Craft Room Color

I had quite the list of projects to sew this summer, and didn't come close to finishing. But, I really wanted to get this done while I was thinking about it. My craft room needed a dose of color, and my favorite color combination is black and red. I just love the dramatic effect.

When I saw this fabric, I knew I had to do something with it, and the craft room was the only room with just red and black, and it happened to need curtains. So, I snagged a few yards. Don't you love the different circles. To me, this fabric seemed to beg for something fun. Well, how do you make curtains fun?

But before I got around to the curtains, I saw a tutorial on recovering an ironing board. It suddenly struck me - Whoa, why don't I do that? My ironing board was yucky, but it's an odd size, and I can't find covers to fit. So, luckily, I had just bought that cute circle fabric, but went back for more to make sure I'd have enough. I didn't end up following the tutorial, and sorry I didn't make my own. I just set the ironing board upside down on top of paper, drew a pattern 2" around the edge, then folded it in half to trim the edges even. I cut 2 pieces out of the fabric, but I didn't have enough of the padding. It this padding used for hot pads that is insulated, and I had it leftover from long ago. I did have enough for the exact size of the top of the ironing board, just not enough for those extra 2" all the way around. So, I ended up sandwiching it between the 2 pieces of fabric, and essentially "quilting" it together. Then I sewed binding around the outside edge, threaded it with 1/4" elastic, and sewed it shut.

I still didn't quite know what to do for curtains, so the fabric sat all summer, until I developed a picture in my mind. With the basic idea in mind, I kind-of made up the details as I went. See how it went . . .

I cut a length of 6', and knowing I'd most likely have a grommet or buttonhole or something in the top, I interfaced the top 4" starting 1" from the selvage edge. I'm going to take advantage of those finished selvage edges, but I don't want the holes to show (where the material was tacked to the loom). After ironing the interfacing on, I sewed along the bottom edge to help keep it from peeling off, knowing I'd make this the back side.
Then I folded the fabric together lengthwise and sewed the two selvage edges together. I took such a big seam allowance to get away from those holes I mentioned.
Then, I sewed the two ends together, leaving an opening to turn it all right side out.
Turn. Press well (I want sharp edges on this curtain).
Now, my hand really doesn't like hand-sewing, so I just top-stitched the hole closed. Well, I sewed the whole end, and top-stitched the other end to match.
Next I applied 5 large plastic grommets. Spread equally apart, they are 17 1/4" inches apart. I had more grommets, but I intentionally only used 5. Remember, I've got a picture in my brain, so go with it for a minute.
The grommet package comes with instructions and a marking guide. I placed them 1 1/2" from the top and 1 1/2" from the ends. Put the 2 ends in, then measure the remaining distance and divide to place them equally.
Now, I cut 4' lengths of this super-wide black ribbon, and tied it through the grommets to the curtain rod. Yeah! It turned out just how I imagined, and it does look like a "fun" style.
See how cute those big bows are, and how the fabric droops in between? I love it!
Last quick note. Here's the quilt I bound a few weeks ago (last post) during my sewing bonanza. It's very bold, and I love how it turned out. I just don't know what to do with it. Now, I have no need for it, and don't have anyone to give it to, so I'm not sure what to do with it? Ebay? Etsy? Sell it at our family reunion auction next summer? If anyone wants it, I'll let it go for cost ($55).
And the back is black on gray.