How To Make Custom Curtains

Yesterday I told you how to make your own curtain rods on the cheap, and today we are moving onto curtains! 

  Curtains are so supurbly easy to make. If you can sew a straight stitch on your sewing machine, than you can make curtains. If you don't own a sewing machine than you could sew it by hand, it would just take longer. 

So the first step is to buy your fabric. I recommend using home decor fabric, but you can certainly use whatever fabric you like, including sheets or dropcloths. I'm working on debrowning my living room and this is the fabric I chose to dress up my naked windows.

link

The first step is to cut your fabric. Measure the length from the top of your curtain rod to the floor and then add 12 inches. My windows measured 92 inches, so I cut the fabric to 104 inches each. 

Then your going to need to iron. First iron the edges of your curtain by folding the blank edge over until you can barely see the print.

Then fold them over one more time and press. This gives your curtains a finished edge.

Next iron the top and bottom by folding it over once and pressing.

Then fold over the top making sure your mindful of the way your pattern runs...you don't end up with upside down curtains! Make it about 3-4 inches wide...I just used my phone to measure.

Then stitch all your edges except the bottom.

Next your going to need to hang the curtains in order to hem them to the correct length.
 I wanted my curtains to look like back tab curtains (which I show you how to make here) without actually having to sew back tabs. So I bought these rings

 and clipped them to the back of the curtain instead if the top, like so...

Once your curtains are hung, fold up the bottoms so that the curtains barely grazes the floor and pin.

Then take it down, hem it, and hang it back up. Done! Cheap and easy custom curtains!

Here is my window before..

and after!

Linked to:

Thrifty Decor Chick, Addicted 2 Decorating, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Savvy Southern Style, The Shabby Creek Cottage, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Under the Table and Dreaming, Someday Crafts, Chic on a Shoestring, Miss Mustard Seed, Southern Hospitality, Sugar Bee Crafts, Tip Junkie, The Thrifty Home,  Beyond the Picket Fence, Oops I Craft My Pants, Between Naps on the Porch, Not Just A Housewife, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, I Heart Nap Time, Serenity Now, French Country Cottage, Remodelaholic, Creations By Kara, Homework, The 36th Avenue, Freckled Laundry, Coastal Charm, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Keeping It Simple,  Blue Cricket Design, Be Colorful, Craft O Maniac, Skip to my Lou, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Dittle Dattle, Polly Want A Crafter?, Whipperberry, Sassy Sites, DIY By Design, The Girl Creative, It's Overflowing, A Girl ans a Glue Gun, Delightful Order, Fireflies & Jellybeans, Southern Lovely, Sew Much Ado, Young & Crafty, Homemaker on a Dime, Be Different Act Normal, Primitive & Proper, Lolly Jane, DIY Home Sweet Home, Lines Across My Face, Making the World Cuter, Fun to Craft, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Crafty Nest, Running with Glitter, Designer Garden, Cherished Bliss, CRAFT, Lil Luna, All Thingz Related, House of Hepworths, Oopsy Daisy, Domestically Speaking, Ginger Snap Crafts, Home Stories A to Z, Vintage Wanna Bee, The CSI Project, Newlyweds on a Budget

My Big Fat Nursery Chair

My nursery list is dwindling! Good thing, cause so is my time to complete it. Here is a picture of my nursery chair as of last week. It was given to me by my mom, who got it from a garage sale a looong time ago. (Update: After posting this my mom called to let me know that she actually didn't get this at a garage sale, but rather found it on the side of the road while on a walk. Just the chair - the ottoman she made. Looks like trash chairs are a recurring theme around here!) She recovered and painted it, so my before picture is her after picture....except for the big fat mystery stain on the seat. I forgot to take a closer picture for y'all...bummer, I know.

It's not the most refined chair, it's really just made out of a bunch of 2 x 4's. It's heavy and huge...we had to take off the bedroom door to get it in there. It's perfect because you can't hurt it. Well, I say that, but the second Elijah realized that the ottoman opened, he broke it. Thing wasn't designed with toddlers in mind. I ended up putting larger screws in the hinge and adding a chain to catch the lid before it opens to far.

