DIY Extra Wide Blackout Curtain Panels

Since I'm still waiting for my license... I've been daydreaming about all the things I can do to upgrade my current living situation... I mean.. I really have all the time in the world now that I'm officially (F)unemployed...yea.. sadly not (FUN)employed...yet..... aside from applying to jobs and just driving around town... I find myself sleeping in a little more than usual (no more 6am alarms!) My room faces East.. and the sun peaks through the blinds a little too much in the morning and bounces off the mirror closet doors... so it heats up the room fast!... I also wanted a bit more privacy at night (I don't like people seeing shadows) and to block out the sun.... I decided to go on a quest to find curtains... 2 weeks, 10 stores, 2 returns, and many hours aimlessly wandering the East Bay FOR CURTAINS later... I finally made a decision to make my own curtains...well this kept me busy for 2.5 days :)

I've posted on some of my sewing projects before on this site... if there's something that I enjoy doing, it's sewing (or any crafting I guess)... but I never had a machine in my apartment so I never got to sew much. I think I sewed every time I was at home for an extended time... apparently that was really rare in the last few years.. but I did manage to make a few things that I love. It's always a lot more special when you make something yourself... I fear what my house will look like in the future... but hey.. I'm starting small and hopefully when I have my own house I'll be an expert at home decor... yea... right...

I tried to keep the cost low fearing that this project would be a complete disaster (my mom kept reminding me that the sewing machine likes to do weird stitching every once in awhile and nearly dies on thick fabric) ... thankfully everything worked out.... I love these curtains..they're a bit too colorful.. but hey.. nothing wrong with having a colorful room... I'm sure it'll be different when I'm married though.. these colors may not work for most men I know :)

DIY Extra Wide Blackout Curtains 

Window size- Width- 64 inches
Curtain Rod size- 75 inches

Needs:
- at least 70 inches width PER PANEL
- True blackout (sun doesn't shine through) + bright + happy print
- Costs less than custom made drapes made by a professional ~ Cost seemed to be at least $110 for just labor for a smaller curtain, was too afraid to ask how much it'd be for my desired size

(Most curtain panels that I saw were around 42-50 inches wide, they suggested that I should buy around 3-4 panels to make it look nice... that was at least 100 dollars for the ones that I liked... after all the discounts.. 100 is not too bad for curtains that'll probably hang for many many years.. however.. having 3 panels for one window... just seems weird to me and 4 seems like overkill... )

( I bought the green curtains at JCP.com , although the fabric was nice and soft, the color was a bit too grey/ depressing for my room... they advertised this to be "blackout" drapes however, light was definitely shining through them..and there wasn't enough pleats after I closed them (I honestly don't mine that one but my mom insisted on wider curtains so they looked prettier closed)... these were around 40 bucks a panel.)

(I did the math for my curtains ahead of time... I knew they were going to be much shorter than the store bought ones that were 84 inches... but that was a compromise that I was OK with, adding length would have added around 12 dollars)

My curtains could have been longer... but it really doesn't bother me!

Problem:
Fabric is normally around 48-58 inches wide, I would need to attach extra fabric to the side to make it wider.. I didn't want to do that because I didn't want the seam to show...

Solution:
Buy fabric that amounts to measure to desired width (~ 2 times the width of the window)

My window 64 inches... I rounded up a bit... and came up with 150 inches.. so I bought 4 1/3rd yards of the coral fabric

Since I decided to cut the fabric into quarters for the green, I divided the 4 1/3rd yard in half... I honestly have no idea how to explain this well..

Inspiration: 
Sky bedding set I bought a few years ago at Bloomingdales (my fabric choice would be wonderful for a little girl's room... or baby's room... )

Much fuller look when opened... (and more importantly... closed!)

