In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. ~ Proverbs 3:6
Showing posts with label chevron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chevron. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

DIY No-Sew Chevron Curtains


 
I knew I wanted navy chevron curtains in the nursery to coordinate with the crib bedding.  I decided to use a valance instead of panels, because in my mind I could see two rambunctious little boys pulling panels down from the wall.  I also chose a flat valance, because I liked the look of the crisp clean lines of a flat valance.

Using the same fabric I used to make the crib skirts, I made an easy no-sew crib valance.  With my 40% off coupon, I purchased one yard of navy chevron fabric from Hobby Lobby priced $7.99 a yard. 
 
 
To figure out the width of fabric I needed for the curtain, I measured the width of my window, added three inches to each side so the curtain was a little longer than my window, plus one more inch to each side for a one inch hem.
 
To figure out the length of fabric I needed for the curtain, I decided I wanted my valances to be the standard fifteen inches. I multiplied fifteen by two (for the front and back of the curtain), and added three inches for the slip hole, plus one more inch for the hem.
 
 
Once I had my fabric cut, I ironed a one inch hem to the length of the fabric and using Heat and Bond, I “no-sewed” a hem.
 
I then did another hem on one of my widths.
 
Then I took the other width of fabric and folded it over three inches to create my slip hole for the curtain rod. I applied the Heat and Bond to the width of the fabric, as I made sure to leave a three inch gap for the rod.
 
Lastly, I folded the width of the fabric that already had a hem line and brought the hem up to the bottom of the slip hole on the back of the curtain. Using Heat and Bond, I “no-sewed”it into place.

 
So essentially, I just hemmed three sides of fabric, folded the top unhemmed side back to make a slip hole, and then folded the bottom hemmed side up to meet the bottom of the slip hole. I chose to do this, so that the front and back looked finished. If I were looking from the outside of the house into the nursery window, I wanted the curtain to look just as good from the outside as it does from the inside.
 
And that’s pretty much it. Total cost for the curtain was less than $5I wish I would have taken pictures as I made them. Hopefully this post makes them sound easy to make, because this was not a difficult project. Honestly, if you can measure, cut and iron, you can make a no-sew valance in no time.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

DIY No-Sew Chevron Crib Skirt



I loved this crib set from Carousel Designs, but there was no way I was going to pay $500 for one crib set.  I even looked for similar pieces sold separately online but didn’t have much luck.  The cheapest navy chevron crib skirt I could find was $40, so I decided to use the crib set as my inspiration, but make my own version. 
Step one:  To make my own no-sew crib skirt, I had to first measure the width of the sides and front of the crib, and the length from the mattress frame to the bottom of the lower panel on the front of the crib.
Step two:  I purchased three yards of navy chevron fabric from Hobby Lobby. Remember, I had to make crib skirts for two cribs, not just one crib. They have the navy chevron in both thin cotton and thick upholstery fabric. I chose the thicker fabric, so I would have a nice clean and crisp crib skirt. The fabric was $7.99 a yard, but I used a 40% off coupon found in the weekly ad (find the ad online for a printable coupon).
I decided to make three pieces for one crib skirt, one piece for the front and one piece for each of the sides, rather than one long crib skirt. This gave me cleaner lines when attaching the crib skirt to the crib. I chose not to make a piece for the back of the crib, since no one would see the back of the crib.

Step three:  Making the three pieces was pretty easy. I just used my crib measurements and added a half inch for a hem. Then I cut my fabric according to my measurements, ironed a hem on all four sides of each piece of fabric, and using Heat N Bond adhesive tape I “no-sewed” the hems. When cutting the fabric be sure that the chevron lines up on both sides of the crib and the front, so it looks like one piece of fabric.

When I began cutting my fabric for the front of the crib, I ran into a dilemma. Because I wanted the chevron pattern going straight across and not up and down, I only had 44 inches of fabric to work with and the width of my crib was longer than 44 inches. In order to make it look like one piece of fabric in the front of the crib, I had to use two pieces of fabric, align the chevron pattern of both pieces of fabric up perfectly, and then attach both pieces together using my no sew adhesive tape. In the end it worked, because you can’t tell I used two pieces of fabric in the front.
Step four:  Once I had three pieces of “no-sewed” crib skirts, I attached each piece to the crib by using Velcro tape I had in my craft closet. I cut pieces of the tape, attached one side of the Velcro to the part of the crib mattress frame and the other part to the back of my no-sew crib skirts. I used a piece of Velcro tape about every three bars on the crib. If the adhesive part of the Velcro is not sticking very well, hot glue does wonders.