DIY: No Sew Curtains!

So, another earthquake last night.  Between the tremors and the tornados, hail and rain that won't let up this move to Arkansas might not have been the best idea. On top of that, apparently all these conspiracy theorists are saying that tomorrow is the end of the world (11/9/11) or some catastrophic event the gov't knows about is apparently happening tomorrow.  But you know what?  I'm still planning on taping off my walls in the entryway this afternoon to paint horizontal stripes, and I'm currently making a lunch date for Thursday because this house ain't going down without a fight.  Not when I'm in the middle of redecorating it!

So, I made a no sew valance for the window over my front door.  Wanna see?

There she blows.  I got the silk I used for a steal at Sew Chic in Rogers it's last day of business.  I think my total was $8 for 2 yards of the silk.  I'm using the rest to do a pillow for the bench I blogged about here.

So I went to Wal-Mart and got a spring loaded tension rod, as seen below:

I then measured the length and width of the window.  In this instance I wanted the valence to perfectly fit the width of the space so on the width of the fabric I overcut by 2 inches to allow for the hem.  The length of silk I cut was about 2.5 times the size of the window so that it would gather prettily. 

Then I got your new best friend.  Everyone, if you haven't had the honor, meet Stitch Witchery............

All you do is place this between 2 pieces of fabric, place a hot iron on it, and then Boom!  They are fused together. 

Make sure your iron is on the setting that corresponds to the fabric you are bonding.  My setting was for silk (a rather low temperature), so I flipped the fabric and held the iron to both sides to make sure it bonded completely.  Make sure you check the fabric every 20 seconds or so to make sure the fabric isn't burning. 

Just roll out the amount of stitch witchery you need, tear it, fold the fabric over it, and then iron.

After ironing, it should be fused together like this.  Very hard to pull apart.  If its not, just iron it a little bit longer. 

The great thing about using Stitch Witchery on silks is that the needle marks and thread won't show.  Silks are so delicate that the force of the needle often discolors that area.  "Stitch Witch" allows it to have a smooth finish. 

No stitch holes.  Beautiful!

I used the Stitch Witch on all sides of the fabric I cut.  Because a lot of sunlight will filter in through this window I also fused some cheap curtain backing to the piece as well.

I finished it up with taking 2 3 inch pieces of fabric and folding and fusing them as well, fused the ends together to make rings, and just slipped them over the rest of the material.  To get the fabric to gather, I folded the fabric like a fan from the bottom 1 inch at a time until about 2 inches from the top, then slipped the rings over it.   

Finished Product.  Just perfect for that space.   

Silks are such a great fabric for curtains because they are lightweight and hang so beautifully. But if silks aren't your cup of tea, you can use Stitch Witch with any fabrics - this is such a great solution if you don't have a sewing machine and don't want to spend the money on having your window treatments made. 

I'm working on some roman shades for the master bedroom with another silk I have - probably gonna go the stitch witch route with it too.  I'll keep you updated!