I’ve been walking behind you since you’ve able to see

Pattern: Tutorial for Fully Lined Tab Top Drapes by Shelley Denton
Fabric: Climbing Vines by Kathy Ireland

After my dry run on the bedroom curtains turned out so well, I felt ready to take on bigger game. Namely, the even rattier drapes covering the sliding glass doors leading into our backyard. Oh, these were bad. The kids had stepped on them and pulled them and ripped them so much that the hem was partially ripped off. We had opened and closed and forced them through the double-rod channel so much that they were almost impossible to move and the hardware was bent from our tugs on the cord. Even beyond their colorless beige heavy awfulness, they were broken. An affront to my self-esteem every time I saw that ripped hem dragging on the ground or contemplated trying to get them open.

Twice as long, these are. Twice as difficult to cut straight and get maneuvered over my ironing board. Which, by the way, is in sad shape, the pad all worn out and the drawstring all frayed and the cover constantly coming off while I’m pulling miles of drapery over it. A new one is on the way, and I wouldn’t dare start a full-sized project before it arrives. Plus, because the print is centered on the fabric width, and the liner is not as wide, and therefore the fabric needs to be cut down, I had to think about making sure that was symmetrical. Something new every project, even the ones that are repeats.

I had my dad here to help me install the hardware when it was time to hang them. Good thing, too, since on my won I might not have bothered patching the wall where the old rod came down. There were lots of holes and chipped spots in the paint job. We still have unsanded spackle spots above the drapes, but those are one step closer to a nice wall, rather than one step back the way holes and rips are.

One more set of legacy curtains gone. One more room lighter, newer, more customized. Think I’ll cover some pillows before I try to figure out how to handle curtains for the super-wide bay window in the front room. That’s going to take some doing.

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Tags: curtains, fo's

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