Monday, February 16, 2015

Finally, pretty curtains!

Remember that Black Friday shopping I told you about last time? Well, during that ridiculous spree, I also bought some sort of icky-feeling (but pretty!) polyester bedsheets to convert into curtains!


(Seriously, they're like 100% polyester and I would not recommend using them as bedsheets, unless you like imagining all of the terrible things that could happen to you in the event of a fire in the middle of the night.) They're not draping very nicely in these pictures, and the ones in the middle are just a bit too short (I want to say I'll go back and fix them, but...we all know that's not happening anytime soon, right?), but I still really like them! They're definitely an improvement over my last curtains:



The old ones weren't hideous or anything, they just kind of clashed with my decor and weren't very "me." Oh, and when winter rolled around, I did a really *ace* job of pinning up the ones in the middle, as you can tell.


These feel much lighter and airier, and even though they're a little crooked, ha, I love them! I have a ridiculous amount of windows and just wasn't finding anything I liked (that also liked my budget), until I saw these advertised and had my light bulb moment. Each set of twin sheets was $5.99, and I used two sets for these 4 panels (one set of the damask and one set of cream lining). They're not exactly blackout curtains (that would be nice!) but they go well with my decor. 

I've only done 4 panels and have at least 2 or 3 more to go, unfortunately. They are a pain in the ASS (seriously, I do not recommend ironing bedsheets, have you tried it?), but I think they're worth it in the end? What's your opinion on big projects like this - would you rather pay for the convenience of having it done for you? 

P.S. The Stashbusting Sewalong group was the perfect motivator to finally get going on these. Thanks for the encouragement, ladies! If you're feeling overwhelmed by your stash, I highly recommend checking them out. These curtains used up about 10 yards total (the 2 packages I mentioned above). I still have 4 more packages, but might get to take a couple of them back since I think I over-bought. 

4 comments:

  1. Ha! I wrote a whole blog post about how I'd bought pre-made net curtains because I couldn't be bothered to sew them. The interesting thing is, these look really class from the photos. I'd have no idea that there was any polyester ickiness going on. I like your lateral thinking!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, that's so nice to hear! I always doubt whether my things look *too* "handmade." These were certainly a pain, so I don't blame you for buying them.

      Delete
    2. I can be bothered to make curtains on occasion, if I really like the print. I did sew them for our bedroom and the sliding glass kitchen door, though I have to fix the latter because they shrank in the wash and now they're shorter than the blackout lining! But I just bought inexpensive Ikea curtains for the nursery that we're putting together. With the deadline I'm on, I'd much rather spend my time right now sewing clothes and the things for the baby that I would actually save money making vs buying. Your curtains look nice, and you'd never know about the polyester ickiness from your pictures!

      Delete
    3. That totally makes sense about prioritizing your time, Becky! Baby clothes and toys are certainly much more fun than curtains! I'm a bargain-lover at heart, so this method was a great way for me to cover at least 5 windows for cheap. However, if it hadn't been for this month's stashbusting challenge, who knows how long it would've taken me to get around to making them!

      Delete