I'm getting ready to move at the end of the month. It's a little bit bittersweet, as there are many things I love about where I am living now, but there are many positives to the move as well. As much as I hate moving (I've done it a decent amount and I hate it more and more each time), it is always exciting for me to think of new ways to fit my things into a new space. Recently it's making me really appreciate and think more about some of the little projects I've done around the place. I thought I'd share the quick livingroom curtains I made a while ago (and unfortunately did not take photos in progress). Nonetheless, curtains are something so easy that anyone should try.
Curtains I'm sure are one of the first sewing projects that people feel comfortable tackling. I am a decent sewer, but am far from a perfectionist, so slightly imperfect curtains are a project that pull together VERY quickly and make a big impact on a space. Our little livingroom space really needed to be brightened up a bit, since it easily starts to feel a little cave-like.
I've gradually done a lot of projects in the livingroom, such as our small storage couch and large futon with covered cushions, which both have a lot of light bare wood keeping the space feel more open. I opted for a cream colored sheet music patterned fabric for the curtains, coordinating well with our light neutral walls and all the bare wood.
To add a little pop of color I made fabric loops for hanging the curtain. I started by hemming the two curtains (due to my amount of fabric and the placement of our windows, each window only has one large curtain). I ironed flat the top hanging loops, folding raw edges in, then stitched the loops at the bottom to adjoin them to the top edge of the curtain.
I picked up some 1" dowels to use as curtain rods. I had great plans to make simple wooden hanging brackets to slip the dowels through, but I had a very frustrating afternoon of uncooperative power tools, so I gave up and came up with a cheap and simple solution: metal shelf brackets and zip ties. Now, you are likely classier than I and think this is an unaccepatable look, but I've actually found it to be very subtle and keeps the room feeling open. However, any number of curtain rod solutions could be used.
A friend recently visiting my place and admiring many of my sewing projects asked me where I find such great fabric. The answer is simple: online. I am someone who HATES going shopping, so I quickly jumped on the rising trend of online shopping. The only trick is that you aren't able to closely match colors (if this is important to you, hit up a local fabric store with a paint chip or other small sample to compare your fabric selection to). If you are picking a fabric online, make sure you pay attention to the TYPE of fabric you are selecting (these curtains are a simple quilting cotton that allows lots of light in but many people prefer a thicker canvas/upholstery fabric for curtains) as well as pay attention to the measurements given with the sample view so you can get a sense for how large the print you are picking out is in reality. My two favorite places to find fabric are Fabric.com and Fabricworm. So do a little browsing, pick out a fabric you love, and tackle some easy DIY curtains to give a room a quick facelift!