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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Guest Blogger- The V Spot

Today my friend Vivienne from the V-Spot is our Guest Blogger. 
She is funny, beautiful and so creative! 
Her blog cracks me up everyday and I leave inspired.
Thank you for hopping over to my blog to share today V! 
Don't forget to join in on this weeks link party and Giveaway!


Hi all!  I'm Vivienne from The V Spot and from  My Favorite Hate Mail
I love my family (super supportive), crafts, DIY projects (always a mess around here) and getting my hands dirty (I really need a manicure).  I'm so happy Kelly said I could come over here today!  I'm going to share a post I did a while back on The Lazy Girl's Drapery Panels.
I sew with a glue gun. (Don't you judge me!) :)
Let me say this out of the gate: I can sew, I just usually choose not to.
(OK, I almost ALWAYS choose not to.)


I don't usually buy pre-made curtain panels. I found a great discount fabric store where I can get gorgeous fabrics anywhere from $3 to $8 a yard. (Sometimes even a $1 a yard!) I like to change out the panels in my dining room seasonally. (And I can because fabric is cheap.)

This was what I had up during the fall. (I dropped the ball during the winter and never got around to doing this for Christmas.) These 2 panels flank the slider in my dining room.
They were a nice warm sage/rust flannel plaid, but spring is here and I wanted something lighter. It was time for them to go.

Here's my version of how to make No-Sew Curtain Panels:

I bought about 7 yards of a pretty stripe for about $35 bucks. I measure the area I want to cover and then add on about 5 extra inches for hemming and to create the pocket for the rod.

I unroll the bolt and lay it out on my dining room table.
It helps if you can get all of the chairs out of the way without an old cat getting pissed off at you for daring to disturb his slumber.
Once I cut the 2 panels, I also wanted to create a valance for the top of the panels. I don't measure super accurately... I just eyeball it. I knew I wanted the finished "valance" to be about 10 or 11 inches long, so to play it safe I cut two lengths about 14 "
Working with a stripe makes it easy. If you just make sure the stripes are lining up, you'll have a pretty straight line.

Use your iron to make a nice crisp crease where you want it.

A little tiny scallop? pfft. Doesn't matter.... we're going to add trim in a minute.
"Hem" the rough edge with Stitch Witchery or your glue gun.
Take the selvage edge, fold it over and iron it flat. Secure with glue gun or Stitch Witchery.

Now adding your trim: I used a glue gun and eye balled it into a straight line. (Because I am all about the precise and professional results....)
When you've glued the trim to the front of the valance panel, flip it over and "wrap" a little of the trim edge around the back and secure with extra glue so that it doesn't unravel.
Set the valances aside.
Now take the main panels, fold over the selvage edges and secure them.
Once that is done, lay your valance on top of the panel. Both should be right side up. Secure at the top with the glue gun or the Stitch Witchery.
Once they are adhered to each other, fold over and allow an inch or two for the curtain rod. This is where you are better served by the glue gun than the Stitch Witch. You will be adhering multiple layers of fabric and it will all be hanging off the rod from this point, so go for strongest hold.


At this point, get it on the rod and see where you need to hem the bottom of the panel. Decide where you want the hem to hit the floor and mark with a pin.
Fold over at the pin and secure with Stitch Witch.
Put it back up and make sure it hits the floor where you want it to.



Works for me. Cheap, easy and very little time commitment. Which is good, because I'll probably end up changing them again in a few months...

You can go and visit the Nesting Place to see truly brilliant window "mistreatments."

Thanks for having me over!