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Blackout curtains - hanging

1/10/2014

Here they are in action!! This photo was taken at 3 in the afternoon and even though there is some light leakage, they made my son's bedroom pretty dark. He was really happy.

We had a mother/son day. I took him to IKEA (ate the Swedish meatballs for lunch) and Costco, helped him schlep all the stuff up to his apartment and then we hung the curtains.

Here I am sliding the curtain rod into the cool hidden tabs.

Now the curtain is ready to hang.

And please overlook my horrible, horrible "hat hair." It has been super cold here and I was wearing a close fitting, hair recking winter hat all day.

The upper band with the hidden tabs sewn so that 2 inches of it stick up above the curtain rod really helps block out quick a bit of light. The last set of black out curtains I made for him almost 10 years ago, I made with regular exposed tabs, which let in lots of light. See, I can learn, too.

Here are links to all the blogs about these curtains if you missed any.

Planning
Cutting the lining
Cutting everything else
Sewing
Finishing

My next project is to make my sister, Theresa's, Christmas gift! She got swatches and a sketch, so she knows what it is.

I'm still catching up from my too busy December.

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Blackout curtains - finishing

1/9/2014

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So, the saga of the blackout curtains continues ...

The main part of the all three curtains are finished with hems and the special blackout lining. Now I have to make the upper band that will have the tabs hidden along the back. I measure the width of the finished panel to make sure I make the upper band the exact same size.

The upper band needs interfacing for support. I have a roll of proper, genuine drapery interfacing, but I think it will be too stiff. I want my son to be able to push these curtain completely off to one side so he can see the great view out his windows. And these are the only windows in his entire apartment. So I decide to use some medium weight non-woven/sew-in interfacing for the back of the upper band that will have the tabs sewn to and a lightweight fusible interfacing for the front piece.

too stiff drapery interfacing

medium weight non woven interfacing

I've said earlier that I've made the main part of these curtains a bit longer that needed so any unevenness could be trimmed off at the same time they are cut to the correct length.

I have decided to make the upper band 5" finished and to make the tabs open to accept the curtain rod 3" above the seam that will join the band to the rest of the curtain. Since the curtains need to be 72" long from the top of the curtain rod and 3" of that will be in the upper band, the lower part of the curtain needs to be 69" long plus 1/2" for a seam allowance.

Like a carpenter I measure twice, so I can cut correctly once 69 1/2", from the hem up on both sides of all three curtains, draw a line from side to side and trim off the top.

Now it's time to make the upper band.

First the tabs off the old curtain need to be pressed flat and pinned at equal intervals along the back side of the band which has the non-woven interfacing sewn to it. Tabs should be about 7" apart.

Each tab gets sewn up to the 3" mark (actually 3 1/2" allowing for a seam). I stitch 3 times at the top to reinforce the tab where it will be sitting on the curtain rod.

See where the curtain rod will fit. This way 2" of the band will stick up above the curtain rod to help block out more light.

Then the front and back of the band are stitched together, trimmed, turned, pressed and the band is ready to be sewn to the rest of the curtain.

The front side of the band gets pinned and stitched to the main part of the curtain.

I secure the back of the band by first pinning and then "stitching in the ditch" (catching the back fabric while stitching in the crack of the seam line from the front)

Here is what the front and back of the band look like finished.

And on my table is one finished curtain and on my couch are all three ready to be hung tomorrow.

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Blackout curtains - sewing

1/8/2014

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Curtains are not hard to make but, if they are large, they can take a long time. These are becoming a bigger project than I estimated.

Everything is cut now, so I can begin the sewing.

The first thing I have to do is piece the side borders. Even though I did everything I could to get the longest pieces from the old curtains I cut up, they still weren't long enough.
Read yesterday's post to see the design of these curtains.

Next the side borders need to be sewn to either side of the main panel. I have to pin when sewing pieces this large. This is a 72" seam I'm preparing!

BUT, even with all my careful measuring, remeasuring and pinning things do not always come out perfect. This is why I'm making these main panels a few inches longer than needed. I can trim them even to the correct length before sewing on the top band.

After both borders are sewn on, I measure the finished width. It is 58 1/4" which is perfect! The heavy blackout lining is 54" and I want a double 1" hem on both sides that will wrap around the enclose the lining fabric. So this gives me the 4 extra inches plus 1/4" more for ease folding around the edge of the lining.

