Den Curtains Are Done!

And I love-love-LOVE them. Capital L-O-V-E! With unicorns and rainbows and tons and tons of sparkles!

Here they are!

As soon as I first saw this gorgeous fabric, I knew I had to have it in my den.  It's a little bolder than I usually go for, but I think it's a great addition to the space.  I ended up making them myself and it took less than 2 hours.  I don't sew, so I got out my trusty heavy-duty no-sew seam tape and iron and got to work.  The width of the fabric was just the right size for my windows, since there is not a lot of wall space on either side of the window.  I measured the height of my window and then used this calculator to determine I needed 6 yards of fabric.  I ordered 6.5 just to be safe.  

First, I hung my curtain rod.  I found it at Overstock.com, and I love it so much I will order it for the other large windows in my home.  Our den window is huge and it was hard to find a rod to fit the space that wasn't really expensive. I love these and they were only about $50.  Then I clipped the curtain rings on the rod.  I found the rings at Lowes.  I bought two packs of 10 rings, which was just enough.

I got out my tape measure and measured from the bottom of the curtain rings to the floor, which came to exactly 84 inches.  I added two inches onto that measurement to account for the top and bottom hems.  Then I laid out my fabric on the floor, measured 86 inches and cut across.  

Because the fabric is a bold Ikat print, I wanted to have the panels match up as much as possible.  So I found a guide on the edge of the fabric and lined them up.  I placed the cut fabric over the uncut fabric and then used the cut panel as a guide for my second piece.  I will admit that I was super nervous about all of this: this was the most expensive fabric I have ever worked with and I only had about a half a yard extra.  I had to do it right the first time. 

When I had my panels, I put them on the ironing board and started with the top hem.  When that side was done, I clipped it to the rings just to check my work.  With both panels, I ended up having to cut a little more off the bottom before using the seam tape.  I marked with a Sharpie where I needed to cut.

Once I cut, I used the seam tape on the bottom hem and then the two sides: fold the fabric over to create a seam, and then follow the instructions on the seam tape: this brand had me hold the iron on the seam for 10 seconds.  

When all of my seams were done, I attached the fabric to the rings, played around with the pattern, and voila!

I'm itching to do more in this space!  The walls will be a light grey soon enough and I think I've decided to paint the built-ins and the stone fireplace both Dover White.  The rug needs to go (this is just here to fill the space).  The new rug is en route!  I found a charcoal trellis rug that will look amazing in this space.  I want to hang my picture wall over the sectional and I found a really cute print that I'm eager to receive and hang up!  I'm slowly getting there ...

Do you have any ideas for decorating the den? I'd love to hear!

See you swoon,