 Punch up the pattern potential or color quotient in any room of your house by joining two pairs of unlined draperies in coordinating fabrics. Button up the backing to show off the pattern on the inside curtains. Fold them back at chair height to highlight a favorite piece.
Materials - Two pairs of unlined drapery panels in
coordinating patterns or colors
- Contrasting fabric for the bands
and casings
- Two buttons
Step by Step
If the panels are different sizes, trim them to match. With wrong sides
facing, baste two panels together along the outer edges, using one panel from each pair.
Cut 5-inch-wide-binding strips for the sides and bottom of each panel, and sew the short ends together, piecing as
necessary. Cut 5-inch-wide strips to form the panel casings. Add 1-inch hem
allowances to the ends of each casing.
Fold the binding in half, right sides out. Open out the binding and press under a 1/2-inch hem along one long edge. Sew the remaining edge to the front of the panel, right sides facing. Miter the corners. Turn the binding to the back, encasing the raw edges.
Topstitch close to the hem fold.
Turn under the raw edges at the top.
Slip-stitch the mitered corners closed.
Hem the short ends of each casing. Sew a casing strip to the top of each panel in the same manner as the
binding strips, leaving the ends open
to insert the curtain rods.
Hang the curtains. Sew a button to the outside edge of each at the height
of the windowsill. Take down each
curtain and make a buttonhole directly opposite the button. Rehang the
curtains. Button the inner edge of each to its outer edge. |