I know they look very wrinkly ... I have been pressing them every chance I get, but they are so huge they end up all crumpled up every time I have to sew some part at the machine. I will keep pressing, but these fine wrinkles should hang out, too. I think I am going to try the Martha Stewart wrinkled table cloth technique and spray them with a fine mist of water after they are hung up.

But, back to sewing and time for the hems.

To make a 3" double hem, I first press up the bottom 6", then open it out again and fold the cut edge to the crease, making a 3" fold.

Pin and topstitch from the back side, close to the fold.

But ... grrr and gasp! that dark grey thread isn't as dark as I thought! It looks pretty bad on the dark center panel. Well, that is what seam rippers are for. After removing the offensive grey thread, I restitch that part with black thread in my bobbin.

And since I am making 3 matching panels, I won't make that mistake on the other two.

I press and stitch a 1" single fold hem in the lining, then pin the side of the lining to the side of the outer fabric having the hem of the lining 1" shorter than the outside. I don't want any chance the lining will show.

You can see I drew a stitching line 1" from the edge. By stitching 1" from the edge, the main fabric will wrap around the lining forming a double hem when it is turned right side out, which is what I want.

These panels are large, bulky and now with the lining and outer fabrics together, very heavy.
Don't rush when sewing something this large. Take time to adjust and re-adjust the fabric while guiding it under the presser foot.

I press both seam allowances towards the outer fabric from the outside. I don't want to have any folds in that blackout lining. Then I press in that 1" double fold hem. This is what it looks like from the inside when finished.

So, the main panels for all three curtains are assembled, hemmed, lined and pressed. All that's left is the upper bands with the hidden tabs.

That will happen tomorrow.

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Blackout curtains - more cutting

1/7/2014

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Here are all the main panels cut and ready to sew.

Yesterday I cut the special blackout lining and today I will show you my plan for these curtains and how I cut all the new fabrics.

Since my son has a nice duvet cover with matching curtains from a previous apartment, it is my plan to take apart his old curtains and use as much of that fabric as I can so his duvet cover will still coordinate with the curtains.

I found a dark grey printed decorator cotton that looks perfect with the fabric from the old curtains for the extra fabric needed for the larger windows in his new apartment.

Here is my sketch for one of the three panels. The main center part will be the new fabric and the top and side borders will be the old curtain fabric. There are going to be tabs at the top, but I'm going to try a new way of attaching the tabs so they are in back of the top band so the curtain can extend 2 inches above the curtain rod to do a better job at blocking the sun and street lights.

I want to use the full width of the new fabric. It is 45 1/2" wide but neither of the selvedges are usable.

On one side the printing doesn't start until almost 3/4 inch from the edge and on the other there are a bunch of very noticeable holes about 1/2 inch from the edge. So, since I plan to use 1/2" seams, if I trim 1/2" off both selvedges those two flaws will end up in the seam allowance. This will leave me with a 43 1/2" panel once the 1/2" seams are taken on both sides.

Before I cut the lengths from this new fabric I, again, measure the full piece to be sure I can get three equal pieces. And, to cut these large panels, I use the same method as I did to cut the large lining pieces.

Joann's cut me, to the 1/32 th of an inch the 7 yards I ordered! No wiggle room there. Wish they would give a little extra like other stores.

I have 7 yards which means I can cut panels that are 72" long like the lining with an additional 6" for a double 3" hem. You can see that I am using the squared and evened off end of the fabric to help me cut the additional pieces. Read yesterday's post for a full explanation.

Now I have to take apart the old curtains. There are two panels with 11 tabs each which equals 22. And now that I am making three panels that need 7 tabs, I can just re-use the old tabs.

To take apart the rest of the curtain, I cut along the seam to the upper band, but actually pick out the side hems, because I need the fabric as long as possible in that direction.

The old hem is faded from the sun, but I plan to put in a 3" double hem at the bottom of the new curtain, so this will be well hidden.

More measuring and math ... I determine the side panels need to be 8" x 78" to allow for a double 1" hem along the sides and the upper band that will have the tabs needs to be 6" x 56". Since I am making 3 panels, I will need 6 of each of these.

