagonal edges of the corner curtains), about 12” of sticky-back white fuzzy (loop) Velcro, and 12” of sew-on hook-side Velcro. These items are available from fabric stores.

Hardware

For curtains that slide on a track, you need to purchase "glide tape" (which is sewn to the curtain) and "white wall track" (which is screwed to the wall). The standard tape package contains 72" of tape, and the track comes in lengths that vary around 45", depending on vendor. These supplies are not expensive, but since you have to pay shipping, be sure to order enough the first time. If you already have the sliding track system, order new tape. The plastic buttons become brittle with age and it's time-consuming to remove old tape. At most hardware stores, you can buy finishing washers for tiebacks) and decorative screw caps. Screws should be fully threaded, with no smooth shank, and stainless steel is best. Use an awl or ice for putting holes in the fabric and Velcro, and for starting screw holes in the wall.

Measuring

 Length: The finished curtains on the A walls should all hang to the same distance above the hinge.  Allow enough coverage at the top of the window for the wall track. Width: In order for the curtain panel to clip into the end of the wall track, and cover the hardware, the side edges of the curtain should extend 1" beyond a glide-tape button.

Hold the glide tape above the window to determine this minimum width. The measurement will be wider than the actual window. Measure all the windows, including the door. Add at least 2" to each width dimension to allow for seams. Curtains should always be cut lengthwise on the raw fabric, matching the fabric design, or they won't hang properly.

Corner curtains require special attention, noted here in italics. If your fabric has a printed pattern, you cannot create matching triangles by cutting a square in half – if you do, one triangle will be upside down! Matching triangles on a single wall must be cut as vertical, mirror-image twins.

NOTE: If your corner windows are the usual 21” high, and you want your finished curtain to have two equal legs of about 32”, those raw cut edges must be at least 33 ¾”, NOT 33”, or you have no seam allowance for the diagonal. The surest method is to make a paper pattern for your corner, pin it to the fabric, and cut ½” from the edges all the way around.

Knowing the width of your fabric, figure how many yards you will need for your project. Make a similar calculation for the lining, which may be manufactured in a different width. To confirm your calculations, sketch your layout on graph paper. You will also need fabric to make tie-backs for your curtains. These 4” strips can be cut horizontally. Remember to allow extra fabric for all seams and hems.

How to Sew and Make New Curtains

Construction:  The easiest way to line your curtains is to cut mirror-image pieces of fabric and lining, adding ½” seam allowance all the way around. Pin the right sides together and stitch ½” from the edge all around, leaving about 6” unstitched. Trim excess material from the corners and turn the piece inside out through the unstitched pocket. Use the scissor points to gently poke the corners into shape. Press the edges carefully, fingering the unstitched pocket into place. Top stitch around the entire panel, including the unstitched pocket, about ¼” from the edge. Press again. Place the glide tape along the top of the back of the curtain panel, with the end glide buttons about 1" inside each side. Stitch the top of the glide tape to the back of the top of the curtain panel, sewing along the top stitching. Use a zipper foot on the machine so that you can sew close to the glide buttons.

Finally, stitch the bottom edge of the glide tape in place. If you are using glide tape on both top and bottom of a curtain, as you would for the roof bubbles, make certain that the upper and lower buttons are directly opposite each other so that the open curtain pleats evenly.  Add a piece of sew-on Velcro to the back of any curtain hem or corner that you want held against the wall.

The panels for the corner windows are right-angle triangles. While construction is basically the same as for the rectangular curtains, the stretchy diagonal edges need special care. When you pin the lining for sewing, include a strip of Stay Tape along the diagonal sewing line and stitch it into the seam. The narrowest (bottom) point of the triangle will be thick and needs careful trimming to remove extra bulk before it’s turned inside-out. The large curtain next to the door may have one triangular side. This area can be cut separately, then sewed to the rectangle as part of the whole curtain.

Tiebacks:  Cut tieback strips 4” wide and 1" longer than the finished length. Fold the strip in half lengthwise, right sides together, and stitch ¼” from the long edge. Press the seam open and turn the strip inside-out. Center the seam and press again, turning ½” of the raw ends inside. Top stitch all the way around, ¼” from the edge. Sew a square of loop-side Velcro to one end, over the long seam. 

Mounting

Glide Track:  The plastic track can be cut to length with utility shears. If in doubt, cut it long and shorten it as needed. Mark the screw holes by holding the track, with curtain attached, at the desired location. Put a screw near each end of the track.

Fixed corner triangles:  Use masking tape to hold the curtain in place. Through the diagonal curtain edge, screw 4 small pan-head screws in decorative covers.

Tiebacks:  Through the non-Velcro end of each tieback, seam-side up, screw a short pan-head screw and finishing washer, hiding the screw behind the curtain.

