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8.12.2009

DIY Thursday - Layered Window Treatments


My friends will tell you, I love to mix it up. "The Queen of Random" a friend calls me and I decorate my home the same way. When I first decorated our kitchen, I had french country in mind with lots of rich colors, patterns, and textures.

I saw an article in Better Homes and Gardens with a small photo of a cozy room with this style of layered window treatment (that was waaay overpriced, I'm sure).

So a quick trip to Joann's and Lowe's got me started.

Using a large piece of brown kraft paper, I made a pattern using the width of the door for the width measurement. I, then, determined how far down I wanted the scallops to hang on the door and measured twice as long for the length of the fabric. I folded the paper in half to draw the shape, so it was symmetrical. (as I look at this sketch, I think I must have made the center scallop a bit longer than the sides) This is just one large piece of fabric with scallops cut into the bottom.

I sewed together the fabric and the lining then pressed and stitched the trim to the bottom (this trim could easily be hot glued onto the bottom)



Where you see dotted lines, I sewed from top to bottom with a basting stitch using a thick upholstery thread and leaving a long free end at the bottom.

I pulled the thread to gather the material up to the length I wanted and tied it off.

The big guy then attached a simple 1x2 inch board with "L" brackets to the surface of the door/window. Along the bottom, we screwed in simple cup hooks to hang the bamboo matchstick blinds (from Lowe's)



After the board was mounted, I hung the matchstick blinds on the cup hooks, then stapled the curtain to the board. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!






***What would I do differently next time (you know that's how it always goes)? I would allow for the width of the board when I measured the width of the curtain. So, I would have made the fabric 4 inches longer so it was long enough to reach all the way around the corner of the board I stapled it to.

I've submitted this to Kimba's ASPTL DIY Linky Party. Want to party on down with her? Click the button below and par-tay!

DIY Day @ ASPTL


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35 comments:

  1. The window treatments turned out great. I really like the color and pattern. And your blueprints are cute too :)

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  2. Love those window treatments. Cute fabric!!! Visiting from Kimba's party. :)

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  3. They turned out beautiful! Even though they don't reach all around the board. ;)

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  4. Great job! I love the mix of textures with the curtains and blinds. Well done!

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  5. It's adorable - I love the checks. Great job!

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  6. Looks great and so much more satisfaction when you do it yourself.

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  7. Looks great and so much more satisfaction when you do it yourself.

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  8. Your window looks so nice. Great fabric. If the piece at the side bothers you, use extra fabric or a piece of ribbon and just cover the bare wood.

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  9. they turned out beautiful, thanks for ideas

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  10. Your window treatments are great! I like the layering over the blinds. A very custom look. Jackie

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  11. That looks really nice! I love the fabric!

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  12. I love them, very pretty! I used to work at a frame shop doing custom picture frames so your blog caught my eye.

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  13. Popped over from Kimba's DIY. Love your curtain project mostly because I love red and buffalo checks. But I have to tell ya, I love your ingenuity to make it all work. It looks really good. Off to see the rest of your blog.

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  14. Oh, I love this! Great idea and one I may just have to mimic in my upcoming remodel. Thanks for the tips.

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  15. Love the window treatments...very chic!

    Smooches,
    Sassy Chica

    stopping by from sits

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  16. I'll always step back from a project with an "next time I would have......" as well....always lovin' your DIY projects!!!

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  17. What a great idea! They look fabulous!

    Jane

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  18. Jennifer-those turned out great! LOVE them!

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  19. Beautiful! Love the plaid and the color. Not sure I could pull off the sewing part, though. :)

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  20. You did a great job! You're so talented!!!

    If you get a chance, stop by my Blog for a visit and say hi! I put up a new post today of my pillow featured in Romantic Homes magazine.
    Have a great day,
    Aimee

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  21. love the window treatments, of course! you are absolutely right about the cost of the jersey shore vs. the outerbanks. we could never have gotten the house/set-up we had there at any of the jersey beaches for even remotely the same cost. it is well worth the 6+ hour drive!

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  22. That looks very professional, I can't believe you did that yourself!

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  23. Hey-
    You can post as many as you want. We try to have the funnest blog on the block-over here. I think you and I wuld get along really well-I LOVE projects.

    Cheri

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  24. Beautiful valances. I love the fabric and the style. Thanks for sharing this.

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  25. It looks awesome!! First time visiting your site. Will definitely be back!

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  26. Wow, they look amazing! I love the fabric and blind combo. Thanks so much for sharing this, I'll be linking.

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  27. Looks fantastic! I want window treatments like this when I move out one day! Must bookmark!

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  28. I think even I could actually pull this off! :) ... it looks really nice.

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  29. That looks delicious; I wish I could do something like that in my kitchen, but I'm not sure I dare because my house is open-concept. I might do something with the same general idea, but I wish I could use a similar fabric. <3

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