White-and-aqua striped curtains {DIY}

Hey all! Hope you're doing well! We finally dug ourselves out of the blizzard. Now we get to deal with slush. :)

Today I'm sharing a project that has been on my radar for a while, and took me a loooong time to finish. I think nearly every blog-reader out there has fallen in love with the Nester's striped curtains:

Source: thenester.com via Mindy on Pinterest

Gorgeous, am I right? I totally wanted striped curtains for my office. But try as I might, I couldn't find striped fabric like this. What's a blogger to do? DIY, of course!

There are a lot of tutorials out there for striped curtains using fabric or even paint. I read a bunch and used them all to tackle my own striped curtains. And I'm sharing how I did it with all of you so you can make your own too!

 
 
*Big, giant, gynormous disclaimer --  my sewing skills are very amateur. There will probably be lots in here that will make people with real sewing talent cringe. I'm hoping there are lots of beginners out there who will find this helpful, and for you pros -- humor me :)

Even though I'm not great at sewing, I decided to go the fabric route instead of paint because I wasn't sure how paint would look and how it would hold up. I also decided that the easiest thing for me would be to buy curtain panels and add fabric stripes.

I bought four of these Grayson white curtains from Target in the 95" length.

They have a grommet top that I didn't want to include in my measurements for the stripes, so I measured the length of the curtain from the bottom of the grommet section to the bottom of the curtain. There was a little variation in the length of the curtains, but they were about 90 inches.

Next, I had to figure out how many stripes I wanted and how big I wanted them to be. I needed to come up with something easily divisible, so all the stripes would be easy. Luckily, I was working with an easy number.

I sketched out a couple options....

Fifteen-inch-wide stripes only gave me three colored stripes, which didn't seem like enough. So I landed on 10" stripes, which gave me five colored stripes and four white stripes, for a total of nine. With four curtains, that was a total of 20 colored stripes. I allowed for an inch of hem for each stripe, so 11" of fabric for each stripe -- equaling 220 inches of fabric needed, or a little more than 6 yards.

Then I ventured off to Jo-Ann to find some fabric. I wanted something not too expensive, something in a material similar to the curtain material, and something a light-aqua color to coordinate with this lamp I have in the office:

I ended up with this Symphony Broadcloth. Luckily it was 45" wide, perfect for me 41"-wide curtains!

I started by measuring out my 10" stripes on my curtains and marking them with a light pencil mark on the back. Like I said earlier, the curtains weren't all exactly 90" long. I started my measuring from the top, so that if my bottom stripe ended up a little bigger than 10" it would be less noticeable.

Then, I measured my colored stripes. I measured 11" so I'd have plenty of room for error hemming.

Next, I got out my rotary cutter and my quilting grid and got to work cutting my stripes!



After they were cut, I measured the half-inch hems, pinned them and ironed them so they'd lay flat.

Then, I pinned the stripes to my curtains. This seriously took the longest amount of time. I had to make sure each stripe was straight, evenly spaced and smooth, and every little movement of the fabric meant things were shifting around. I used nearly every pin I had to keep these things together!

At this point, I seriously considered skipping the sewing and using iron-on adhesive to sew everything together. But I decided to whip out the sewing machine. Why? Well, I figured if I made a mistake sewing, I could rip out the stitches and try again. But if I messed up with adhesive, well, I'd be out of luck.

So, time to sew! Okay, maybe this part took the longest. I sewed about two-and-a-half curtains before I lost my momentum and took a break for a few weeks months.

At some point I got sick of my naked windows and the pile of fabric taking up space, I regained my momentum and finally finished sewing on the panels. I used white thread for a little contrast to give the curtains a casual look.

On the bottoms, I wrapped the aqua fabric around the hem of the curtain and folded the corners.

I did pull out the Heat & Bond to finish the edges of the stripes and keep them lying flat on the back of the curtains.

Finally, it was time to hang them -- on curtain rods that we hung high and (a little) wide.

Here's the finished product!

With the light behind them, you can see that my sewing isn't always straight -- but only if you look closely. It's definitely not bothering me, but if it starts to, I can always line them.

I love those code flag posters! They were the initial inspiration for our office redo. They're from etsy seller Empressionista.

My sewing isn't perfect, but I'm totally loving these curtains! They have the nautical look that I was going for and add some color to our gray walls.