Velcro:  After the curtains and tiebacks are in place, press the fuzzy side of sticky-back Velcro to each piece of sewn-on loop Velcro. Stick it against the wall where desired, pull away the curtain, and screw each sticky-back Velcro in place with a short, small flat-headed screw.

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Ideas for DIY Canopy Bed Frame and Curtains

Ideas for DIY Canopy Bed Frame and Curtains

Here are inspiring canopy bed frame designs and pictures for you to choose from. You will see: bed curtains canopy rods bedroom, romantic canopy beds decoration, your private room with bed canopy ideas, bedroom luxury canopy bed curtains ideas with white curtain, DIY canopy bed with white curtain and lighting.

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Over-drapery Materials

In draperies by far the largest group is the cottons. Beginning with calico sized, plain-woven cotton with the pattern on one side these prints, which seem subdued, are fine for country homes. Cretonne was originally the French version of calico, and it is made with a heavier yarn. Usually cretonne, which is the same material as unglazed chintz, has larger designs than the unglazed chintz. Because of its lack of glaze, it gives a pleasantly subdued look to the print; in antique floral an authentic look, in modern designs perhaps a more subtle one.

Chintzes are cretonnes glazed with a dull or high gloss. This gloss is acquired by a wax glaze or a starch glaze, (both of which come out in the laundry) and, today, by a chemical, durable glaze. Choose this type of finish for long use. Glosheen is the name of mercerized cotton with the satin weave reversed. This gives a permanent sheen, too.

All the printed cottons lend themselves to a wide variety of colors and designs, varying from those reminiscent of the past such as toile de Jouy to the free contemporary patterns by modern painters.

Familiar shirting and dress cotton fabrics are highly suitable for informal interiors. Among these are chambray (originally used in Chambrai, France, for sun- bonnets), a fabric woven with a colored warp and a white woof, resulting in a changeable colored surface. Percale, which is highly recommended as a summer curtain or drapery material, is a cool, crisp-looking fabric similar to chambray but finer. Originally hand blocked in India, percale has a dull finish, and comes in plain solid colors and printed patterns. Gingham, another plain-weave cloth, has figures made from yarns which are dyed before weaving, and is woven in stripes, plaids and checks.

Over-drapery Materials

A fabric borrowed from working-day life is denim, made in lighter weight for draperies, and in a variety of colors and patterns. This long-wearing, sturdy, fabric dyes to vivid colors and is always stylish. Of firm, twill-weave cotton, it often has a whitish tinge obtained by using white woof yarns with colored warp yarns.

Another suiting material that is very smart for draperies is gabardine, which is a tightly-woven twilled cotton, rayon or wool, with a marked diagonal raised weave on the right side.

Homespun is the designation given loose rough fabrics imitating tweedy materials formerly loomed at home. The homespun look is obtained by using unevenly-spun fibers of cotton, rayon or wool. Monk's cloth, a heavy basket- weave cotton fabric, usually seen in its natural off-white or beige color, is used too, to achieve a homespun quality.

Pique, a heavy cotton with a corded surface is highly suitable for summer draperies, as it launders well and wears well.

Among those materials which have a lustrous appearance, and which may be made of cotton, rayon, silk or synthetics, you will find poplin, a fine, durable fabric which drapes beautifully and resembles broad-cloth. Made with a plain weave it has fine cross ribs made by using warp threads finer than the woof threads.

Rep, which is heavier than poplin but quite similar, has a more distinctive surface texture produced by heavier woof threads than warp threads. It is produced in silk, rayon, mohair or cotton yarns in plain or printed fabrics. Jaspe is a mottled looking rep, made by having a series of faint, broken stripes woven into it.

Faille, a popular drapery fabric, has a rep weave which gives a heavy corded surface to what is, in reality, a soft, slightly glossy silk, rayon or cotton fabric. Faille drapes and tailors well.

Over-drapery Materials

Ottoman is a heavy corded silk or rayon with larger, rounder ribs than faille. The ribs, or filling, of the cloth are usually cotton, but they are completely covered by the silk or rayon warp. Moire, another rep fabric, has a heavy watermark impressed by engraved rollers when the material is damp, and this results in the material reflecting light differently on the crushed and uncrushed parts. This pattern is not permanent except on acetate rayon. Bengaline is similar to faille, too, but heavier, with a fine weave.

Satin, of silk or rayon, another glossy fabric, sometimes with a cotton filling, has a smooth, lustrous face and dull back. The luster is obtained by the weave, and the finish produced by running it between hot cylinders. Made in many varieties and qualities, it can be screen-printed and antiqued, and makes a soft, rich material when quilted.

Taffeta, which is also effective when quilted, is smooth on both sides, usually with a sheen on the surface. Of silk, rayon, cotton or synthetic yarns, it may be woven in such a way that its colors seem changeable, its texture crisp.

