September 25, 2011

my laundry room curtains

in working on my laundry room redo, i needed some curtains for my window on door. since it's not a standard window i wanted something a little different and matching with my theme. that's when i thought of this idea...


 i wanted it to look like laundry hanging out to dry on my window. to do this i found some washcloths at walmart that were cute and went well with my colors AND was on the clearance aisle! to start my project i looked at my window and decided about how big i wanted each washcloth section to be.i figured about half the size of the washcloth would be perfect after considering seam allowance.

first step is to sew one end of the washcloth. make sure to back stitch at the beginning and at the end to prevent unraveling. i did not go all the way thru the blue trim at the end because i was using white thread and didn't want it showing up.


 next i found my half way point, made very easy by the fact that i just bought them and the creases from laying folded told me just where to fold. : ) and repeated my sewn edge.


after i completed both edges i cut the other half off so that the back looks like so...


 i then repeated these steps for 2 more washcloths. i wanted a total of 6. after my first one was completed i used it as my "official" size. i measured all my remaining ones with that first one to ensure they all were the same size. some i had to go back and trim up after being sewn.


almost done. when i hung it on my twine as a trial run i noticed that the ends where they were i sewed it together causing a bunch at that end.

i took and cut theses corners at an angle allowing it to lay much flatter.

now it's time to hang your clothes line! i bought the little 3m hooks since i my curtain was actually on my door. i cleaned my whole door really well before i hung them, with it being our back door and of course the one we use the much, it was VERY dirty. i cleaned the area where i was putting the hooks with rubbing alcohol as suggested on the package and allowed to dry. after it was good and dry and placed my hooks. the instructions recommending leaving up for 1 hr before hang anything on the hooks to allow good adhesion. so i did this step before i did all my sewing so i had plenty of time.

now you're ready to hand your twine. i just bought the twine in the hardware department for like $1 at walmart...







 i stretched the twine across the window leaving it pretty tight. i wanted it to stay tight because i knew the weight of the washcloths would pull it down.


all that is remaining now is to place your washcloths and you're done!!


* an after thought... these have held up extremely well. i just knew using this door so much the weight of the curtains would pull these down but they have with held great! they have been up a couple months now and i'm VERY pleased!

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