Let’s Find out Where It Goes

About two years ago we bought a sewing machine because I wanted to make a small curtain for Wicket’s bed area. She was used to sleeping in her cage at night, but I was tired of the bulky thing right by the bed. Our bedroom is very small. We have a queen bed and a side table, and that’s it. In fact, there wasn’t room for a dresser, so we had to stuff it in the closet. A large dog crate was just in the way. However, she seemed to enjoy the cubby feel of the crate, and I didn’t want to take that away from her. In the end, it didn’t work out. She wouldn’t lay behind the curtained area.

But! I found yet another hobby to fill up my ever-dwindling free time.

I’ve made quite a few little things, but the major project I’ve been working on is a rag curtain of sorts. If I were to describe the style of our home, I’d say it’s a blend of gypsy caravan and old Irish cottage. I didn’t do it on purpose. I don’t design or decorate. I love textures, patterns, and faded colors, so I buy things that have those qualities, and over time our house as taken on that vibe. I’ve always loved rag curtains, but they’re a little too rustic for our home. So I decided to go with tailored rag curtains. Each strip, instead of being torn and then knotted at the top, would be cut and sewn for a clean edge. I’m guessing you haven’t been perusing the rag curtain market recently, so I’ll just share with you that they are spendy.

I didn’t want to spend $140 for ripped thrift store fabric. I figured making them myself would be cheaper, and I could choose fabrics that would go with our bed. I also thought it would be a quick little project, and we’d have new curtains in a week.

Ha.

Ha.

First, the fabric alone was over $200. I don’t remember how much over. I’m not trying to be intentionally vague. I just can’t remember. So much for being cheaper! Second, the reason I can’t remember is because it’s taken me months to sew the panels, and we purchased more fabric about halfway through the project. The first fabric I stitched up was a crisp iron-able material that allowed me to turn the sides in, iron them flat, and turn them in again to stitch a tidy edge. After that the fabrics were difficult. I ended up stitching once to turn each side in and then stitching again to secure them with a neat edge. In short, I sewed each panel two times, except the iron-able fabrics, of which I believe there were two.

Now it’s completed except assembling the as yet uncounted number of panels into a grouping that looks unintentional, but not so unintentional that they’re not properly distributed, and then securing them with another tailored top panel. I’ve been putting it off because I don’t want to mess it up after putting approximately sixty hours of work into them. Sixty hours! If I charged only $8 per hour, including the cost of the fabric itself, these two curtain panels would cost nearly $700!

Next up is an apron (c), which hopefully comes in at a little less than the curtains, or I’ll never be able to wear it.

Title From:
No Hopers Jokers & Rogues
by Port Isaac’s Fisherman’s Friends