Certain fabrics have an almost undeviatingly formal manner, and among these are the heavy brocades, brocatelles, and "pile" fabrics like velvet, velour, etc.

They should only be used as side drapes, or in cases where no light is wanted.

Damask, a firm glossy-patterned fabric with a Jacquard weave, is woven so that the right side usually has satin face designs that are reversed on the other side. Damask is similar to brocade, but flatter and reversible. It may be o linen, cotton, rayon or silk.

Brocades, which have been having an influence on wallpaper designs, have subdued patterns made of mixed yarns against a plain background. Satin weave, an allover pattern resembling embroidery, marks this fabric, Brocatelle is a fancy damask, with stuffer threads under the raised design making a thickness that looks like heavy-handed embroidery.

A variation on the plain weave in which an additional warp thread is looped on the surface and then cut, produces velvet. Velours is a further variation on velvet, in which the additional thread is made in a plain or twill weave of a different color. Plush is another kind of caught pile woven from mohair. Velveteen is a cotton fabric with a short, close pile made to look like velvet.

Toweling materials also sometimes are appropriate as curtains, when a coarse fabric with a rough, irregular surface is required. Crash is such a fabric. Usually of cotton or linen, it is obtained by weaving uneven yarns. 

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Fabrics for Lace and Nets Curtains

Fabrics for Lace and Nets Curtains

Another returning vogue is lace, especially with a renewal of home fashion interest in Victorian styles. But the newer lace curtains have more delicate designs than the older styles. Although lace is available in a great variety of patterns, familiar laces for draperies include "antique lace," which is hand-made bobbin lace of heavy thread with large, often irregular, square-knotted net on which designs are darned. It is the imitation antique lace, which is the fabric sold for draperies. Battenburg lace, a coarser form of Renaissance lace, made by hand or machine, of linen, braid or tape and linen thread brought together to form various designs, is machine-made for draperies. Brussels lace is now being made by machine in delicate patterns. But the more contemporary lace fabrics have sheer ground areas, clearer designs, and free placement of design motifs.

Fish net, cotton or linen twine knotted together with big open loops, is often recommended by decorators for seashore or country houses, for covering big open window spaces, or as a wall drapery, where it can provide a pleasing pattern of white threads against a vivid background. To provide privacy with fish net it is necessary to have overlapping lengths. For some reason an illusion exists that this is an inexpensive window treatment; actually fish net, obtained from commercial fishing supply houses at best, is relatively expensive.

Fabrics for Lace and Nets Curtains

Ordinary net, usually in beige colors or tan, is often sold as a dining room or living room curtain material and is considered durable, although in actuality its shrinkage rate is high. Breton lace, net which has designs embroidered on it with heavy, often with colored, thread, is also sold. Tambour curtain fabrics (embroidered on a drum-like device) and filet nets from England, Switzerland and France are available, and provide a filmy glass curtain through which soft sunlight filters.

Just announced is a method of weaving nylon on looms, and lace curtains of nylon are said to be light in weight and easily laundered. After the water has drained off, the curtains may be hung back on the rods to finish drying. A light pressing is only necessary at the hems.

Gauze, a thin, sheer-woven cotton fabric similar to cheesecloth, is made in different weaves of silk, cotton, rayon and synthetics. Theatrical gauze, now being produced in charming pastel plaids of green, pink and white, yellow, white and rust, hunter green, and chartreuse and white, among other color combinations, can be used for play rooms, dining rooms, or any room where a subtle, gay touch is wanted.

Fabrics for Lace and Nets Curtains

Another nylon fabric now available is a gauze of such transparent delicacy that a hundred yards of it weighs less than five pounds. Remarkably strong and dirt-resistant for all its sheerness, it is described as ideal for casement curtains, as it lets in a slightly softened light, while from the outside the close weave reflects the light and reveals nothing.

Serim, a lightweight, stiffened, coarse gauze, with an open weave, usually in ecru or white, used to be preferred to net and marquisette, since it had less tendency to shrink on washing but, as explained, this need no longer be a prime consideration, since you can get other materials which will not shrink. The rule still holds good, however, that for fabrics which are not shrink-proof, the coarser the mesh, the more chance of shrinking. Some fabrics with a coarse mesh will shrink so much at the first washing as to be practically useless.

Dotted swiss, a sheer, crisp, cotton fabric with either embroidered or raised polka dots on a plain weave, is effective for informal curtains, and for bedrooms, kitchens, etc.

Glass curtains that are more opaque include the already-mentioned handkerchief or finer linens, cam-brics or lawns; natural silk, which is naturally creamy-white or yellow, depending on its source, or dark tan if from a wild silkworm; pongee, which is a thin natural tan-colored silk with a rough, knotty weave, or shantung, which is much like pongee and was originally woven o wild silk in China but is now often mixed with rayon and cotton. All of these silk or silk-based materials have a natural resiliency and do not crash easily. There is also madras, familiar in a heavier weight as men's shirting material, which is a woven cotton fabric with a stripe, a corded or a checked effect. Nylon and other rayon fabrics that resemble silk closely can be had too, and rayon dress fabrics in interesting prints may make unusual-looking curtains. 

