The Sewing Place
The Emporia => House Beautiful => Topic started by: Iminei on September 23, 2019, 08:22:21 AM
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I had great fun yesterday rootling round a Needlework fair with Flobear and Puzzler, spending an enjoyable couple of hours looking at all things crafty ...
There was a woman selling vintage fabrics and bits and bobs and I spied some lovely paisley furnishing fabric thinking theres a lot of that, it would make a great backing fabric ... The lady said it used to be a curtain and part of it was a bit faded and then produced its brother from behind the stall ... so I paid my £7 and put them in my basket with ideas of Indian inspired quilts swirling in my head.
When I got home and looked at the fabric I realised there was simply oodles of it, indeed they had been curtains and the woman had kindly removed all the headings, lining and stitching .... I took them upstairs and ...
Well peeps, they couldnt really have been much similar to the pattern on the poor Miss Havershams in my bedroom, just a slightly different colourway and with a border on each edge .....
So it seems I have inadvertently found my 'new' bedroom curtains!!!
I measured them this morning and each is at least 98" long x one width wide !
That's more than enough for me to trim down to take out any cuts the lady's seam ripper made when dissembling them.
It looks like, from the remaining threads that they were used as a short curtain whereas I will be hanging them as a long curtain ....
And here I need your help .... I have a very good and helpful Interior Design shop in town who will sell me linings, headings and such ... But Please give me any advice, tips etc about how to remake them as curtains.
There are no selvages
First Question .... They smell a bit musty, which will probably disappear just from being out in a warm house but if I wanted to wash them, as all the stitching has been removed, I think they would fray terribly ... Any advice ????
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Overlock the edges before washing?
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I would cut a bit off the top end - a square of 15cm - and wash it first. When it's dry, press it and measure it again to see if it's shrunk.
If they've been used as short curtains, do you mean you need to put in a horizontal seam? If so, be careful about pattern matching or it will stick out like a sore thumb.
Other than that, do the hems on the curtains and lining first, pin the lining slightly above the hem line of the curtain and do the side seams. Then lay them flat and measure the length. Add a couple of inches (assuming you're going to use full depth heading tape) to fold over and press at the top and apply the header tape. Not difficult!
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Hi @Greybird ...
No the two pieces are one width long with a border along what would have been the selvage ...
Im going to be hanging them with the borders vertical, whereas from the amount of threads left along the borders I think they hung them with the heading tape along one of the borders and the other border being the hem.
Clear as Mud?
Good idea about the washing but I dont know if I can spare 15 cms ... They are longer than I need but only by a few inches after you account for cutting off any damaged edges (which will be small strips) and new hems etc
And for your delectation .....
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/aoaXzYfpI8Dhak71USWXDHTE4wCHepJM9Cvc1R7Y8DEjE0GUEddV1XdM3l-cIoldw4-W02XdbJvh-J0J5xFpB16TiZiOjznephz086N0ctZLPmaeGJRwxK8G0CxwFgvEQ9mE947slop1lYf0M6MxM5zZpeXpdwg6uHRtxCTISI2fs9M222e0ZxdcXbnvm33Tnr1V3MrQCHHVYb8UPBLtsaJBLdDM1Hvglz_bU7NXoSfESJcNHCw9gYbLzojbpQwhU0yrGdM22ziA42JuEIhRPFRc7Eh3Q04697VdvepHw2vcqORI2i2ytyC_jhc89x-bbrZ2B65ibn1VqnJ2TnkgcQad--pRTctzpqZ9WLFZBFqd5OArU13EtfqUtHrTgpseDuXvxV4IQakGzgZxoXliCWCxMQol0eGxnu9AalGku1aKmYxgI0EHjbNBswxrmC5jT4EsxNEgfJaWIrcih27JkDQPTimhvirs81SiIzpUjFWCyJGiKnsE9DNip4Pmu0Ew7A2lRojqUo5itReIqUIKRTwer8LIMAvQqU1Xokf6uvqmmH5h-_uNw7JlbbOFom3yzWe_HaKjCK7xEnOlaaOF41jGBljuN81CGH0nVumaTXWgtJVE4otVl529h40TpScegLTNL5W-irhlyNo9L-yWHmv53JPSjnJfrYV5bT5P_q_268YF=w954-h712-no)
My curtain fabric (I have odds and sods of it but nothing long enough to repair my Miss Havershams :( ) is on the left of the screen ..... the new wannabe curtains are slightly darker colorway with greeny/blue in them.
Link in case of invisibubble pic (https://photos.app.goo.gl/3uGQGS8WxsXdf7jEA)
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Ah! OK, I see. You can do the washing/measuring bit with less fabric but it's a bit more tricky to measure, especially if it frays. You can probably tell without measuring if it has shrunk, just by the shape of it, but you won't be able to work out by how much. If it's too much of a problem, I'd hang them out on the line for a few hours and give them a spray with Febreze and see how they are.
