Thursday, July 28, 2011

DIY Curtain Project

We have a beautiful, solid oak dining room table. It is big, heavy and has 4, yes I said 4, table leaves. These are great when we have a sit down dinner for 16...(read,NEVER) so I inevitably end up storing them. We tried storing them in the basement on shelves, but they took up too much space. We tried standing them upright in our hall closet, but with kids, it was dangerous. I had to find a place to store those monstrous things, so I would not have to look at them ANYMORE :)

So here is what I did, I sacrificed a section of my bedroom closet to make them a home. And also a place to store my American flag, apparently. If I were on the ball, it would be hanging proudly on my front porch, but since I always forget to take it down at dark, I feel disrespectful. So out of respect, it is in my closet. What?!?! Anyways...

Still ugly,huh? And did I mention there is a huge picture window directly in front of this shelf? A window that open to my front yard?  How will I ever hide these things?
On a trip to Walmart it came to me....

Here is how I did it:
I bought a $7 full size sheet in a color I liked. They have about a million to choose from. Just make sure it's a FLAT sheet. But you knew that already, right?
Then you'll need
-a sewing machine (or not, you can also use stitch witchery if you are a sewing machine - phobe)
-a seam ripper
-an iron
-a bar to hang your curtain on (I was able to use a clothes bar from my closet)
I measured the opening to my closet, and cut the sheet to the height, adding about 4 inches for the hem. Also keep your sheet at least twice the width of your opening, or you won't get any ruffle action. (Then it will look like you have a sheet hanging in your closet....)
I folded the bottom over twice to get a little weight at the bottom, as well as a straight hem. And since I was ironing, I stuck some stitch witchery in the hem as I folded  to "glue" my hem in place. It made it much easier to sew such a long straight line later.

I used the factory stitched top of the sheet as my curtain top. I had to open up the sides with my seam ripper, but then you are left with an open tube.
The factory stitching is gray, and I used brown, because I was in a hurry.  
But hey, it's easy for you  to see where I sewed :)

I stitched about an inch from the top of the tube to give a little extra ruffle.



And now I have a pretty, ruffly curtain to hide my hideous oak monstrosity's! Isn't it cute? These would work anywhere, even on a window. It's a low-sew to no-sew project that takes hardly any time at all.



2 comments:

  1. Great solution! I am getting ready to make some curtains for my living room, but the fabric choices makes it so hard!

    ~JamieS@ Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom

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  2. Very pretty and what a great solution! I am visiting from Not JUST A Housewife and I am a new follower!! I hope you have a great week and that I see you around soon!
    Michelle
    www.delicateconstruction.blogspot.com

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