I sanded everything down and glued and puttied where needed. I wanted to paint it white... even though it was already white. Turns out I wasn't wasting my time!

Next I recovered the ottoman lid, bringing the fabric all the way to the underside and nailing into place. I didn't want to mess with trim and I like how this turned out. Clean and simple.

For the actual recovering of the seat we packed up and went to my Mom's. I've never recovered anything like that before and she made the old cover, so I figured I'd enlist her help! I even managed to put a shirt on my normally naked boy for our trip to Grandma's...I'm not quite sure how we never got to the pants part.

To make the pattern we (carefully) ripped apart the old cushion covers and laid them out on our fabric. We pinned them into place and cut to make our new shapes.

There's even a zipper on the whole thing...I know we're going to end up with more big fat mystery stains, so being able to wash it is a plus!

....aaaaand that's the end of my how to pictures.  I had to go (dinner waits for no one) and Mom generously offered to finish it up for me.  Aren't moms great?

 I know that's DIY blog cheating. But there was no way I was going to turn her down. To finish from here basically all you do is pin the pieces together inside out, sew, and flip.

Anyway, here it is all finished!

And here it is next to the new book slings! 

(They actually match better than it looks like in this picture)

Next up is the closet. It's still that horrible salmon pink color from when we first moved in, so a fresh coat of white (and perhaps a stencil?) is on order. Oh, and a lot of organizing. There's a reason that door is shut!

Linked To:

Between Naps on the Porch, Keeping It Simple, Running with Glitter, Homemaker on a Dime, Dittle Dattle, The Tattered Tag, The DIY Showoff, Home Savvy, Be Colorful, The DIY Home Sweet Home, Mad In Crafts, The Girl Creative, Polly Want A Crafter, Sumos Sweet Stuff,Making The World Cuter, Lines Across My Face, Coastal Charm, Playful Decor, Confessions, My Uncommon Slice Of Suburbia, Cherished Bliss, Tip Junkie, Creative Itch, Topsy Turvy, Sassy Sites!, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Me and My Boys, Sugar Bee Crafts, Bella Before & After, Not Just A Housewife, Homework, Sweet Little Gals, Primitive & Proper, Passionately Artistic, Blue Cricket Design, Domestically Speaking, Sew Much Ado, Eisy Morgan, My Girlish Whims, Savvy Southern Style, Someday Crafts, Women Who Do It All, Handy Man Crafty Woman, The Thrifty Home, Lil Luna, Saved By Love Creations, Fireflies & Jellybeans, Remodelaholic, Serenity Now, lolly Jane, delicateCONSTRUCTION, Chic On A Shoestring, Design Dazzle, Perfectly Imperfect, French Country Cottage, Happy Hour Projects, Designer Garden, 504 Main, Freckled Laundry, Fingerprints On The Fridge, Fun To Craft, Miss Mustard Seed, The Shabby Nest, Addicted 2 Decorating, Young and Crafty, Tatertots and Jello, Be Different Act Normal, Nifty Thrifty Things, I Heart Nap Time,  

Triple Book Slings

Do y'all remember the list I posted about all the things I wanted to finish in the nursery before the baby comes?  Well, I've completed my first task...book slings! I first came across the idea on Pinterest and then found a tutorial here.  It's a really simple project...if you just make one. I of course had to jazz it up a bit and make three. Still a simple project, just a little more time consuming. 

Here is a picture of what the wall looked like a few weeks ago. Cinder block shelves, a radio that is too far from a plug to work, and a random star (which I have plans for!) 

Classy.

The colors in the nursery are tan, aqua, and green. I never planned on those being the colors, it just sort of slowly happened. I like it though. It totally works because the gender of our babies is always a surprise, so everything has to be gender neutral. Plus I'm plan on stuffing both rugrats into this room...even if they turn out to be different genders. Should be interesting. If any of you moms out in blogland have advice on having two under two share a room, please, do share!

I'm getting off subject - back to the book slings. I wanted to make three of them (we have a lot of books) and I wanted them to all be different sizes. Books come in all different sizes, why shouldn't book slings? I didn't want the giant books always looking like they are going to fall out, or the tiny ones to get buried.