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I would:
Unpick all the stray threads
Overlock (or zig-zag) along each cut edge
If you think it's washable throw into the machine, or the bath tub
If not maybe get the two pieces dry cleaned
Measure up and construct the curtains.
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Hanging them on the line is a great idea and one I shall action forthwith, thanks x
Done ...
and tho its nice and sunny here today in DDD we've already had one torrential downpour ...
am I worried about another one ?
Nope, just means they'll get their wash after all! :D
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Well they certainly got washed yesterday.
I lugged them off the line about 3, put them on a spin cycle and hung them on the drying thingmy upstairs and they are fab! The musty smell is gone, they've had a rainwater rinse but not frayed at all!
Today I might get the the ID shop and purchase the rest of the stuff I need.
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If you haven't already got your lining I can recommend this (http://www.ebaystores.co.uk/pandoras-upholstery/Cotton-Sateen-/_i.html?_fsub=17201610&_sid=101796013&_trksid=p4634.c0.m322) ebay store. I recently bid on a 50 metre roll of lining and got it for £20. It was really very good quality.
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Thx for that linky ... Ive bought very nice heavyweight lining from the ID shop before, actually used it for backing quilts and background fabric, its nice stuff ... wide of course and about £5 per metre.
I dont know what I could do with 50 metres of the stuff tho' or where I could store it ??!! :S :o :devil:
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Pandora's great and they do smaller measures too. I've had some great bargains from them.
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Well Ive been to Moda and come away with 4.5 metres of cotton sateen lining, 2.5 metres of 3" heading tape, 4 penny weights and a lot of info as how to go about this.
I have previously relined my big blue velvet curtains which were 2 widths wide so how hard can this be at only one width ... I just need some space!
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You can use my cutting table before I take it to bits, possibly post Doughty’s Road Show?
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Well I was out yesterday laying out my curtain (singular) on the lovely big tables of the sewing school ...
Sadly however the girl who runs it (my friends daughter) mentioned that she would have to start charging me for the use of the space ... in the interest of fairness to others who pay to come to bitch and stitch sessions ...
So I'm afraid I will only be able to make the one curtain. I pinned it out completely yesterday so only have to machine on the heading, then slip stitch the lining to the sides (Is that the right order?)
Can someone let me know if thats right?
Unless @Puzzler I could come back to yours after Doughtys .. its tomorrow right?
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If it's the right order for you, I don't see why not. I usually slip stitch the lining to the curtain first though and then do the heading last - easier to fold the top over and pin the heading on once the lining's in place - just the way I like to do it.
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I do it in the same order as Greybird.
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Hi @Greybird
I've pinned the lining to the sides, Im at a crucial stage now so a reason why thats a bad idea and best to SS instead would be really helpful.
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/05ci65SLVkG5WKE8iqzueAZgFqORWt64ZOKeP_J6TNtpgNOKtfW_O2UYQ39fEPrOnGuTZstsRJfmGP8dglhzT3e0_NueNf-q4YBFjEofRdN44iABaNXCd95PKz-W8t8Yw17tT50r3JZJA79PxkLgZAuQGDHP8j0FNEt0NezxOolbaggZJunoxjdUSzCHf6vA98mQFrW8FBSEYX0xCIpGvRB5kTwSt_NBPG8NAnbHKjMvbBU4Ebspdgxq8IXmDTaqxPMVfYMmz9z3LX1PTvmgcSodqdc2l2buxB73TgMIwMuaueaYVUXre23IxWApPq4EWNea4SKx4lwtBQtOETWxXV_Y-_IDUe71g_mr1MxdZ5F1VfmYR4Wf1IAvqNa7ha1_RQEjoeOrBGSn1ou6WAbTuFGe6yJ4XHGTBwUqvLneZ3C71SsQHnRQmjK7O5R2k9Ae-3nsF_DqnVasHbZcwOlGYdCRItlsX6ii1IH3pntvRnTAxNq_XSaxrN1BMYdB6ITU0OqMoEyTEnRPtatzRMvsgq6O9Hb11vRrrJnjTKeIiHuFsR1X9Qk4uYp0Mk04DSooLPQO_e9lUEY9XENkC14IKlLLSuXX68ZPhSZkJstsJOxZx50lL0m-7lZjrdmMOEK8aLS77QhpgOprjxpWHvIh2ArX7am75PNi_rk3f7a1GH-wtmhG=w1035-h773-no)
linky (https://photos.app.goo.gl/rjWkxCMDrrQ4CKJz7)
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Well Ive probably broken multiple rules and regulations set out by The Fine Furnishing Fabrics and Finishes Society and will have the TFFFaFS police at my door within the next 24 hours but the one curtain is done!
