In October, I moved into a new house. The house faces east, so the morning sun coming through the windows (or cracks in the blinds) was blinding. Especially the windows over and along the front door let in a lot of light, I couldn’t look east or watch TV without dashing sun rays. In the bedrooms, I wanted drapes for the added privacy. I have a sewing machine and I can almost sew a straight line, so making them myself was an option.

The problem, working with material exceeding 80 inches long and almost as wide is difficult. I visited Joann’s Fabric Store and Hobby Lobby, but none of their fabric said, “buy me.” None of the drapes at stores like Bed, Bath and Beyond, J.C. Penney’s, Kohls… fit my windows. Remember the front door, to cover those windows I would have to make them.

After weeks and weeks of internet searching and looking at fabric, I found a solution. It was https://bestfabricstore.com/. They sold a wide variety of fabric, and they would also make the drapes out of the fabric I select. This would be perfect if the drapes were well made.

First, I order about 15 fabric samples from Best Fabric Store out of Winfield, Al. The samples arrived in a timely manner and looking them over, I had a good picture of the color, design, weight and quality of the fabric.

Now for the test: I order one set (two panels) for the “weight room” window. They said it would take about three weeks, and the drapes arrived before their estimate. Below is the first drapery I ordered from Best Fabric Store. Yes, I did want a rod pocket drape.

The drapery looked good, it was package well, nicely folded, and the blackout material was of high quality and did its job.

Next, I ordered drapes for the Master Bedroom, Breakfast Nook, and the other bedroom. The house has windows in most of the doors and because it is an “open concept house”, the living room, breakfast nook, and entry are not separated by walls. Getting all the drapes to match in this area was important to me. Along with ordering the drapes, I ordered about 15 yards of fabric to make the drapes for the five doors that had windows. The blackout material I picked up at JoAnn’s and the white fabric came from Hobby Lobby.

The Closet:

It is freezing cold in the closet. I haven’t figured out why. The temperature in the closet is about 10 degrees colder than the other rooms in the house. It also has 3 small windows in the closet. Maybe adding some shades, would help stabilize the temperature. While I was waiting for the drapes and fabric to come in, I made some shades. Plus, I needed to practice sewing.

The Other Bedroom

Drapes Made by Best Fabric: The window is the tallest in the house.

Master Bedroom:

Drapes by Best Fabric:

Door Window Cover by Sarahcath: Note – the matching material. I considered making the curtain straight, but I decided instead to use the entire fabric width.

Breakfast Nook:

Drapes by Best Fabric:

Front Door:

Window Covering by Sarahcath: The fabric matches the Breakfast Nook, since they are on the same wall.

I wanted the hourglass shape to the drapes on the side windows. So I made a straight panel to cover the window with blackout, then I sewed the curtains to the panel. The drapes are twice as wide and the panel.

For the upper window, also known as an eyebrow window (it is not a half oval window), I attached wire clips around the window approximately 6 to 8 inches apart. I purchased a rubber coated galvanized wire to hang the drapes on. I did not believe a plastic tubing will hold the weight. I sewed Roman Shade Tape to back, both top and bottom, of the window treatment. I feed the wire through the hops on the top and snap it into the wire clips. I feed a cord through the hops on the bottom of the window treatment to gather the fabric in the center.

Family Room:

Window Covering by Sarahcath: The fabric matches the Breakfast Nook, since they are on the same wall. Note that fabric matches the front door.

Kitchen Door:

Window Covering by Sarahcath: Same design as the other doors.

Office:

Window Covering by Sarahcath: I wanted them flat. I did not want them touching the wires under the desk.

Now on to my next project.