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Fabric for Glass Curtains or Thin Sheer Curtains

Fabric for Glass Curtains or Thin Sheer Curtains

Glass curtains, or thin sheer curtains, have come to be more and more popular hanging alone, with no over draperies. New concepts in light and space have inspired spider-web techniques in gauze with the merest suggestion of plaid; strong glass fibers spun into shimmering fabrics, woven into curtains that seem to shed dust and soil, that launder ready to hang without stretching; soft glowing weaves of acetate rayon, remarkably sturdy for all their look of delicacy; gossamer wool, nylon and vinyon weaves. These sheers are screens that, when used as casement cloths, cut glare from strong daylight, providing a decorative yet unobtrusive accent. They maintain that look of maximum space and close contact with the out-of-doors that modernists treasure.

What are some of the familiar types of materials you encounter when you go to buy fabric for sheer or glass curtains? Most prevalent are the marquisettes in silk, cotton, rayon, nylon, glass fiber, or any similar yarn, square meshed or open meshed, open weave, lightweight fabrics. The newer nylon and fiber glass marquisettes may be more expensive than cotton or rayon, but their makers claim better lasting powers, explaining that they make for economy in the long run since they need less frequent laundering than ordinary marquisette. They won't shrink, and consequently need no alterations. Also, since they won't absorb moisture, they won't wrinkle or rot.

Fabric for Glass Curtains or Thin Sheer Curtains

Ninon, in both cotton and rayon, differs from marquisette in that it is heavyweight (rather than light-weight), closely-woven, (rather than loosely- woven), filmy, and extra fine. Ninon is a type of voile, a plain weave in a cotton or rayon, usually fine and sheer, although it is available in many grades from coarse-open to fine, veil-like material.

Choosing between these two materials in draw draperies for large window expanses in modern rooms can be of more importance than it would seem at the first consideration. If your room is based on rough textures, earthy colors, with an emphasis on natural woods, potteries, and California styles, the filmy smoothness of nino might look just a trifle wrong; whereas it would be just the thing far preferable to marquisette in a room with sleek surfaces, the Far Eastern touch, lacquered ebony, polished brass, spun aluminum, and shining taffeta, or upholstery with metallic accents, taffeta or satin. And again, when choosing between a voile and a marquisette for a glass curtain, think how it will look paired with the over- drapery. A filmy smooth, translucent voile would conceivably look better next to a more formal rayon faille; a marquisette better next to a chintz.

Fabric for Glass Curtains or Thin Sheer Curtains

Grenadine is a fabric similar to marquisette made of silk, mixed with cotton. Loosely woven, it is fine, more transparent than marquisette and made with a dot or figures.

Muslin is a glass-curtain fabric, with an old-fashioned charm that is being brought back by decorators, especially in Dutch curtains for den, kitchen and dinette. Muslin is a firm, plain-weave cotton cloth ranging in weight from thin batiste to heavier sheetings such as percale. Lawn is a sheer muslin, slightly stiffened, with the pattern printed on.

Organdie, which is a sheer stiffened muslin, holds ruffles and flounces better than most sheers, and is a favorite for achieving a fresh, crisp, feminine look, for little girls' rooms, for cottage interiors, for pretty boudoirs. Used as a trimming with eyelet embroidery on chintz it is dainty and appealing. 

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How to Purchase Curtains Fabric and Materials

How to Purchase Curtains Fabric and Materials

The fabric department of your department store with its vast assortment of materials, colors, weaves, and patterns competing for your attention, is apt to prove bewildering unless you understand something about fabrics before you go out to buy them. With some knowledge of fabrics you are not so likely to be swayed by bargain prices or tricky patterns, and to buy something that is not really what you had in mind. A good precaution is to get a swatch to take home and to place it near your other furnishings to see how it goes with them.

If you like it is much when you get it home, it will probably continue to satisfy you.

How to Purchase Curtains Fabric and Materials

How to Purchase Curtains Fabric and Materials

In purchasing curtain materials it is necessary to consider their durability, texture, color, design, and how easy they will be to care for. Sometimes the cost of the fabric itself is not large, but the trouble and expense of making it up warrants getting a fabric that will wear, even at a higher price. The new synthetic finishes that make fabrics shrink fast, colorfast and sun fast, glass and plastic fibers, and plastic sheeting materials, have gone a long way in disposing of many of these difficulties. But often a room calls for a traditional material, and in such a case durability is a consideration. If you find you have fallen in love with an expensive chintz or print that you just can't afford, get a plain material that correlates well with it and use it for trimming, or for a valance or cornice covering. 

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