The following article was contributed by our friend, Jann Newton, of Newton Custom Interiors – Thanks Jann!!
Over the years, I’ve shared lots of pillow tutorials with all of you, but I’ve never shared about how I make window treatments. I’ve been making window treatments for clients for almost 17 years, and it’s a big topic to try to cover. Most tutorials for window treatments would be more than one blog post could handle! So, today I’m very excited to share with you some big news! I’ve filmed an on-line video course about how to sew draperies & curtains!
When we were first married, and money was tight, I made quite a few valances for our windows. But, the one sewing project I never had the nerve to tackle was sewing drapery panels or curtains for our windows, and I couldn’t afford to hire someone to make them. I would’ve loved to have been able to watch a video course about how to make draperies!
HOW TO SEW DRAPERIES AND CURTAINS
Before we start talking about my drapery class, let’s talk for a minute about why I think it’s important to have window treatments on your windows. By window treatments, I mean drapery panels or curtains, valances or roman shades.
You can add softness to hard window surfaces by adding fabric. Honestly, I think that a window without fabric on it looks incomplete and can make a room look bottom heavy.
This is a picture of our living room before I made draperies for the windows. Notice how stark and cold the windows look?
Here’s a picture of our living room after I installed the drapery panels. Notice how the room doesn’t look so bottom heavy, and seems warmer and cozier?
SEW DRAPERIES & CURTAINS YOURSELF
MAKING YOUR OWN DRAPERIES OR CURTAINS HAS LOTS OF BENEFITS:
- They will fit your windows – When you sew draperies or curtains for your room, one of the biggest pluses is that they will fit your windows. No more going to the store to buy ready-made curtains that may be too long or short, or might not even over your window when they’re closed.
- You get to pick the fabric – This is my favorite part of sewing window treatments for my home. You can pick out the fabric or fabrics that you love, and that will match your paint and furniture. Decorator fabric is also usually a better quality than regular fabric and will last longer, especially since your drapery panels will be lined with a good quality lining.
- You will design them – You will design your draperies or curtains yourself. You can pick out which type of pleat you want to use, whether you want them to cover the whole window when they’re closed or just have them be stationary on each side of the window. You’ll also get to decide where to hang the draperies. They don’t have to cover much of the glass in the window, so you can see your gorgeous view!
I’ve created a short video that explains what I teach in the How To Make Pleated Drapery Panels class.
THIS HOW TO MAKE PLEATED DRAPERY PANELS ON-LINE VIDEO CLASS IS 1 HOUR AND 42 MINUTES OF GREAT INFORMATION!
IN THIS PLEATED DRAPERY PANELS CLASS YOU’LL LEARN:
- How to measure your windows.
- How to figure what size your draperies need to be for your window.
- How to figure yardages for your fabric and lining.
- How to figure the pleats and spaces for your pleated panels.
- How to cut the fabric and lining.
- How to sew in the bottom hems.
- How to put the fabric and lining together.
- How to sew in the pleats.
- Different types of pleats.
- How to sew in the pleats.
- How to hang the draperies.
I’ve collaborated with Kim Chagnon from Kim’s Upholstery to bring you this class. Kim has a great site where you can learn lots of upholstery techniques.
Kim and her husband, Bill, are adding drapery and pillow classes to their site, and I was honored when they asked me to teach a sewing class about drapery panels.
I would love for you to check out my online video class – How To Make Pleated Drapery Panels! It will make sewing your draperies and curtains a snap! Just click the button below if you would like to learn how to sew draperies and curtains!
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