Blackout Curtains

In the new house Savanah's room faces East.  What's the problem you ask?  When the sun rises or beats down on her room, she doesn't sleep.  So, child up early plus no nap means not a happy two year old.  Not long after we moved in I began searching for blackout curtains.  Cheyenne is not known for its shopping, so my options were very limited.  It seemed like every set of curtains came in dark brown, navy blue, burgundy, hunter green, or white.  Not really what I was going for.  I decided that I could make my own cuter version and for a lot less than what they were charging.  I found the blackout liner at Hobby Lobby.  It was already on sale for 30% off.  I bought two yards because I pulled a rookie move and forgot to measure the window before I left.  Two yards was more than plenty!  While scoping out the cute fabric I decided that I would keep the window panel solid, as to not clash with her bedding and the pillows I was making.  I also decided that purchasing a single flat sheet that matched her bedding would be the cheapest and easiest solution.

I began by actually measuring the window.  I figured that I wanted I little extra material on the side and bottom of the blackout lining.  I cut the lining about five inches shorter on the sides and bottom.  I made sure that the bottom of the curtain was the part of the sheet with the large hem; the part that goes toward your head when you make your bed.  This way I would not have to re-hem the bottom of the curtains.  Make sense?  During this process I realized that I am in definite need of a bigger cutting mat!  Once my material was cut, I lined up both pieces at what would be the top of the curtains.  I measured each side to make sure that they were even.

 I pinned my two pieces together and then sewed a simple straight stitch across the top so that they would stay together.

The next step was the hardest decision for me.  I knew that if I sewed the sides I would have an awkward looking seam that would not be close enough to the edge.  This wouldn't have been an issue, except I didn't have the exact color of thread.  My green thread is a little darker than the sheet.  I made the decision to use heat and bond instead.  I figured that the curtains wouldn't be washed and handled that often. 

 If you haven't used heat and bond, it is great.  It makes projects that would normally require sewing that much easier.  You simply lay the heat and bond where you want it, fold your material over, and iron. 

I did this to both sides on my curtains.  This way it hides the edges of the lining without sewing them. 

 The final step was to finish the top.  Since I had already sewed the two pieces together, I just folded the material over twice to hide the unfinished edges, pinned, and sewed a straight line across.  I am using curtain rings that have clips so I did not have to add a hole or loops for the rod to go through.  After clipping my strings, I ran a lint roller over the entire thing, and ironed it flat.  Enjoy!