Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Curtains for the Bedroom

Okay, all you fabric arts specialists. This one's for you. At a miniature show last summer, I picked up a D'Anne Ruff Miniatures swag and tails kit. I met D'Anne at the Minneapolis NAME convention many years ago, and took her curtain-making class. She's just a really nice person and very talented with fabrics.

I did not purchase enough of the fabric to do both the bed and the curtains, and as a result, I had to find a different fabric for my curtains. I selected a beige, cotton cloth with a very tiny, subtle print to it. So, I'm happy with the fabric. Made up into a swag, I think it looks pretty nice. 

I also found some bridal lace that made a good, lacy under curtain. After I pleated the lace, I glued white netting to the back of it using Weldbond glue. This will help stabilize the pleats, and keeps the lace portion self-contained, which then allowed me to glue that into the cornice of these curtains.

On my first attempt at the cornice, I misunderstood d'Anne's instructions and made four cuts that I now regret. You can see how the curtain on the left (below) is slightly different at the top from the curtain on the right. (There's an extra angle in the pleats at the top.)




Here's my quandary. It takes me the better part of a day to make just one set of these curtains. If I glue the improperly cut curtain into the window that faces outward, unless someone takes a hand mirror and holds it in the room to check to see how the drapes fit, they'll never see this flaw. I'm already facing a serious challenge with making the cornice for the center window. It will have to be narrower than the other two on the sides and it will have additional angles in the top so that the sides can touch the other two sets of curtains. I plan to glue all three together and then glue them all into the window. 

So... knowing what I've now told you about the flaw and the work ahead... would you use the first set of curtains as I'm showing them here and not worry about it, or would you go back and redo that first cornice so the top is the same as the one on the right?

Here's how the bedroom looks with the curtains and bed. I think it's beginning to look like a very feminine little room. Once we begin to add the extra little touches, it should really begin to look quite homey.




So... what's your take? Redo or live with what I have? The front of the dollhouse is glassed in; so no one can stick their head in to peek at that curtain....

9 comments:

Karin Corbin said...

If the fact that it is not perfect is going to bug you every time you look at the dollhouse you have only one solution that will make you happy.

dalesdreams said...

Hmmmm... I'm a little confused, but that could be a normal state. ;)

The curtain on the left of the room seems to be shorter in length than the one on the right and the valance appears to be pleated on the left, but not on the right.

I might be a pita, but, I would have them all be the same.

But, that's just me, people fudge all of the time, you have to decide what you can live with, personally.

Beautiful fabric choices and you did a really nice job with the pleating. :)
dale

Tabitha Corsica said...

Geo..I am going to assume that the curtains with the "extra angle" are the wrong ones, yes? I'd probably do them over because each time I looked at the room, I'd see the error or the difference and it would make me bonkers...even if no one else could see it. You could make the center curtains and then see how you feel about it but because they are so light, there is no way to conceal the mistake. (Dark fabric might not show as much)

Good luck. The room looks beautiful!

Tabitha

Ana Anselmo said...

Can I say something about your curtains? They are perfectly but I really don´t like them for the bedroom. I would try something different, may be in another colour, mainly inthe colours of the paper wall.

Sans! said...

In real life, I have never tailor made my curtains. Often, I play with whatever fabric I own and hang them over the rails for curtains and although they look great ( I dare say :)), they are almost always never symmetrical or perfectly in place. So I say, don't change it. Real life is hardly ever in perfect symmetry.

Texas Belle said...

First of all, you've done very beautiful work here. I love the fabric you've used (I have the same print in my stash and enjoyed seeing how you've used it). I would not have noticed the difference in the curtains if you had not pointed it out, and even then, I had to enlarge your pictures to see it.

I think you should base whether you redo the curtain that's a bit off on your personality. Imperfections really only bother me in my own work; I tend to fixate on them and then see only them. So if you're compulsive like me, lol, you should redo it. If you can live without it bothering you too much, though, you should let it be, because it's unlikely anyone else will ever notice it.

George the Miniguy said...

Thanks for the props and your thoughtful input, everyone! I think that since the front of the "bad" curtain will be invisible to the dollhouse viewer, then I'll just live with it. It's probably like wearing a sock with a hole in the toe. As long as I never take my shoe off, nobody will ever know except me. I'm very aware of it right now, while I'm thinking about it. Down the road I hope it will be just one of those little details that I can chuckle about as our little secret.

Debora said...

I can see your dilemma, but since I am a bit late ánd as you've made your decision, I will hold back my thoughts on it.

One thing though (refering to your sock story); I don't know about you, but there are almost always one or two hick-ups when one of my miniatures are finished. Hick-ups during the making of, that result in tiny tiny flaws. I can be very picky but know what and where they are. Other people say they never picked it up when I point them out. Who's perfect anyway!?

The rule I try to follow is to do better the next time as it can be só time-consuming to redo the mistakes... And if you fail to point out the mistakes (i.e. leave your shoes on) who's to know!?

Good luck with them and whatever you do; I hope you will be pleased with them in the end :-)

The Dangerous Mezzo said...

I'd leave it, too, George -- it's not the kind of thing that would bother me :)

As others have said, it's totally dependent on personality, though, isn't it?

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