Nice and Easy Window (Mis)Treatment Tutorial

Adam’s been saying, “Nice and eeeaaasy, Mom” a lot for the past couple of weeks.  I think he learned it at daycare.  It cracks me up.  It is kind of a warning whenever one of us needs to be careful doing something.  I’ve decided it’s a great motto.  So here is my “Nice and Easy Window (Mis)Treatment Tutorial” for a balloon shade or valance.

In the “nice and easy” spirit, these are just general guidelines.  This project does NOT have to be perfect.  If you are like me, you will need to remind yourself of this several times throughout the project.

Materials:
measuring tape
fabric
sewing machine/thread or stitch witchery
needle and thread

Directions Guidelines
Measure the width of your window.  Add a few inches for fun.  Mine aren’t quite 1.5x the width of my windows. 
Decide roughly how long you want the valance/shade to be, and once again, add more (at least a foot).  I made mine plenty long to begin with because I wasn’t sure how much gathering I was going to do or how long I wanted them to be in the end.
Cut your fabric.  I used this full size bedspread that I bought at Walmart about 4 years ago for $11.  The trim was already there, which contributed to the “nice and easy”ness.



IF I were going to line my curtains, I’d do it now.  But that would have complicated the project, so I skipped it.
Sew a finished edge on each side.  Just fold the fabric over towards the back and run in through your machine.  You could probably use hem tape (stitch witchery) too, but I’m not sure how that would affect your “gathering” later on.

Start your gathering at each edge.  Thread your needle, and use it to make a long running stitch along the edge of your curtain. 


When you pull it tight, it should gather.
  
Keep going, until you have a few inches gathered (or whatever looks good to you. 

Go back down through the parts you gathered, and tie it off at the bottom.

Repeat on the other side, and as many times throughout the middle as you want.  This is a VERY forgiving project.  If you find you gathered too much, just snip your thread and start over.  If you gathered too little, do the same thing.

Finally, I just draped it over the rod and “floofed” it until it looked good.  You could sew a rod pocket, if you’re an over achiever.  But I’m not.  

Metamorphosis Monday