I finally decided to machine stitch the heading tape down first and then slip-stitched the sides by catching the stitches that run down the length of the curtain (from when I turned them in) as I sewed the lining to the edge ... I know that is probably a cardinal sin, but it seems to have worked as it hangs well, it hangs straight and you cant see the lining.
I didnt have a lot of hem on the width as the fabric selvages were cut off and in the end the curtain has come out about 48" wide .. -< ... so as the span for half the window is 33" ... its a very lightly ( and I do mean lightly) ruffled curtain! :S
I dont know whether to hem up the second bit of lining now or not ... considering it might be a looooooong time before these get hung.
I wonder what the fabric is and if its still available ...Hhmmmmm
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I do it the same as Greybird and Brenda
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Sorry @Iminei - I've been on painting duty today and only just seen your post. I'm sure what you've done is fine - once it's hung you won't see the workings anyway and in a very short space of time you won't be able to remember what you did. The fabric looks lovely and I look forward to seeing a picture of it hung. Well done!!
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@Flobear and @Puzzler ... Do you remember, way back when in September (2019 ...OOOpppss!! :| ) I found some fabulous fabric at a craft fair and set out to make a new set of curtains to replace the perilous pair that have been gracing my bedroom since 1989 ( :[ :| )
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Pic shows my curtains from 1989 on the left and the new fabric on the right (that were obviously a pair of curtains in a previous life) ... Not much difference is there ?
Well I made them and they have been languishing in the Sewing/Art/Craft/Wardrobe/Spare room ever since.
Last week in a fit of madness I finally tidied ahem ... spring cleaned my bedroom and today, walking in, saw my beloved but much battered curtains hanging pitifully at the window.
Without giving it much thought I went into the SACWS room fetched the curtains and within five minutes the new jobbies were up ... And I must say altho' they were tight on width they look fine ... (the old ones were only a width each too, so Im used to it.)
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BUT
What to do with the old ones ??? I know they are wrecked at the leading edges but I do love the fabric so much .. I would feel bereft just throwing them in the bin ....
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Okay Okay ... P&Q I hear you cry !!!
but What do I do FIRST ????
Wash? Cut?? Take out the lining ???
Please help Flo, Puzzler and TSP mind!
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Here's me thinking you had hung them up as soon as they were finished!! I would unpick the lining fabric and bin (in council recycling bin as they take fabric). I would then wash the curtain fabric. It'll have ingested many a dust bunny since 1989 so get them clean. Are they 100% cotton? I can't remember. I'm sure you and others will come up with ideas for using the fabric.
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Dah! Im not a complete sloven!!! They were washed when we moved here in 2006!!!!
Yes 100% cotton furnishing fabric from Sanderson ... Saraband was the name of the design .. I have quite a bit of it now, Someone found a wodge on Fleabay for sale that I snapped up .... but no long lengths to make another set ... still the 'new' ones dont look so bad do they ???
Hard to see I know .. I'll take another pic when its dark outside!
There was talk of me skinning my original coverlet and remaking it (tho' it was all made with furnishing fabrics, I think I'd go proper this time) Now I have enough of the feature fabric ... yes you guessed it Saraband, to make a duplicate without destroying the original.
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2206? :laughing:
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I do remember your fabric discovery @Iminei . Good to see the finished curtains in place.
I'm afraid my Totally-Stressed-About-Moving brain is not up to suggestions just now :S
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Use the fabric as backing for a special quilt.
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Cut away the heading, hems etc. Overlock/zig-zag all the edges and then machine wash.
Hopefully they will survive, but if they are too far gone and come out of the machine in shreds at least you will know thay you had them at your window for their entire natural life. After that the fabric will be stash - quilt backing, cushions, tote bag, something to wear ....
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Well I ripped out the heading tapes, ripped out the lining, where the fabric was bad that came too ... settled a Mt Vesuvius of dust all over the dining room ... Cut away the obviously shredded bits and bunged what was left in a gentle wash.
While they churned round and round and round, I hoovered and cleaned and dusted the dining room and now they're out, have been hung over the clothes horse in front of the radiator and are dry ...
There is some more damage but not as much as I expected and Yes!
Quiltbacking ... as I have extra yardage from when they were made and the extra from Fleabay and as I normally piece backing anyway ... a quilt backing could be the way to go!
Thanks for your help peeps from start ... from accompanying me to the craft fair (was it a craft fair, I really cant remember?) to advising me how to make the curtains, to lending me your cutting table and extra hands ... to finish, helping me keep as much of this fabric as possible ... Thank you xxx
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They'd make a great duffel bag of some sort!