Hobbies And Interests
Construct Cornices
Cornices are fabric-covered boxes that function as valances. With their sleek, expensive look, cornices dress up windows to create an elegant feel in a room. Although they look complex, they are actually fairly simple to make. The base of a cornice is wood, much like a three-sided rectangle. A home improvement store will often cut the wood to length for you, meaning the only carpentry work required is nailing or screwing the boards together. Using a heavy-duty staple gun, attach polyester quilt batting to the wood box, then cover the batting with fashion fabric, pulling it taut around the board. Finish with trim if desired. The cornice can serve as the only window covering on a window, or it can be teamed up with matching or contrasting draperies in rich fabrics.
Heading Construction
Construct drapes in different styles by using different headers or constructed tops to the draperies. These may include pleated tops or soft tops. Pleated tops require a stiffener in the top, like buckram or crinoline. Stiffer backing makes more formal-looking drapes. Pleated styles include two-, three-, four- and five-finger pleats. Each "finger" is a pinch in the pleat. There are also goblet, cartridge and butterfly pleats. Soft top styles include no stiffeners and may just have rings attached to the top, or they may have a tab top or a V-droop. Sew straps to hook over the rod (called tabs) for a tab-top curtain. For a V-droop, leave the top straight and add hooks at wide intervals, drooping the material between the hooks.
Curtains Without Sewing
Dress up a window with creative draperies and valances that require no sewing. For example, a kitchen window looks great with a valance created by draping over a rod cloth napkins or a tablecloth that matches the kitchen decor. Alternatively, use clip-on drapery rings to attach these types of homemade drapes, or use a product that allows you to steam iron seams together. With bias tape and a little imagination, its possible to create nice drapes with these products.
Professional Techniques
For draperies with a more professional look, more advanced techniques are required. One such technique is to create mitered corners on your draperies. Before hemming the bottom or sides, use a clean carpenter's square at the bottom corners of the curtain. Mark the hypotenuse with chalk, then fold the drapery over along that line, folding in the corner. Create the hems as usual. This technique gives weight and a sharp corner to draperies. You can also use drapery interlining -- a layer of flannel-like fabric that goes between a curtain and its lining. It adds weight and a rich look to draperies, allowing them to hang like professionally-made curtains. High-quality draperies are always lined and typically include interlining.