new curtains x 2

I've had it in my mind that I wanted to make curtains for the kids rooms, especially since I received a sewing machine for Christmas. To buy them at the store or even online is ridiculously expensive and the selection is very poor. I could find absolutely nothing to match the orange in Noah and Samuel's new room and Evie was stuck with some old brown ones from the Gburg parsonage (but at least they did the trick). So my mom and I went shopping at Fabric City a few weeks ago and found some really cute fabric...for $12 a yard! That was not happening. I found some other cute patterns and blackout fabric at Hobby Lobby for 30% and 40% off. 

Let me just say this. I could never ever have done this by myself. My mom is the master sewing, even making my sister and I clothes when we were little, not to mention complicated curtains for their house, etc. So here she is helping me measure out Noah's curtains. Lizards. Boy fabric is SO difficult to find (still wish I could have gotten that glow in the dark Star Wars fabric I had found)!

Here's the boy's room before. These curtains were more like room darkening and we like as dark of a room as possible for naps. Plus, it wasn't so pretty and too long.

And here was my first shot at the lizard curtains. They turned out too short even though the measurements were accurate. I think it was because the top scrunched together, thus bringing up the bottom of the curtain and letting all that beautiful sunlight in and defeating the entire purpose!

Luckily we had a four inch hem folded over twice so once I took it out and measured again, I found the perfect length. 

Noah likes them. They work wonderful for keeping out the sun and I'm sure they'll help with the winter chill. Notice how they exactly match his quilt?! I'll also point out all of his colored pictures of General Grievous... He's a fan.

Now all I need is some curtains pull backs to hold them open. They're stiff! I have some $5 ones from a garage sale that we just have to find the time to install. 

The following week mom came over again to help me with Evie's curtains. I understood a lot better what we were doing the second time around. Here are those brown curtains in Evie's room. Since the house has dark brown trim, it was just too much brown. And it's not like they accented the green well at all.

So once again my first attempt turned out too short even though we left more fabric! I had to do the same thing as before...

Except I needed even more fabric than I had. Once I took out the hem I added in four inches of blackout fabric that I had wish we had never cut off in the first place! So I sewed that in and made a smaller hem folded over just once instead of twice like I was supposed it. But it works.

It stays wonderfully dark in there and looks great with the green. I really like these.