Blackout curtains - accurately cutting large panels

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.