slightly unravelled

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Curtain Blunder

I made my planned curtain this weekend. Let me start by explaining what it was replacing: this disgusting thin blue curtain that I've had for years that's intercepted many a cat claw (see the rips at the bottom?) and cat sneeze. It's also faded and so thin that it's easily moved aside by cats or a gentle breeze, leaving the window uncovered. I like to sit in front of the window, often not in any state in which I want the dwellers of the (very) nearby apartments with (close-range) facing windows to see. Oh, and that blue curtain? It was actually some sort of sarong or something on sale at Banana Republic (?) years ago, which I saw and thought "curtain." Actually, I think I saw it and first thought "tube top," but discovered it was too difficult to keep it tied securely, so quickly switched my thinking in the direction of a curtain. Anyway, the point? That blue piece of fabric has served me well (um, or at least it's served me, if not actually "well"), but it desperately needed to be replaced.




So I decided to make a curtain with some beautiful Japanese fabric. The fabric is a heavy cotton, and to make it even sturdier (and more cat-resistant), I backed it with another layer of heavy cotton.



But here's where it gets a little weird. I had looked at some fabric a week or so ago, and the fabric I liked best was a print that needed to be horizontal, so that it's only about 45 inches tall. I loved that fabric so much that I decided I would use that for the bottom half of the curtain, and another pretty fabric for the top half. Well I guess everyone really liked that fabric, because I went back to get it and the store was sold out. There were plenty of other great fabrics, so picking another wasn't a big deal. But by that point, I had the idea of using more than one fabric so set in my mind that I couldn't pick just one. So I decided to use one fabric for most of the curtain and put some sort of a border on in a different fabric. I knew this was weird and I risked ruining my curtain, but by that point I was convinced that using only one fabric was just too ordinary. So I added a few inches at the top in a contrasting print.





Yeah, I know. It's okay, but kind of busy and would look better if it were all in the main fabric. Oh well, it's still much better than the blue thing. And I think it looks better in person than in that picture.

Oh, but, do you notice anything? Maybe you need a closer look.



Yeah. That?



It's a bird. And? It's upside down. Sigh.

3 Comments:

  • I think I would not have known that it really is a bird without the explanation. Upside down it is just an abstract design.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/09/2006 2:33 PM  

  • the bird picture made me laugh. we have all gone through such heartbreak! i can't even tell you how many strange things have happened during late night sewing excursions!

    By Blogger Melissa, at 4/13/2006 10:19 AM  

  • Take it down - get rid of that patchwork-like bit at the top - turn the curtain upside down - add a BIG bit of fabric to the bottom (I think the different fabric would look better at the bottom) (maybe choose a plain red to match the flowers or a plain turquoise to match the birds - whatever works best with your colour scheme) - and make the curtain long enough for the window with this extra piece (it seems too short at the moment) - then take another piece of the new additional fabric - and make a simple fold-in-half- tie-back to hold the curtain back during the daytime and to make it look like the additional piece was intentional - sorted!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/28/2006 7:28 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home