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| "I'm Mad" At least they gave fair warning... |
One from the UFO Pile
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
A few summers ago, my daughter saw a pack of charm squares she really liked at JoAnn. She said she was interested in learning to sew. The fabric was on clearance, so I said we could get it and make a doll quilt.
What I thought would be an easy project turned into a struggle. The only thing she did besides choosing the fabric is push down the foot pedal on the sewing machine for a few of the seams. I finished the top, folded it up with the backing she'd chosen, and put it in a box.
In my ongoing effort to finish partially done projects, I pulled this out and quilted it with a simple grid while dinner cooked last night. I finished it this morning with cheater binding--you know, fold the back onto the front and make a faux binding. My daughter has no recollection of this project even though it's only been two years. Oh well. It's done and out of my UFO pile.
What I thought would be an easy project turned into a struggle. The only thing she did besides choosing the fabric is push down the foot pedal on the sewing machine for a few of the seams. I finished the top, folded it up with the backing she'd chosen, and put it in a box.
In my ongoing effort to finish partially done projects, I pulled this out and quilted it with a simple grid while dinner cooked last night. I finished it this morning with cheater binding--you know, fold the back onto the front and make a faux binding. My daughter has no recollection of this project even though it's only been two years. Oh well. It's done and out of my UFO pile.
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| Front |
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| Back |
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| Detail, with better coloring |
Faux Roman Shades from Mini Blinds, Part 3
Friday, August 1, 2014
I finally have both shades finished and hung. Are they perfect? No way. They look okay--definitely better than the temporary paper shades that we had before. Even though I lined them, you can still see the mini blind slats through them, which isn't ideal.
Would I recommend this project? Maybe.
It can be done. It is not easy. It is not quick. It is not inexpensive. Time will tell on how well they hold up.
I think it would be easier if you have separate windows instead of a very large set of windows side by side like I have. It was really difficult to get the blinds to line up and hang somewhat similarly. You will notice in that I still have more adjusting to do in the photo above.
Tip: cut out the panels at the same time so that they are exactly the same. Seriously, like put one on top of the other and cut to make sure they are exact. Repeat with the lining if you are using it.
I really don't think the shades would hold up well if you were raising and lowering them on a daily basis. They feel really fragile right now and they are new. I'm also not wild about the strings from the blinds hanging down. It just doesn't look that nice having them there.
The cost was fairly high--I spent almost $100 between the fabrics, blinds, and notions. I had to buy custom blinds to start with because of my window size, but everything else was bought at a 40% discount and it was still expensive. However, If I had made full-blown Roman shades, it probably would have cost more and taken even more time.
Bottom line--it is doable, but is it durable? Time will tell.
Update 1/1/2015: After three months, one of the slats on one of the blinds had glue failure. After five months of very light use, the blinds feel very fragile. It is very difficult to pull them up evenly. It feels like they are going to break every time we move them up and down.
Would I recommend this project? Maybe.
It can be done. It is not easy. It is not quick. It is not inexpensive. Time will tell on how well they hold up.
I think it would be easier if you have separate windows instead of a very large set of windows side by side like I have. It was really difficult to get the blinds to line up and hang somewhat similarly. You will notice in that I still have more adjusting to do in the photo above.
Tip: cut out the panels at the same time so that they are exactly the same. Seriously, like put one on top of the other and cut to make sure they are exact. Repeat with the lining if you are using it.
 |
| How did this happen?!?!?! |
The cost was fairly high--I spent almost $100 between the fabrics, blinds, and notions. I had to buy custom blinds to start with because of my window size, but everything else was bought at a 40% discount and it was still expensive. However, If I had made full-blown Roman shades, it probably would have cost more and taken even more time.
Bottom line--it is doable, but is it durable? Time will tell.
Update 1/1/2015: After three months, one of the slats on one of the blinds had glue failure. After five months of very light use, the blinds feel very fragile. It is very difficult to pull them up evenly. It feels like they are going to break every time we move them up and down.
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