To cut two layers I pin them together, after drawing my cutting lines, to prevent slipping.

So now I've got a lot of sewing to do ...

I will sew the main part of each of the curtains first with the blackout lining. Then I will add on the upper band with all the tabs. I have over estimated the length right now ... probably 3 or 4 inches. Once the main part is all finished, I will measure them again, even up any discrepancies and cut them to the exactly length needed.

Wisdom from my mother "cut things larger than you need ... it can always be trimmed away later"

Will report back tomorrow. I'm not going anywhere today. It's COLD ... 5 degrees. Now, I know I shouldn't complain. It is much colder in other parts of the country, but 5 is still pretty cold. A great sewing day.

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Blackout curtains - accurately cutting large panels

1/6/2014

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Over the weekend I transformed my studio from a guest room back to a workroom and cleaned out all my 2013 files to get ready for 2014.

AND

I got the large panels cut for the blackout curtains I'm making for my son's new apartment.

This is what he is using now to block out the sun ... a couple dark sheets and a polar fleece University of Maryland blanket.

You can see these are large windows. They are 72" long and 48" wide. Well, actually the center window is a bit wider, 52". But, I'm going to make all three curtains the same size, 54" wide ... easier for me and less confusing to hang.

I will be taking apart curtains I made for a former apartment adding some new fabric and backing them them with special "blackout" lining.

This lining fabric is 54" wide, which is perfect. I will use the full width, so only need to worry about cutting accurate lengths.

I find the blackout lining to be cumbersome to work with. It is heavy, very stiff and doesn't have any give at all, so it is important the panels are cut very accurately.

First thing I do is take my "L" square to make sure there are 90 degree corners to start. An "L" square is a great tool to own, but you can find other things around the house with 90 degree corners such as a hardcover book, baking pan for example. Just carefully line up a long ruler or yard stick with the sides of your fabric and "L" square or book to draw a perfectly perpendicular line and cut the end straight.

Then, before cutting anything else, I always measure and inspect my fabric. I need 3 equal panels and I want to know about any flaws or dirt marks on the fabric so they can be dealt with now.

With a yard stick I measure and mark (with an erasable pen) each yard.

I purchased 6 yards and the lady at the store cut 6 yards and 1/2 inch. I find Joann's cutting policies really nerve racking. They are so ungenerous with measuring out fabric, I have actually come home with less fabric then I've asked for! So, I now will buy an extra quarter yard if I'm worried there won't be enough.

But, three 72" panels will be perfect for the lining of these curtains. And here is how I go about cutting them.

First, I make a small clip along the selvedge exactly at the 72" mark.

Then fold the fabric exactly where the clip is. Making sure both sides are exactly lined up along the selvedges and pinning the folded selvedges together to keep it that way.

Weights are really useful when doing this. They allow you to get some tension when folding and smoothing out large pieces of fabric.

You can see one of my grandmother's flat irons in the foreground. My mother told me she remembered her mother actually doing the family ironing with two of these. One would be warming up on the stove while she used the other. It is heavy!! People didn't need to go to the gym back in those days. Your daily activities were so much more strenuous.

In theory with such stiff fabric and measuring and folding so accurately both sides of the fabric should be 72 inches from the fold. So I trust, but verify. Isn't that how international diplomacy handled?

I go to the selvedge on the other side to make sure that it also is 72" from the fold. I didn't have to adjust this time but often it is not and I will have to adjust and re-pin at this stage.

Now the first cut I make is where the bottom edge ... the edge that I evened off with the "L" square at the beginning ... meets the full length of the fabric now that it's been folded. This leaves me with a double long panel, a 144" length that I will now cut into two.

Going back down to the cross fabric fold (see the little clip I made at the right side of the fold?), I use my fingers to make a crease in the fabric. This is a genuine sewing technic used in couture sewing! Finger folds can be used in all sorts of ways.

A visible fold is revealed when the fabric is opened up, but I draw a line over that fold with a ruler and pen to make sure I am cutting exactly on the line.

At this point I now have two 72 inch lengths of fabric. I need one more so I use one of my cut pieces as a pattern for the last piece. If I had any more panels to cut, I would use one of these original cut panels as a pattern the the rest.

