Making curtains

[P0llyP0cketR0cket]

I'm moving into a new house with 20 windows. It seems to have more windows than walls. Instead of getting a loan out to buy curtains, I thought I might make my own pencil pleat ones. I have no experience or sewing machine (although I will buy one.) Am I mad?!

Nope

Pencil pleat curtains are very simple to make. There are loads of you tube tutorials. Just remember to get the fabric and lining perfectly straight out they won't hang quite right.

As a caveat though check out the price of fabric and the approx amount you would need. The curtains in my front room are beautiful but cost me £80 to make, even sourcing the fabric from the bankrupt stock shop.

Of course I love sewing, although I'm relatively new to it. It is a source of relaxation and pleasure and hardly ever economy!

I recommend the Merrick and Day website and their book I think is called "Blinds curtains and cushions". The fabric and lining etc do add up but you would still save thousands. It's worth looking into any discount curtain fabric shops near you.

It helps to have a big table to lay out the fabric and some parts are better hand sewn so they hang better, but it's quicker than you might think.

I hate making curtains because of all the wrestling with swathes of fabric, but it's fairly simple. Probably not cheap though. That said, I haunt ebay for auctions of rolls of fabric and have got some brilliant bargains.

It's worth considering doing blinds for some. Roman blinds are very easy to make and use far less material than curtains.