Quilts and draperies question

So you don't waste any fabric: make them as you state and if they don't work send them to me.

Could you bear to have strips Leslie, instead of squares? That way the seams would be disguised as folds. I mean 6" strips. Were you planning to use Kona black that you already have? If not, perhaps thermal curtain lining would be opaque enough? . In message , Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. writes

Beautiful! My colours too! Over here we get thermal curtain liner which is very dense. I dont think any seams would show through and it comes in a cream colour too! hth

The thermal liner was an idea I thought of, too, but if I ordered it and then it didn't work out it would be a terrible waste of money. I have TONS of black Kona- and the window faces my backyard with the neighbors garage side yard facing my backyard, so the outside appearance isn't really a issue. I just worry the black would show thru and look worse than the seams!

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in MO.

I thought of strips and that would work- but how would it look with the quilt with the squares marching across it? That's why I thought of the 6 in. squares. The strips may well have to be the solution. No one will see it but me. I have the store-bought comforter and draperies that will be in the room for when the house is for sale- a non-sexist rather modern looking mess in blue and brown and bronze and cream. But for ME, in the meanwhile, I want girly purple-y pansies all the way!

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in MO.

No idea what would work best, but if you piece the quilt top first and hold it up over a layer of black, you should be able to tell. Roberta in D

"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net...

But if I piece the top, then the draperies might not work out. If I need to use the strips idea for the draperies, then I have to cut them on the lengthwise grain before I cut and piece the top! I'm in a round-robin pickle here! LOL

Help! Has anybody actually done this before???

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in MO.

Will you be able to see the front and the back at the same time? If not, I don't see that it matters? When I said 6" strips, I assumed you had the 6" squares as a definite measurement? If the width of the strips was the same as a group of squares - however many, there would be no problem at all - as I see it (but I am to home decorating as your neighbourhood painter and decorator is to the Sistine Chapel >gI thought of strips and that would work- but how would it look with the

Could you do a form of bargello design for the curtains? That way it wouldn't really matter what length and width the strips were

- it would all be your own design anyway, and you can cut, re-cut and join, just as the availability of the fabric dictates. It would also look good with Irish Chain pattern which also 'moves' across the width of the piece.

A friend of mine pieced two curtains, but she didn't have to make them look good with anything, and she lined them with thermal lining, so not quite the same. But, they looked lovely. . In message , Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. writes

Go dark. Make it any way YOU want. BEFORE you line it. Hang the drape up with the lining PINNED to it. What do you see? seams? No seams? If seams, then line it dark and hand ANOTHER lining separately behind it thus blocking any light coming thru at all. Another thing you might consider---using Warm Window fabric for your lining. That's what I'm doing for my Butterfly Attic Window one for our MBedroom. never had a problem of seams showing thru. You'll get the benefit of keeping the cold out in the winter and heat in the summer BUT you so NOT have to put the magnets in (if you decide later you can always staple them to the outside facing the window (noone sees them there anyway) and it seals better than having the magnets inside with a layer of fabric over them.

keep us posted.

Butterfly (what ever happened to the Jungle Room you were going to do..just curious)

Wow! I LOVE that fabric... an Irish Chain, I would never have thought of it with such a pretty floral, but it sounds so luscious. Please post a pic or two when you are done, I'm sure it will be even better 'for real' than I can imagine.

As for the drapes, well - I am a bit lazy, so what if you just trimmed the seams a bit and made them part of the design element? Just piece in 'strips' instead of rows, and press each seam in the strip in the same direction. Maybe grab some green thread and use a machine stitch embellishment, like a nice serpentine stitch to resemble climbing vines? If the seams are trimmed, a 1/4 inch wide decorative stitch would 'straddle' the piecing line and the pressed seam. Or, you could have a narrow 'sash' of the darker prints in-between the pieced strips and press toward the sashing, again using a decorative stitch up the length of the sash. When the light shines through, it should add a nice solid outline to the decoration.

The Jungle Room was going to be the garage converted into a sewing room. When we ran into bad problems with the sloped floor (garages need that for water run-off) and trying to get heat and a/c out there I gave up (too expensive!) and moved to a small spare bedroom. The other spare bedroom has my computer desk and a canopy day bed. That room is very, very slowly becoming the Jungle Room. Don't know how it will look when the house is for sale!

I guess I'll have to make the draperies and then play it by ear- scary!

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in MO.

I *could* make a bargello, but The Work! I'm a bit too lazy for that! VBG

I think I'll prolly go with the vertical strips- after all, only I will see them and I can live with strips. *Then* I'll figger out what to do about the lining. Butterfly gave me an idea, tho. I just bought another bolt of Warm & White. I could have QUILTS on the drapery rod!!! But then I'd have to quilt the draperies and they might get a bit 'stiff' if I over quilted..... oh heck! I don't know WHAT I'll do..... I'll finish cleaning the house and maybe I'll get an inspiration when I'm NOT thinking about it! ;-)

Leslie, Missy & The Furbabies in MO.

You've got the whole of the time it takes you to make the bed quilt! Just keep thinking during that ... ... And I didn't really mean a Marge Edie kind of bargello - just a simple one! But, I take your point, they are fiddly.

You wouldn't need to quilt the quilts on a curtain rod really - as you wouldn't need batting. Just quilt enough to attach the top to the lining - a patchwork coverlet (hanging) rather than a quilt? . In message , Leslie & The Furbabies in MO. writes

You plan to sell this place and move to somewhere with different windows, right? Why not make a quilted valance thingy over solid curtains? Must be a way to do that and have it be adaptable to a different window. Roberta in D

"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net...

You can do a 'quilt as you go' ......do a long strip, put right sides together, sew the strips thru batting and backing , open it up and sew the next strip. That should hold it.

HTH Butterfly (Gonna start quilting right after lunch)

I used to make custom draperies in my former life. South facing windows are harsh on fabric. Buy proper drapery lining - UV protecting, and it comes in various light block weights, right down to black-out lining. It is still white or off-white in colour and won't change the drapery colour at all. I made a pieced roman shade for my sunny bedroom window with blackout lining, and it has stood the test of time. Sounds like a great plan.

Sun shining on the black could make things get hotter rather than cooler. I would go for a pale lining for the curtains and/or a roman blind if you need to cut out more light.