After crunching some numbers (and measuring a lot of books) I came up with my three sizes. (All are 39" wide.)

Large:  42", which would make for a 8.5" deep final product

Medium: 36", 7" deep final

Small: 30", 5.5" deep final

Here they are all cut out. (Sorry the pics are dark, I did this at night while watching Band Of Brothers.)

Next, I folded them in half (pattern sides together) and sewed along one short side, the long side, and 3/4 of the other short side. The opening is left because the next step is turning then inside out (right side out?). 

Once you have them pattern side out and looking pretty, stitch closed the opening. Next I laid out my sling and dowel to make the rod pocket. I gave mine a little more room then I thought I needed and made them 2 inches. Good thing too, because I later returned these dowels and got thicker ones.

Here are the double curtain brackets I bought from Amazon (you can buy them here). They're beautiful and super sturdy, but when I opened the box I instantly thought "crap, I have to return them!" Why? They're HUGE. Like way bigger than I thought they would be. They stick off the wall at least six inches. When I got back on Amazon to try and find something that would hug the wall a little more, I found that they are all that huge. Who knew? I was actually kinda relieved, I wanted this project to be done, and not be waiting on snail mail returns. I've got a deadline to meet!

Hanging these beasts turned out be quite a task. Sometimes (okay, most the time) something so simple turns out to be a huge PITA. I knew I wanted them in studs - they are going into a little boys room, they WILL get hung on. 

As usual, here is the little man helping me with my crafts. If you are a frequent reader of my blog you may be starting to wonder if my kid ever wears clothes...

No, he doesn't... not unless we leave the house. Why make more laundry?

Once they were all hung up, I noticed a few things that were funky about it.

 The top one was way too shallow (and crooked) and the dowels were already starting to bow. 

I had a little leftover fabric, so I went to measure it. I was hoping it would be bigger than 30 inches.

It was 33 inches, barely enough to make a difference. I decided to make another anyway. Here is the new little sling next to the old little sling...

Since I hadn't cut the dowels yet I decided to return them and get something thicker. I'm not sure what size they were but I can tell you that they had yellow ends. I moved up to the purple ended ones, I think they are just a little less than an inch thick. 

Good thing not many men read my blog, they would be rolling their eyes at my dowel description. It's like when men give directions, they say "take so-and-so street west, then turn south onto whatever....". Women say, "take so-and so street till you get to the bridge, then turn right at the house with the ugly yellow trim...."

Anyway, here is the final product! I really like how it turned out, it's very sturdy and can hold a lot of books.

Elijah (clothes-less, as usual) approves as well!

And now I get to cross something off my nursery list. Crossing something off a list feels oh so good. 

(also, I've finished the ottoman, so I'm going to cross that off to. I'll post about that when I finish the chair.)

• Sand and paint chair and ottoman
• Reupholster chair and ottoman
• Make and hang book slings
• Make and hang shelf
• Move Elijah's crib and name letters
• Buy and assemble new crib
• Make star decor
• Make new baby name letters
• Paint closet
• Sort and organize baby clothes
• Remove closet door
• Buy/make and hang closet curtain
• Make growth charts
• Buy another dresser for closet
• Organize closet
• New cloth diaper set up    

Linked to:

