It was curtain love at first site and I knew that I was in for a treat trying to recreate them. I needed thick, thick natural fabric and about 60 yards of ribbon. Spoiler alert–I obtained both for cheap! And although I am not done with all of the panels–I do have two to show you! I wasn’t about to leave you hanging all weekend.
The light is really washing out the thick and heavy canvas drop cloths that I used. Hmph. That have a very creamy, natural look to them. My miscalculation started when I took on ironing all four 6’x9′ panels. I thought I could iron all four in about 30 minutes, but it took hours!
I am averaging another 90 minutes per panel attaching the ribbon trim. Wasn’t expecting that. My right hand is more claw-like than ever and my fingertips are burnt and blistered. But I love them. I really really love them. Someone needs to teach me how to take photos in the direction of windows without washing everything out so you could appreciate them fully, too.
This weekend, I’ll finish up the other panels, write up a full how-to, and try to get some better photos for you. Anyone else stay up too late, inflicting themselves with pain for the sake of curtains? We should start a support group.
P.S. I was serious about photography help when it comes to snapping windows. Anyone have any tips?
LOVE these – and thank you so much for posting the tutorial! I have some really blah, awful (but light blocking) curtains in my guest room that need some extra zip now that I’ve got the rest of the room finished. This is PERFECT – and will be my 4th of July task!
I love what you did! I just added drapes to my dining room and they make a big difference in framing the windows.
I wanted to share my ironing tip. I recently purchased a new iron, the Rowenta focus. Even though it was pricey ( almost $100 I think), I got a great deal on it since i had a return and a store coupon. By far superior to other irons (lower priced Rowenta) that I’ve owned. It seriously makes ironing a breeze and I like to iron sheets, pillow cases, when I have the time. I tried a steamer (shark) but also not really great.
I used the iron to heat and bond the hem and now I am thinking of adding trim to the curtains as well. My curtains are grey so I am thinking white trim. I really wanted Greek key but it’s at least $10/yd for the kind I want :(
I’m not going to scroll down and see if anyone else has answered your question, but when I was reading your bamboo blind blog, I was thinking…I should show her how focusing can help the white window look. On most all digital cameras, holding down halfway is how you focus before you snap for the shot. This is also called “metering light” Its measuring the light, and getting the right exposure. You have a function on your camera called “spot metering” that will let you focus on different parts of the picture. I could explain it over Skype or look it up in your camera manual. Focus on the window, you’ll see everything outside come through, but the rest of the room will go dark. Focus on the wall, and the window will go white. The key is to find a middle ground, and get about a 50/50 exposure happy spot between both.
Great job! They look fantastic and I am seriously in awe of how much patience you have to do this. :-)
Wow- I love them! Totally worth it. No tips on the photos… if they look this good with washed out photos I can only imagine what they look like in person!