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How hard is it to make drapes? (haven't used a sewing machine in 15 years)
So DH and I are buying a house and I've been trying to figure out what colors I want to use since the house will be repainted before we move in (previous owners are smokers, so it has to get done before move in). Anyway, I have been looking at furniture in several stores and have found fabric that I really like. WIth some of the patterns I think I would rather have them be curtains than furniture.
The two stores that have fabric I like is Ballard Designs and Bassett furniture. I've emailed them to see if they make custom drapes with their fabric, but I haven't heard back yet. But I was wondering if maybe I should just buy the fabric and sew them myself?
I haven't used a sewing machine in about 15 years, so I would need to relearn (and buy one), but I am thinking curtains and possibly pillow slipcovers are moderately easy projects. About 5 years ago I made a valance by hand for my kitchen that still looks pretty good.
Is this a crazy idea? We don't close until June and won't move in until July, so I would have plenty of time to "practice" before I start making them. WDYT?
Re: How hard is it to make drapes? (haven't used a sewing machine in 15 years)
I think it would all depend what kind of drapes you want to make. They are on my list of sewing project also but we are waiting to paint too. I am planning on making pretty simple drapes for the living room and bedrooms and a valance for the sliding door. Something along these lines:
For the bedrooms:
http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/07/decorate-my-home-part-20-gathered-top.html
For the living room:
http://christopherandanne.blogspot.com/2011/03/tablecloths-for-curtains.html Maybe not with a table cloth but something similar.
While on my look for curtain tutorials I also found lots of no sew ones if you are interested in something like that.
Good luck!
I wouldn't buy any fabric specific for this house until you have actually closed and have keys in hand. Spend a little time on the Buying a Home board and you will find that sales falling through for one reason or another are not uncommon.
As far as drapes are concerned, it really depends on your learning curve, the style of drapes, the weight of fabric, lining/not lining, etc. when figuring out the difficulty level.
My Valentine Bookends (2~13~13, 2~15~09)
Of course. I have no intention on buying or ordering anything now, but getting free fabric swatches and paint chips now will give me time to decide what I want to do. I do not want to have 2 weeks until the painter comes to decide on wall colors, fabric, etc. KWIM?
Good point on the fabric weight/lining, etc.
What a great idea with the tablecloth-it looks great!
Thanks I dont know if you are on pinterest or not but thta is where most i found the idea.
Unless you can get into the house to view paint colors, etc. at various times of day, I would wait to choose that too, because colors look completely different in different spaces. I have known so many people who chose paint colors based on what worked in their previous home or what looked like a match to something in the store, and were very unhappy when the color didn't work in the actual space.
You could always narrow your choices and get samples of colors, then paint poster board and try that out in the spaces ahead of time. Same with fabric samples...try them with the color boards in the actual space.
Great idea with the poster board! I was wondering how I was going to paint the walls with the samples without prepping first. I definitely want to try to at least narrow my choices down and hopefully I can pick a good range so if the one I like doesn't work, I'll have some backups that will.
I would suggest borrowing Martha Stewart's encyclopedia of fabric and sewing from the library (at least I think that's the name. Curtains are generally fairly easy to make, unless you're making up something fussy and Martha Stewart's book has a lot of info on how to make various kinds.
Actually, that book has a lot of info on making all kinds of home decor items so I'd actually recommend you buy it, especially as you're moving into a new home and have an interest in making your own stuff.
Not only does it have curtain directions and such, it also goes over sewing techniques, applique, choosing fabric, dying/bleaching fabric, etc. Slipcovers and pillows are also discussed as well as tablecloths, cloth napkins, placemats, rugs (I think) and a whole host of other things.
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