Blackout curtains - sewing

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.