a little elegance with burlap?

Burlap isn't just used for shipping coffee beans. This lovely material is being used in pillows, curtains and decor. Look at Pottery barn and Ballard Designs and you will see burlap curtain panels ranging from $50.00 to $100.00 for, are you ready?? ONE panel, of course. I love burlap. It's a cheap material and it has some vintage appeal to it. I decided to make two panels and a roman shade (ish) curtain for my kitchen. I purchased 5 yards of burlap and 5 yards of a thin cream fabric (for the lining). Also, I decided to do a gold trim on these with a silk fabric I found on clearance for $7.00 a yard. Total cost for this project: $35.00, for are you ready??? All three curtains, because I'm cool like that! And here is how I made them:



I took two yards of the burlap and two yards of the cream lining and layered them like so:

I then folded over about four inches and put fabric pins in to secure it ( this will be the top where you hang from curtain rod). I used a straight stitch to make the pocket.

 I then took the lining, folded it over (at the bottom) and ironed it. I also did a straight stitch on this:

I then cut out 12 inches by 52 inches of the gold silk fabric. I folded in the frayed edges and did a blind hem on the bottom and a decorative stitch on the top portion:

I then aligned the trim with the burlap portion of the panel (I didn't attach to the lining, I wanted that to be loose from the burlap at the bottom so it wouldn't pucker). I used pins to secure in place and did a blind hem stitch to attach.

 

I then folded the edges of the silk trim over and did a blind hem stitch. The result:

Notice my new paint color? I think it looks fabulous with my new curtains. I wasn't sure about this color when we first did it, but with my new decorations I think it is looking pretty good. Like the vintage coffee sign? check that out here.

 O.K. now on to the third window treatment. I took the last yard of the burlap and cream lining. I cut out the width I needed for the small window in my kitchen. I hemmed the sides of the burlap and then made a pocket at the top just like I did with the panels. Then, I folded the burlap and lining together in four rows:

 I then sewed both sides of the (soon to be) curtain. Make sure you stop the stitch before you reach the top pocket. Otherwise there will be no place to put the curtain rod in. Then you would just have a piece of fabric all sewed together and no way to hang it. That wouldn't be good!! When both sides are secured, I took 10 inches of the silk fabric and made another trim just like I made for the panels. I then sewed it to the piece of burlap hanging down on the bottom. Then, once again, folded over and sewed the sides of the trim. The end result:

Love it! Going to make some decorative plates to hang above each curtain that I just made. Tutorial on that to come! By the way, I didn't forget about the cushion for my bench! Just bought another zipper. Hopefully it won't be hidden again by this cute little guy:

Happy sewing!

 Michelle