Celebrate Color {Patchwork Curtains}

There's nothing like a deadline, is there?  Sometime last fall I bought 12 yards of chocolate brown linen.  Washed it, folded and put. it. away. True story!  Because who wants to deal with 12 yards of curtains?  The thing is our living room actually needs curtains.  In the winter we spend a bundle on propane for our fireplace, which is our main source of heat.  And opposite that fireplace?  Huuuuuuuuge picture windows = serious energy loss.

When I promised Brandon that I'd make those curtains this September, I explained that it would really happen if I made the project part of Celebrate Color.  So, it's really all thanks to you that our living room now has curtains.  And I LOVE them.  So, Thanks!

Is it any surprise that the project began with more fabric?  12 yards of chocolate brown linen may be enough for the functional curtains that actually close, but I would reward myself for finishing that boring project with some decorative patchwork panels to frame each side.  I pulled from these three Kona bundles:  Hot Spice, Grounded and Candy Corn (available here and here).

Our living room colors are brown, black, red, plum and yellow.  For the patchwork panels, I'm leaving out the red.  Since the curtains frame our red sofa, it works out perfectly!  I pulled all shades of brown, yellow, gold, cream and raisin from the bundles.  Then, I added in Kona berry and a nice shade of unknown plum I've had stashed for quite awhile.

Oooh, those colors make me giddy!  Such a scrumptious array of tones and definitely feels like "fall" to me! 

But hold your horses, I had to make those boring chocolate curtains first.  You know, I was pretty intimidated last fall by that heavy stack of linen.  Maybe it's all the quilt backs I've wrangled since then or maybe I was just intoxicated by the color-fun to come, but I cut into that linen without looking back.

And, really, it's not such a hard project.  I just had to cut and piece each curtain to a gargantuan size and then hem each side.  Lots of time spent with one of my favorite tools - the hem guide.  (bless you, Deborah!)

I'm using an Ikea rod system called Kvartal.  It has 3 tracks, so you can have 3 layers of curtains.  In this case I'm just using 2 tracks - one for the chocolate curtains and one for the decorative panels.  Shown here is the tape (on left) that you sew onto the back of the curtains, in which you insert hooks for hanging.  The hardware set (on right) actually allows for three different options for hanging curtains in this track system.  I went with the large, metal hooks which are invisible from the front.

After hemming, it's as simple as sewing on the tape.  Done.  I HEART Ikea!

Time for fun! Here's my patchwork mock-up to serve as an anchor for improv piecing.  I kind of wanted to make sure Brandon knew what he was getting into.  I think he thought this looked pretty cool, but it's hard to tell.  Anyways, it passed.  This color scheme without any prints and in such a random layout seems to fit the more modern aesthetic he always likes.  And the plum and yellows make it "ME"!

Improv piecing is something I can literally do all day.  It just doesn't feel like work, when every step is an artistic judgment call.  So engaging!  It's exciting to see the product come together and no two are ever the same.  So, yes, I like one panel better than the other, but I'm not naming names!

I know these pictures aren't the best, but in our house, catching curtains in natural lighting is really so difficult! Everything else in the room is mostly well lit though. Even while I was making them, I wasn't sure that curtains would make such a difference to the room, but now that they're hung... 

Well, I can't imagine the room without them! In real life, the plum, golds and yellows add so much to our ho-hum mocha walls and chocolate curtains.

Here's the only shot with fair lighting, albeit a rather odd shot. I think that blank wall should read "Insert Quilt Here". Right?  Maybe someday, y'all. These curtain panels are yet more evidence that I'm wearing. him. down.

Now if I could, I'd enter these curtains into the Fabric {Home Decor} category of our Celebrate Color event.  But as it is, I'll just present them to you, along with my sincere thanks for giving me good reason to tackle this project and explore the possibilities with some of my favorite fall colors.

Happy sewing!