Curtains

We've been in this house for 6 months and the wee sprout *still* doesn't have curtains up in his room.  It hasn't mattered much with the short days of winter, but as days are getting longer, I really have to get back in gear.

I've based my curtain project on this tutorial. The results on her site are lovely and I would have loved to line these curtains, but when we went shopping, we found kid's room themed blackout fabric for 4$/metre.  Hard to beat and it makes the lining superfluous when finances are a concern. Therefore, no lining. (pout)

As with the original tutorial, I've folded the bottom up 4 inches deep, then up again.  I sewed this hem down with a plain ol' straight stitch.

Next, let the project sit in a closet to mature for as long as needed. 3 weeks, 6 months, it's all good.  Really, the delay is an essential part of the crafting process.

Ready? Alright, instead of attaching the lining fabric to the sides, I've marked off pencil marks at 1 inch in and 4 inches in from the selvedge.  I made these markings every 4 to 6 inches. More than that and I can't just fold and press. Pins become necessary. It's a nuisance.

Fold the side up to the 1 inch mark and press as you go.

Special note: since I used the full width of fabric and this is thick blackout stuff, the selvedge was thick, fuzzy and black, I trimmed off the thick fuzzies at this point so there wouldn't be a ridge in my hem. Ick.

Icky, thicky, fuzz.

Nice and neat.
(Anyone know how to get these pics to sit side by side?)

Once the whole side is done, fold the new, neat edge up to the 4 inch mark and press again as you go. Add pins now and then so nothing gets skewed while sewing.  If you're good enough that you can sew a 9' hem while keeping everything square, then my hat is off to you.
If you're at all like me, pin every 6-10" and stitch down with more nifty straight stitches.

Seam fully encased, pinned, ready for sewing.
Why is blogger turning this image sideways?!

Repeat on the opposite side.

Top up your tea, we're heading into the home stretch now.

Chop up lengths of whatever you've decided to use for back tabs.  I used 1" wide twill tape because 1- it was cheap; 2- it looked strong enough; 3- the unbleached colour blended in decently with the fabric (not that it matters much.)

Fold what will be the top of the curtain down 1". Press.  Fold down another inch. Press.

Now, set the tabs about 1/2" into the seam at even intervals. I set a pin every 6" to know where to put the tabs, fudging my measurements near the centre of the fabric, mirror-image style.

See? Six inches... not to be neurotic about this or anything...

Then I used my nifty measure-ma-bob to square off the tabs.

Crooked

Less crooked. Ta-da!

Still with me?  Good. Now, you get to sew this down. Again, a straight seam will do.

Finally, to keep nice clean, non-frayed edges, press the exposed edge of the twill tape under just a little. Like, 1/8"-1/4". Not much. Press. Pin. Stitch.

Run an iron over the whole project if it looks a bit wrinkled and hang your masterpiece. You're done!

Pour yourself a drink, admire your handiwork, and if necessary, pray it will encourage a certain young lad to sleep a wee bit longer.