There are lots of striped curtains out there, but I'm so happy I jumped on the bandwagon! Even Colby likes them.

What do you think -- are you nuts for striped curtains too? Have you made any? I'd love to see what you did!

Links to other great DIY striped curtains!

A Thoughtful Place
Teal & Lime
The Thrifty Abode
The Yellow Cape Cod
A Spotted Pony
Hodge Podge
A round-up by Apartment Therapy

Linking up!

 

Rope planter {DIY}

I've got a thing for rope lately. You might have guessed from my DIY rope knot bookend. I guess I'm just loving its texture and versatility.

You know how when you buy a plant at Home Depot and it comes in one of those little plastic pots, like this one?

Well, with just a little time and a lot of hot glue, I turned mine into this!

This is just some sisal rope I got at the hardware store, I think. There's really no tutorial needed here -- just wrap the rope around the pot and secure with hot glue until you get to the top. Then re-pot your plant. Easy peasy!

I thought this little ivy would add some color and texture to the office bookcase. I took these photos a couple weeks ago, but I can't show you what it looks like now, because I kind of forgot it was there and kind of forgot to water it. Keeping plants alive is not my forte, so at least the pot will be cute even if it's empty :)

Linking up!

Rope knot bookend {DIY}

Hey, all! Hope you had a good week. TGIF!

I recently crossed a DIY project off my list, something I'd been looking to tackle for a little while: making one of these decorative rope knots.

Ballard Designs, $45

C.S. Post & Co., $48

It's called a monkey fist knot. Ever since I decided last spring to redo the office, I got the idea of using some nautical elements, and I just loved these knots -- but not 48-dollars-love, if you know what I mean. Once the office bookshelf makeover was finally complete, I had a nice place to display one, so I decided to get to work on it.

It took me a while to get the hang of it, but once I did, I realized it's really not that hard. I have a tutorial for you so you can give it a try too!

First, you'll need to stop by your local hardware/home improvement store to pick up some rope. Both Home Depot and Lowe's sell it by the yard. I opted for some natural manila 5/8-inch rope from Lowe's. I got 15 yards to make sure I had enough -- you probably could get away with less, but I found it easier to make the knot loose, so I liked having all the extra. It cost 58 cents a yard.

You'll also need something to support the center. I used this foam ball. If you wanted to make a doorstop or paperweight, you could use a tennis ball that you cut and filled with rocks.

What follows is my tutorial in photos, but if you need more, I used this video to learn the steps (skip to 1:57 to see the tutorial portion -- I didn't even listen to the sound, just watched it). I hope you enjoy my awkward hand positions as I try to hold the rope while also taking pictures :)

Start by taking the rope in your hands, with your left hand about 6 or 7 inches from the end of the rope.

Coil the rope in your left hand until you have four loops.

Pull the rope straight down to the bottom of the loops...

...and wrap it around the bottom of the three loops.

Bring it up and wrap it around the top. Do this until you have three loops on the top.

You're almost there!

So, now you have two sets of loops. The end of the rope should now be hanging down to the floor. Take the end and stick it in the space between the two sets of loops, like so...

...and then pull it all the way through.

This is the trickiest part. You want to wrap the rope around the outside of the three loops on the side that's facing away from you, and then pull the rope through the hole on the bottom, shown with arrows here.

And then repeat, so you're making more loops over the top.

Do it until you have three loops in the front like this and the end of the rope is coming out the back.

Sooo close!

Now, it's time to insert your ball.

But it still looks kind of rough, doesn't it? Now comes the really fun part -- tightening the knot. Essentially, you just go around and around the knot, pulling each loop tight. You'll have to do this a few times to get it tight and symmetrical.

I made a little video so you can see how to tighten it. I apologize for how dark it is!

Once it was all tightened, I cut one of the rope ends really close to the knot...

...tucked the end just under one of the loops and hot-glued it in place.

I made a loop with the other end and also hot-glued that in place.

And it's done!

It's holding up some books on our office bookcase. I'm loving the texture it adds.

I can't believe those stores charge nearly $50 when all it took me was $9 and a little time! I'm totally addicted to them now...I want to make a zillion!

I found that this rope shed little pieces, so you'll probably need to vacuum and brush off your clothes after you're done. :)

If you give making this knot a try, I'd like to hear about it!

Linking up!