To do this perfectly, I pin the already cut panel to the remaining fabric to be sure the edges are matched up exactly.

As you can see, this is what I have left ... A 1/2" strip!!

Again I say, Joann's cutting policies are frustrating. I really hate it when the "even" off the fabric before they start cutting it and then throw the little strip of fabric in some bin that will be measured and worked into their inventory somehow ... CRAZY!

First, it must use up employee time that could be better spent elsewhere AND I might be able to use that little strip of fabric they just cur off and threw in a bin.

Oh well ...

My next job is to take apart the old curtains and cut them up. Read about that tomorrow.

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Blackout curtains - planning

1/3/2014

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Maybe "blackout" is too strong of a word, but I am about to start making curtains for the bedroom in my son's new apartment that will block out as much light as possible. He has bright street lights shining in and because he often works very late at night the sunlight in the morning has been making it difficult for him to get enough sleep in the morning.

All there is right now are those very thin plastic Venetian blind which let in tons of light.

Here is my role of special drapery lining fabric designed just for that purpose. It is made by Roc-Lon and this is what Joann's website says about it ...

The Roc-Lon Budget Blackout Drapery Lining drapes beautifully into soft folds. Lightweight and easy to work with, this blackout is made from 70 percent polyester and 30 percent cotton. It's designed with a built-in sound barrier, which muffles disturbing noises to give you a peaceful working space. Ideal for schools, hospitals, hotels, offices, this drapery lining is easy to maintain and dry-cleanable.

Brand: Roc-Lon
Conforms to NFPA-701 standards
Dimensions: 54 inches wide
Composition: 70% polyester and 30% cotton
Care: Dry clean only
Sold by the yard
3-Pass 100% Blackout
Edge-to-edge
Insulates
Muffles sound
A lighter weight, economical version
Made in USA

WOW ... I didn't realize it is supposed to muffle sound as well. All to the good.

These are the measurements I took. There are three very tall windows (72" tall) side by side that make a curved bay window. The center window is a little wider that the other two, but I think I'm going to make all three curtains the same ... easier for me and less confusing when hanging them.

I plan to use fabric from these curtains I made for a previous apartment. He has a duvet cover that matches ... BUT ... He now needs three curtains and there are only two of these. Plus these new windows are much larger ... I need some more fabric.

He and I talked about mixing in a color, dark red or navy blue, but I could sense he wasn't so sure he would like that.

So, here is what I found while shopping for Halloween costume fabrics.

It is a dark grey on grey printed linen look ... perfect! I think I will make the main part of the curtains with this new fabric and the boarder with the fabric from the older curtains.

He is so desperate for these. I told him I would have them finished on Wednesday, his next day off.

Come back Monday to see how far I get over the weekend.

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First project for the New Year

1/2/2014

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So, in November I covered our old couch for my son to use in the apartment he was about to move into.

Read about it here, if you haven't already! Part #1, Part #2 and Part #3

He has been there for a month, and is very happy, EXCEPT ... there are 3 very large windows in his bedroom. They are actually bowed out like a bay window and what a beautiful view he has from those windows ...

BUT ...

He often doesn't get home until 11 or even midnight and he is finding it impossible to get enough sleep in the morning because of the sunlight.

He needs black out curtains. Actually, I was going to make these curtains for him in December, but you all know how my unexpectedly early and large Halloween workload kind of got in the way of lots of thing like Christmas gifts and decorations.

So, this will be my project over the next few days. Can't get started yet, though ... my studio is acting as a guest room for one more day.

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Made my deadlines!!!

1/1/2014

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In that box is the final Halloween pattern package that I made for 2014.

I made all my deadlines and now can enjoy my visiting son, daughter-in-law, sister and brother-in-law for the rest of their stay. YAY

AND, Theresa (my sister) finished her beaded dress and is now in London where she wore the dress last night when she sang at the Savoy Hotel for New Year's.

She will write a couple more blogs explaining how she made it in a week or so. Here are links to her #1 and #2 blogs about this dress.

So, we finished up all our 2013 projects in 2013.

Here's to all the projects all of us will be doing in 2014. I will be continuing to share what I'm up to, whether it's a pillow for my couch or a costume for Simplicity.

Best wishes to all for the coming year.

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