Mad In Crafts, Keeping It Simple, The Girl Creative, Dittle Dattle, Home Savvy, Running With Glitter, CraftOManiac, Between Naps on the Porch, The DIY Home Sweet Home, Sew Chatty, Be Colorful, Making The World Cuter, Lines Across My Face, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Polly Want A Crafter, Life Made Lovely, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Confessions, Bella Before & After, All Thingz Related, Sugar Bee Crafts, Sassy Sites!, Me and My Boys, A Bowl Full Of Lemons, Creative Itch, Not Just A Housewife, Oops I Craft My Pants, Homework, Nothing But Country, Reasons To Skip The Housework, Tip Junkie, Sweet Little Gals, Cherished Bliss, My Girlish Whims, Savvy Southern Style, DIY By Design, Sew Much Ado, Blue Cricket Design, Someday Crafts, Southern Lovely, Women Who Do It All, Handy Man Crafty Woman, The Thrifty Home, Lil Luna, Passionately Artistic, Raising 4 Princesses, Eisy Morgan, Creations By Kara, Saved By Love, Yesterday on Tuesday, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Beyond the Picket Fence, House of Hepworths, The 36th Avenue, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Happy Hour Projects, French Country Cottage, Design it Chic, 30 Days, delicateCONSTRUCTION, Shabby Nest, Freckled Laundry, Chic on a Shoestring, Design Dazzle, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Fun to Craft, Finding Fabulous, A Little Knick Knack, Designer Garden, 504 Main, Serenity Now, Remodelaholic, Let Birdz Fly, Addicted 2 Decorating, Tatertots & Jello, Lolly Jane, Be Different Act Normal, Nifty Thrifty, Under the Table and Dreaming, I Heart Nap Time, While He Was Napping, Playful Decor, Ginger Snap Crafts, Young House Love, Bower Power, House of Earne                               

How To Make an Envelope Closure Pillow

After posting my chair redo earlier this week, I thought I might share with you how I made the pillow. This is a super simple sewing project and a great place to start if your new to sewing. If your not new to sewing than just keep on moving - I don't want you picking apart my amateur tutorial!  : )

* First pick your fabric. This is the best part! Don't be afraid to go with something bold, its just a throw pillow and is so easy to change whenever the mood strikes.

* Measure and cut your fabric. For a 16 x 16 pillow you should cut one square at 17 x 17 and one at 17 x 25. The second piece must be wider to accommodate the overlay of the envelope closure.
 

* Here is what your pieces should look like. Helpful hint - if you have hardwood floors like I do (or tile), use the lines in the wood to cut straight lines.

(I know the bottom piece here doesn't look like a square, but it is, I promise)

* Next, cut your wider piece in half.

* At this point I broke out the iron, but it's not a must - you could just use pins for this step. Fold over and press (or pin) the long edge of the pieces you just cut. This will make the finished edge on the envelope closure.

* Bust out the sewing machine and stitch along the inner edge of the fold. You could hand stitch this if you don't have a machine. Buying a machine doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg, I bought mine six years ago for $60 and it does everything I need. Plus its blue...bonus!

* If your stitching isn't exactly straight, don't worry about it. See how the top piece is kinda crooked? I put that one on the inside of the envelope... no one will ever see it.

* Place your pieces together with the printed sides on the inside and envelopes toward the center.

* Pin the edges to keep everything straight while your sewing. You don't have to go crazy here, 3-4 pins on a side is more than enough.

* Sew around the perimeter of the pillow. When you come to a corner just lift the foot on the machine, turn your pillow, and keep going. It's best to keep one continuous stitch.

* Cut off the excess material from the edges. If your stitch is very near the edge this may not be necessary.

* Square off the corners. This will make for pointier corners than ones that have too much fabric in them.

* Turn your pillow cover right side out - here is how the envelope closure should look.

* That's it, just stuff in your pillow and your done!  Here is how the back will look when it is finished.

 

...And here is the front!

Hope that was helpful! Once you get this down its easy to start adding embellishments and whatnot - the possibilities are endless!

Linked to:

Polly Want A Crafter, Sumos Sweet Stuff, Running with Glitter, Be Colorful, Mad in Crafts, Keeping it Simple, Dittle Dattle, CraftOManiac, At Home with K, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, Sugar Bee Crafts, Bowl Full of Lemons, Creative Itch, Confessions, Topsy Turvey, Homework, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Not Just a Housewife, All Thingz Related, DIY by Design, Sew Much Ado, Someday Crafts, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Lil Luna, House of Hepworths, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Christina's Adventures, Beyond the Picket Fence, delicateCONSTRUCTION, Remodelaholic, Freckled Laundry, Finding Fabulous, Chic on a Shoestring, Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Fun to Craft, Be Different Act Normal, Lolly Jane, Tatertots & Jello, Nifty Thrifty Things, Under the Table and Dreaming, I Heart Nap Time, Sew Chatty, Lines Across My Face, The DIY Home Sweet Home