Burlap Curtain and Fixed Shade Tutorials

 Bolsters from DIY Pillows

I must admit that after I promised a tutorial for how the curtains and shade for the bedroom were made, I had to chuckle.  To be honest, I cut a lot of corners and they aren't perfect or the way you are "supposed" to make window treatments.  So here goes anyway...

 Basically, I studied the big catalogs to determine how I wanted the hems to look at the top and bottom.  The top hem is 2".  Simply turn fabric under 1/4" and press, then turn under 2" press and stitch.  Then do the same thing for the bottom hem only using a 4" hem instead of 2" for added weight.  By the way, this does not have to be a sewing project.  You can also use stitch witchery or the iron on tape if you prefer.  I hung mine with clips.  Easy.

 "Z" pillow from my friend Sherry

Also, these curtains remain closed but allow a generous amount of light to pass through.  Our neighbor's house is in close proximity and the curtains are for privacy and texture so I did not line them.  Burlap curtains usually aren't lined in the catalogs either.  Burlap comes in many colors.  I think cream would be very pretty either alone or with a bright ribbon or Greek Key tape along the leading edge.  Just thinking out loud.

My panels are the width of the fabric itself.  In other words, I used the raw edge as is without hemming.  Actually, you don't even notice it at all.  This is how you make window treatments in 30 minutes - you cheat ;)

 OK, now for the fixed shade...we needed something to cover the Redi-Shade at the top of the window, but I wanted it to cover as little of the window as possible.

  I decided 14" would be the perfect length for the shade and I worked with the folds until they were uniform and the shade measured 14" in length.  The width of the fabric and the window were 50".  So again, I did not hem the sides.  How lucky was that?  I then pinned the folds into place and stitched each one straight across.  Again, you could use other alternatives to sewing.

 There are many ways you can hang a shade.  The most popular way is to attach it to a 1X2 board and affix the 1x2 to the wall or molding with L brackets.  I wanted the shade to have hardware similar to the curtains, so I used black upholstery tacks that I had on hand.  Can you tell that I didn't measure for this part, but instead "eye-balled" it?  Again, this isn't perfection, but I am very happy.

If you have questions, email me.

I am sharing this with My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia and  Funky Junk.