October Sewing Project - Curtains

We have been using a sheet in our eating area to block the sun in the evening.  There are already curtains in that window, but the sun likes to shine in the top window when we are trying to eat supper and makes it hard for whoever is facing the window to keep their eyes open.

We've talked about getting a shade of some kind to put there, but so far we haven't decided exactly what we want.  I decided to take the queen size sheet and make curtains that can go behind the ones that are already there and can be easily opened in the morning and shut when we need to block the sun.

The sheet we have been using tore a couple of months ago, so first I mended the tear and then I mended a couple small holes that had come from something else.  Next I laid the sheet out on the floor and carefully lined the long edges up.  Then I cut up the fold in the middle of the sheet.  I finished and hemmed the cut edges.

Then I purchased an expandable shower curtain rod and made large pockets in the top of the new curtains to slide them onto the rod.   These curtains actually touch the floor, so I am trying to decide how to shorten them without cutting them, as they could actually make fairly decent drapes at another window.  I was thinking maybe I could do something with velcro.  If you have any ideas feel free to share them with us.

This project didn't take very long and having a day to designate working on it made all the difference in the world.  I could have easily finished it in part of one day, but wanted to get the curtain rod first to make sure I made the pockets big enough to be able to slide back and forth easily on the rod.


Our kitchen area looks much nicer now, rather than just having the sheet thrown over the top curtain rod and curtains for a sloppy half-hearted attempt to block out the sun.