Gabriel's Good Tidings: How to Make Custom Curtains in Four Hours

So, as I said earlier today, I had a few hours this afternoon to work on my living room/dining room curtains. I had already measured the windows and knew how I wanted to design them, so the hardest part was done.

These were the curtains I had previously. My mother and I made them last year for our rental. They worked perfectly in the rental, but just weren't what I wanted for this house. I was looking for something long, flowing, softer and more neutral. So, after about four hours, I had made this pair of panels for the dining room window.

I love the way they turned out!

The sewing details and more photos are below, so if you are interested in making something similar, keep reading.

The blue bird fabric is called "Nestled in the Branches" and is part of the Legacy Fabric collection at Jo-Ann's. I'm not a huge Jo-Ann's fan... I don't think they are very helpful, but their store is closer to me and I liked this fabric. It was $9.99/yd and I had a 40% off coupon. I bought 5 yards, because I have two other windows and some pillows (and maybe a table runner) to do.

The taupe satin fabric (which I'm really not sure if it's satin... it may be something else with a satin look) was on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $1/yd about 5 years ago. I remember buying it when we lived in our apartment in Louisville, and I used a little bit of it, but had a lot left. Can anyone else not resist fabric at $1/yard?

I put a 12 inch strip of the blue fabric at the top and bottom. The taupe fabric measures 60" finished, so total my panels are 84" long. I need to get hubby to raise the rod a little because the curtains drag the floor- I just put it in the previous holes since I'm not so handy with a drill.

So, 60" of taupe fabric, and two 12" pieces of blue bird fabric. Sew together... make sure your birds aren't upside down! :)

Since the fabrics are different weights (thickness), I topstitched the blue bird fabric to the seam allowance of the taupe fabric. Is this called a "stitch in the ditch"? I've always heard that term and not sure what it means. Anyways, whatever it is, I did this so that my fabric would lay nicer (or hang nicer, really).

I used muslin (from Wal-Mart) for the lining. I sewed three sides of the muslin to the taupe/blue bird panel, right sides together, like a giant pillowcase.

Turn right side out. Press seams flat. Then, since I didn't want to do any handstitching, I just ironed my top fabric a little over the lining. (Thanks for this tip, Mom!) This makes your lining stay in the back and not creep around to the front.

I then hemmed my curtains by folding them over twice (to hide raw edges) like a regular hem. Because I didn't want to topstitch on my finished product, I used stitch-witchery to glue the hem down. This is a great solution for things you won't be washing regularly. I fell in love with this stuff when I made a dust ruffle for my friend Steph.