On Friday of last week, when I drew the blind in the sewing room, it completely dropped off it's brackets. When I looked up at the brackets, they had broken, which left me with the dilemma of what to use to cover the window.
It's a sunny room and overlooks the garden and the back of a row of houses on the next street. As a consequence, without a blind, it is like a goldfish bowl if I'm in there in the evenings with the light on, so I needed to replace the blind with something.
In my current financial situation, didn't want to spend too much money, so I decided that I would make a curtain to cover the window and then just tie it back during daylight hours. I have so much fabric and it always feels good to use some of it. Initially, to keep costs down, I bought some curtain wire for £1 to hang it from, but later, I had a change of mind, as curtains hang so much better from a pole and rings.
Whilst away in Wales over the weekend, I came across some white wooden curtain rings in a charity shop for £1, so I bought them. I then stopped off at B&Q and bought a white wooden curtain pole for £11. I also bought some curtain holdbacks at a car boot for £1 too. They need painting white, but were perfect for the job of holding the curtain back during the day. When I got back to London, I ordered a couple of metres of curtain tape from eBay, and I already had some curtain hooks, so I was ready to make a start.
The first thing I needed to do was to measure the window and then choose some fabric. I had a good rummage in my stash and picked out a fabric that I had quite a lot of. It was curtain weight and would also match a handmade quilt I use on the bed in this room in the winter months.
I made up the curtain and added the curtain tape. I didn't line it, as I didn't have any plain fabric in my stash and I didn't want to spend any more money. I could always do this at a later date, if I think it's necessary.
OH hung the curtain pole for me and then I hung the curtain and here's a picture of it closed and then drawn back behind the hold back (which still needs painting):
As you can see, it doesn't completely block out the light, but this isn't really a problem in this room. I could make a second one, which would give it a more finished look, but I don't want to lose too much daylight when they are drawn back, so I probably won't. It's not a perfect solution, but is a good enough one.
Whilst I was making the sewing room curtain, I decided that it might be a good idea to make a curtain for the patio doors in the kitchen. This curtain is primarily to give me a bit of privacy in the kitchen in the winter months.
When all the trees and shrubs in the garden die back, the houses that back onto ours can see right into my kitchen and can see me sitting at the kitchen table, which I do a lot. It also has the added benefit of keeping out any draughts from the patio doors. It's only really necessary to hang it in the winter months, so it isn't going to be a permanent feature. For this reason, I used the curtain wire that I'd bought previously for the sewing room curtain.
The fabric I chose from my stash was this linen Liberty fabric called Burlington. I think it must have been the end of a roll, because I bought it nearly 10 years ago for £1 or maybe £2, from a fabric shop in East London. Such a steal.
I've never been sure what to use it for, as it has a very large print, but it was ideal for this project, as the blue colour in the print fitted in well with the kitchen decor as one wall is painted blue as shown below. (It looks lighter in this photo than it actually is)
The fabric was just wide enough and long enough to cover the doors, if I sewed a very narrow hem on each side and on the top and bottom. As I was using curtain wire to hang it, this was possible.
It didn't take long to make and then OH screwed in a couple of hooks for me so that I could hang it. I'm very happy with how it turned out. The dog, however, isn't so enamoured, as it blocks her view of the garden and the foxes that visit in the evenings and set her off barking. (That was another benefit of making it!)
Here's a picture of it in situ:
It nicely breaks up the white of the walls. I now just need to make a draught excluder for the living room door and we'll be all set for winter this year. I'm enjoying making some practical and useful things again. It's been a while and it always feels good to use up fabric from my stash.
Have you been making anything that has been busting your stash or will be useful this winter to keep your fuel bills down?
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