Shower Curtain Question

I used 2 widths of 60" in my shower curtain - it goes down the long side of the bath, and one short end. It's reasonably generous... I'd go for a single felled seam, and have a generous curtain. That's what I did, and it works so well that when I get round to it, the new one will be made exactly the same way.

BTW, plastic grommets are a good idea for shower curtains - they don't rust! :)

And cut off the selvedges or the seams will pucker.

I did small loops at the top of the one I made. I have the S-hook type rings with flowers at the bottom to hold the liner and the pretty curtain (matched the sizes and the spacing so they'd hang as one). Then I took the excess fabric and trimmed the "company" towels to coordinate. I have a very small bathroom or that would never have worked.

-- Beth P (Currently in Las Vegas)

I made the bathroom accessories for a DD's bathroom in her new home some years ago. The material was 45inches wide. I took double the length needed, divided it, then cut one piece in half. After removing the selvedges from all sides, I made 2 seams with right sides together. I trimmed the seams to 1/2inch and used a decorative braid over them, therefore no bulky seam at all as this was a lacy eyelet. The braid was also used along the bottom & top of the curtain, the edges of the toilet seat & back cover, as well as a couple sets of towels. Her DH didn't believe her when he saw it and DD said, "Oh, BTW, Mom decorated our bathroom." Emily

I didn't have that problem. This was a polyester shower curtaining - no shrink or pucker problems.

Thanks for all the responses. I'm still confused about finishing the seam (the one joining the two pieces). What does "clean finish edges" mean? Should I pink the edges, use flat felled seams, zig-zag the edges? I don't want the seam to fray.

And I'm still confused about the panels. One in the middle with one panel on each side (making two seams) or two panels sewn together and cutting off the excess on each side to get the correct width (leaving only one seam in the shower curtain? What would you do?

This is > > Joanne wrote:

My wife will be doing this soon... What's a "selvedge"!?

The selvedges are the tightly woven edges of the fabric.

The woven edge of the fabric. It can shrink on some fabrics, but I've never had a problem with shower curtain fabric.

My vote is for the flat felled seam - it's almost indestructible. There are samples of the remains of Viking shirts dug out of Scandinavian bogs that still have viable felled seams!

Clean finishing is the proper term for a finished edge put on the cut edge of fabric. It's either sewn or bound. Pinking is not a good finish for anything that will be exposed to wear and tear.

The good news is it's your choice. You can go with one full width in the center and two halves on the sides to get your width if you want a pattern or panel to be uninterrupted (this is actually my favorite for all) or simply cut the selvages off (those are the woven ends running the length of the fabric on each side) the two widths and stitch together. You're going to have to decide how much fullness (the more fullness the less noticeble the seam will be) you want. You have to determine the width of your fabric, the width of your bath (or measure an existing curtain) and do the math as to how to cut. Just remember "measure twice, cut once" :0) I would suggest that you treat your fabric with a mildew resistant spray, if you don't have a well ventilated bathroom.

The finished edge of the fabric where the thread turns and goes back across. By extension, any lengthwise edge formed on the loom. (Anybody know what a "leno" selvage is? Is it that fringed selvage you get from looms that blow the thread across instead of using a shuttle?)

Some selvages pucker, some ruffle, some are usable as a finished edge -- fabric woven to be a bed sheet usually has an extra-wide selvage that doesn't shrink or ruffle, and is a bit stronger than the rest of the fabric to take wear in the washing machine. Good toweling also has a usable selvage.

"Tear off the selvage" is *usually* good advice, but not always. If you wash the fabric before using it, you'll know what sort of selvage you have. Sometimes the selvage lies flat, but stretches less than the body of the fabric when it's hung by one end -- hence the strength of the warnings to cut off selvages before making curtains.

Joy Beeson