100th Post! Tabbed Curtain Tutorial and Finished Accent Pillows

I was going to wait to post this after the organizer was done, but I just can't help but share my two finished projects from the weekend. So, for my 100th (WOW!) post, I am sharing some of the projects I've been working on for the new townhouse.

I love the new pillows...I can't wait to get the chair to see how everything looks together. The patterned pillow is just standard, and I probably should have stuffed a little fluff around the pillow form, but it'll do. My favorite is the stripey pillow that took a long time. I wanted that ivory cord around it, but I wanted it sewn in. I found quickly that to hide the attachment fabric, I would need to hand sew around the pillow until the cord was taut with the fabric. This took a long time, and I switched off watching Sex & the City and True Blood on On Demand. I have to say, having a quiet, peaceful place to sew is definately giving me inspiration and also relaxes me at the end of the day. What do you think about the pillows??

Next, I worked on curtains for the bedroom. My boyfriend wanted a more sophisticated curtain, so we decided on the tab-top style like these. After a looooong search, I found a great patterned fabric at Joann's for $3 a yard, and my boyfriend found a nice coordinating solid fabric for $2 a yard at Job Lot. In total, I made the curtains for $10, and have a ton of fabric left over for more curtains in the townhouse, or to make other projects. Anyhow, here is the tutorial for the seperate tabs that are nice and strong!

I started with basic curtains in this cream, blue and yellow floral pattern, just hemmed on each side.

We used a coordinating fabric in a pale slate blue color. I cut a long 5.5 inch wide strip along the edge of the fabric.



For your tabs, cut this long strip into 8 pieces, about 5.5 by 7 inches. This will make the tabs for one panel for a large window. You can always adjust for the size you need.

Fold the fabric over, matching the longest sides, and pin.

Next, sew the pinned side using a straight stitch.

I stuck with white thread because I didn't mind the look and I didn't want to run to the store again, but you might want to use a color-matched thread. It should look like this when you're done.

Turn your strip inside-out and place the seam in the middle on top.

Fold the ends over toward the top with the seam and sew. Trim any extra fabric.

This is what the strip (or burrito, as my boyfriend likes to call it) will look like on the front side.

Once finished with all of the strips, you can begin to measure and pin along the top hem of your curtain.



Fold your tabs in half over the top hem and pin in position. I placed my tabs slightly below the hem to minimize any extra space between the bar and the curtain. You might want to place your tabs higher. The placement is up to you! Just pin evenly along the top hem of the curtain and sew each tab with a straight stitch. For heavier fabric (mine is fairly light), you may want to use a double straight stitch for more strength.

And here's the finished product! Sorry for the blur...I had to zoom and it wasn't pretty. :)

As you can see, because of where we needed to place the furniture, the bed was not centered with the window. I could NOT live with this. Luckily, my avid HGTV watching gave me a trick!

Hanging the curtains centered with the bed, and not the window, evens the wall up perfectly!

And here's the finished product! I love how these light curtains bring the room together, keep the street lamp light out at night, and keep the warmth in.

Next project is the organizer, and that means...GIVEAWAY! Keep checking back in for ways to enter. What new projects are you working on?