Where the Lazy Way Actually Was More Work . . .

The curtains. The curtains.

They really are beautiful, aren't they?
Let me tell you their story . . .

Lazy #1:

I wanted grommet panels for this room, but I didn't want to sew the grommet part.

Lazy #2:

I found the perfect burlap panels at IKEA for $40 a pair.  Score. (only available image from the blurry camera day)

They were the right color and a great texture, so I got them.

Lazy #3:

Panels are eight feet long.  Room has ten-foot ceilings.  Hmmm.

Lazy #4:

I attached some almost identical burlap to the bottom, making the panels ten feet long.  New burlap is inferior fabric and not square in any direction.  Oh well, it's lining right?

Not Lazy #1:

I did make sure that all the seams would be hidden when the panels were sewn together.  That is not a small feat when you're wrestling with 20 feet of 57" wide fabric. Just sayin'.

Lazy #5:

IKEA panels were 57" wide. And the beautiful floral fabric?  Only 54", with giant printed selvages.  So I measured the top of the floral carefully, pinned it to the base of the grommets, and sewed the fabric together. I planned to overlap the extra inches of burlap to cover completely the selvages with already finished seams.  Clever, huh?
This was not as easy as it sounds.  Pictures can hardly do it justice, but it does show how well the two fabrics match.

Not Lazy #2

Then I top-stitched the floral, and this is where I knew that my decision had been a good one. Notice how the burlap and the floral play off each other?  Love that.

Lazy #6:

In my defense, it is EXTREMELY difficult to wrestle with that much fabric and get seams even.  After I had top-stitched, I was ready to sew the four 112-inch side seams.  This is where I realized my situation:  The print on the selvages didn't stay even the whole way down the fabric.  In fact, it was really quite wavy.  And there was no way to cover that ugly print with the burlap from the lining.  Now what?

Start over?  No.

Unpick?  For those of you who have ever sewn with me, you know this isn't EVER an option.

Throw it all away and never look back?  This option was actually considered but eventually vetoed.

Lazy #7:

Quick trip to the ribbon store (love that place) and probably QT as well for 2" sage grosgrain ribbon and a diet Pepsi to keep me going late into the night.  Solution:  Trim out each side with the ribbon to hide the ugliness. Eight more 112-inch seams needed (and two more bobbins full of thread, I might add).

Final result:

All the lazy stuff looks like it was purposeful.  And I love these curtains.  My favorite curtains I've ever made.  As much work as they were (hours and HOURS more than I'd planned--isn't that always how sewing goes?), they are the thing that makes the most difference in that room.  Ties all the colors together.

And I'd do it all again.  But this time, I would plan on the contrasting burlap and ribbon.  Just sayin'.