Chevron curtains with a POP

Pssst. Wanna know a secret?

I hate to sew.

I'll sand, strip, or paint all day long, but please don't ask me to sew. I hate measuring, pinning, dealing with crawly fabric, sewing machine tension, and don't EVEN get me started on the bobbin.

But you know what I hate more than sewing?

Spending money on expensive curtains.

Seriously. Curtains can be expensive, and it's so hard to find ones that I love that are reasonably priced.

So when I started thinking about curtains for the playroom, I sucked it up and decided to sew.

I have this little trick that I do when I want cheap curtains. I go to Ross and check out the bed sheets. They almost always have patterned sheets, usually under $20, and a queen size is just the right width for two panels. For the playroom I need four panels though, which means I needed two sets. And for those of you know anything about Ross, you know they never seem to have two of anything. So I totally lucked out when I found two sets of microfiber gray chevron sheets. One was a full size, which means a difference of about six inches, but that's okay! The sets were $11.99 and $14.99, so with tax I was at $29. So far that's $7.25 a panel. That's pretty stinkin' awesome.

I love sewing so much that I didn't even take pictures of the process, but there are only a few painstakingly frustrating simple steps.

1. Fold the sheet in half vertically.
2. Cut the sheet in half
3. Measure the length you want the curtains to be and cut, making sure you allow for a rod pocket, if you're going that route.
4. Fold your seams and iron them flat so that it is easy for you to hem, and then pin them to secure while you are sewing. Hem the panels.

I kinda wanted a pop of color, so I went shopping and found this awesome pink upholstery cording for $12 for 10 yards at Hobby Lobby, and with a 40% off coupon I got it for a little over $7.

That brings the total to $36, or $9 a panel. Aww-yeah.

I decided to sew the cord on with a zig zag stitch instead of heat and bond tape, just because I wanted to prolong the madness wanted them to hold up well. And because I had already sewn the rod pocket, I had to stop the sewing machine at the beginning of the rod pocket and hand stitch the cording the rest of the way around.

I like the sheerness of the panels because I wanted to keep the room bright, and the light chevron and pink edging gives it just amount of color and pattern.

These curtains are far from perfect, but they look pretty from a far, and it's what I first envisioned in the space when I started on the playroom. So when you come to visit, just do me a favor and don't inspect them, mmm-kay?