New Dining Room Curtains

I have to tell you that making these curtains was an exercise in perseverance!  More than once I wanted to give up, rip them to shreds and just buy some darn curtains!  I couldn't do that though because I bought the yards and yards of fabric six years ago when we lived in an apartment but I never got around to making the curtains.  When we moved into our current house, I knew the fabric would be perfect for the dining room. 

The valance gave me no trouble at all.  The panels were another story.  It started with unrolling the fabric to cut two 107 inch long pieces of both fabric and lining.  Do you know how much fabric that is?!  Way more than I have ever worked with before!  And the lining...oh my goodness.  First, I was completely stumped with the directions.  After a couple of days, I figured out what to do and sewed the lining to the panel and guess what?  It didn't work.  I can't really explain exactly what it was doing but it definitely wasn't working.  I had to rip the lining out.  It was only one panel but it was two 107 inch long seams.  I decided not to have a lining!

Next came the top of the panels.  I figured the rest would be easy...Ha!  I cut out the piece at the top of the panel and then the directions said to make a bias binding and attach it.  OH NO!!  I've been sewing for a lot of years and attaching a binding is one of those things that I just cannot do.  I was really ready to shred the cuss curtains now.  But I didn't.  Instead, I made a facing and no one will ever know that isn't how they're supposed to be!

I didn't like the curtains at all by the time I was done.  I finished them for the sake of finishing them and figured I would hate them when they were hung and I would end up buying some anyway.  I have to tell you though, that once they were up, I loved them!  They are exactly what I imagined and wanted.  I won't be making any more though! 

Have a great Thursday!!!