A Little More Like Home

Our house is starting to feel a little more like a home, thanks to a few window treatments and some pictures on the wall. I FINALLY finished sewing the valances for our family room. My project was put on hold for a while as JoAnn Fabrics was temporarily out of the buttons I was using. I'm so glad to cross this project off my list. Next on the list is painting our kitchen and sewing a window treatment for that window (probably similar to the ones in the family room since the two rooms are connected). Here is the final product of all my hard work. The pictures are kind of dark, but hopefully you can make everything out!

I'm not really much of an expert at sewing. I've done 2 or 3 projects before this, and I'm really learning a lot as I go along. If you're thinking of tackling you're own window treatments, let me encourage you that, YES, it can be done! If you know how to follow directions and you don't mind taking the time to work on the tedious details, you can do it! The advantage of making your own versus buying pre-made in the store is that you can achieve more of a custom look. You don't really save too much on cost, as decorator fabric is pretty pricey. Luckily, I found a discount warehouse for decorator fabric in my area and I was able to buy fabric for $5 - $9 a yard (quite a price cut from other stores, which usually charge somewhere in the vicinity of $25+/yard). You can also save money at places like JoAnn Fabrics by using their weekly 40% off coupon, which makes their decorator fabric much more affordable.

Here are some tips from one beginning sewer to another:

1. If you want some great ideas, go check out Calico Corners, where they have quite an array of finished valances and panels to look at.
2. Don't be afraid to make a valance that involves a mounting board. I actually think these are much easier to use than a curtain rod.
3. You don't need to buy a pattern for every type of curtain. These can be hard to use and I find the directions to be somewhat confusing, especially if your windows aren't a standard size. I bought a book with pictures of several different types of window treatments, and the general directions for each type. I thought this was MUCH easier!
4. If you are a first-timer, plain fabrics or those with stripes or SMALL repeating patterns are much easier to work with! Just like wallpaper, you have to make sure to match patterns when you connect two pieces of fabric together, which can be very tricky with a larger pattern (I found this out the hard way with the treatments I just finished!)
5. Invest in a good pair of sewing scissors.
6. Iron Iron Iron. Press your seams and your fabric between every step.

Speaking of ironing ... I have a stack of clothes that are calling my name in the other room. I better go and get some done while Tanner is napping! Happy sewing ...