Stores/ Supplies Needed  
Joann's -
6 yards of blackout fabric - Roc-lon- Thermalsuede budget blackout in Ivory/White - this was 54 inches wide Reg 6.99 (Used 50% coupon) ~ $20
10 curtain clips/ bag X 2 bags ~ $6 (clearance from 11 bucks a bag!)
Matching thread (coral and green) + heavy duty 100/16 needles ~ $6 after coupons

Home Fabrics and Rugs in Concord 
4 1/3 yards coral/ cream pattern upholstery fabric at 5 dollars a yard (58 inches wide)
2 1/3 (should have been half of 4 1/3rd) of green at 4.50 a yard (54 inches wide)
~ $36
- I spent 2 hours rummaging through this store, specifically, the clearance section... some really great finds in there... SO much cheaper than Joann's even with their discounts.. good thing they're right across the street from each other!)

Total: ~ $68!

Thankfully my mom's sewing machine behaved during this project, I was ready to buy one for myself since that old trusty Singer has been acting up lately (I've been sewing on that machine since I was a child (I think I started sewing when I was 6 or 7?!))... I went around to find decent sewing machines but sadly all the budget priced ones remind me of cheap plastic toys... I'm not sure if those could handle sewing thick upholstery fabrics... I'm considering buying one when I move into my next place.. where ever that'll be.. but I'm sure I'll be needing curtains there too :)

As my sister stated... my room.. er.. well.. her old room that I just took over :).. has turned into a little girl's room... annnnndd I agree.. I'm trying to find ways to make it less feminine.. I don't know if that'll ever happen.... my dad also commented that there was too much color in the room and I should just go out and buy bright purple paint to paint the walls... haha.. yep.. truly not many people are fans of this room ... but I'm not finished yet! 

Does it block out the sun? Mostly, the sun does peak up over the curtains, but that's not a problem.. my goal wasn't to have a pitch black room, I just didn't want the sun to peak through the curtains. My room feels a lot cooler than the room next to it so I think it does keep the heat out a bit too! yay!

I just moved into this room so everything is a work in progress, I never had much time to decorate my space in SF, so now's one of my chances to do it since I haven't fully moved into the space yet. I wanted to paint the walls so they're not so off-white, make a large throw pillow for my Ikea Poang chair (I've thought about selling this chair on many occasions ... because it's just not my style... but it has survived my laziness of posting it on craigslist.. ) do a slipcover/ screw on new feet for my ottoman (makeup chair,) and paint the metal trim of the mirror closet doors to white ... since they're currently... brassy-gold ... eeek.

I also have to consider that fact that I'm looking at practices that are not in the area... so.. I shouldn't start a project I know I can't finish because I'll be moving pretty quickly... I'm just trying to keep myself occupied at home while my license is processing..... and I'd like to thank Pinterest right now for fueling my desires to decorate.... or well.. attempt to decorate

As for measurements... I kept it loose.. the only things I measured were the widths of the stripes as I was piecing them together so that both curtains would have the same size stripes... (also so they'd line up) ... the second panel took longer to make since there was a slight descripensy on the stripes resulting in the 2 panels not connecting well. I just laid the second panel on top of the finished first panel and pinned around so the size and stripes matched up... the final width of my panel was 72 inches.... I think the person who cut the fabric gave me a bit more because I did fold in the sides a lot just to have more bulk. Do you think all this work was worth the extra 22 inches? :) ... probably not... but if you have nothing else to do... definitely! 

Problems I ran into? 

- As the project got to the completion stage.. it started getting heavier and heavier... I sewed on the kitchen countertop... standing up... 

-I could only find around 10 pins...I'm still not used to the idea of pinning... but I think this would have definitely helped since the fabric was so thick at places and having straight curtains is pretty imporant

- sewing machine ran out of thread a few times... I was sewing nothing for awhile... I guess I should have checked but I couldn't see behind the machine and I had a huge curtain trailing on the ground to lift up

- I'm amazed (as was my mom) that for the most part I stayed right on track... but.... there were a few instances where I sewed pretty crooked... it was probably due to the weight of the fabric and trying to push it through the machine... later on, I had my mom help me on the other end of the machine... making sure the curtains didn't go to one side after sewing...it definitely helps having someone help you straighten out fabric 

My blueprint for the project... don't know if it'll make any sense to anyone but me.. but worth a share :)

I'm starting to think that this food blog isn't going to be much about food anymore... I just don't cook enough at home... can you believe I haven't baked in over 2 months?! .. I can't... what is going on?!