Does Anyone Else Love After Holiday Sales as Much as I Do?

I have looked at these curtains that have been hanging on my windows since we moved here for a while now. I bought them a few years ago on clearance around the time we moved here. They are still perfectly nice curtains and all, but they are a bit short for the tall windows that we have and I have been debating what I could do to inexpensively update them. I didn't have the money to go to the fabric store and pick up a couple of yards of fabric to add the chocolate brown border onto the bottom and possibly the edges as I wished I could. I'd also like to add a little edge of color to the ties and panels if I think I can do it without making a complete mess out of it.

Then I stumbled upon these fabulous items at the 75% off after Christmas clearance sales with a recently received gift card in my pocket. Originally they had been $9 each, which is a fairly good price. I got them for $2.25 each. I snatched them up quickly as they each contained about 4 yards of fabric that I could use for various household projects. I actually got 3 of the brown table cloths, only one is being used for it's intended purpose.

This one is getting used to update my curtains. It's a good thing I have recently rediscovered my sewing supplies that were purchased in 2004 to help me make this job easier. Why in the world would a person get gifts and wait 6 years to use them? I'm going to blame the depression that I had been dealing with for who knows how long. I always wanted to make stuff, I just didn't have the energy or motivation to do it.

So, I got out the quilting mat and rotary cutter to easily make straight cuts in long pieces of fabric. Okay, maybe it's not so easy. I wonder how in the world you keep the fabric lined up on the edge, laying flat on the mat, AND cutting it all at the same time?

Once I cut three strips 6 inches wide, I verified that the length was more than double as long as needed. The tablecloth dimensions on the package stated that they were oblong 60 IN X 102 IN. Since each curtain panel is only 45 inches wide, that should be more than long enough. I cut the strips in half, one pair of extensions for each set of curtains to be updated.

I needed a total of 5 inches of length on each curtain to reach the ground. I must admit that I did cheat a little teeny bit by using the pre-hemmed edges of the table cloth as one of the sides. I lined that edge up with the 5 inch mark on my hem measurer and folded the excess fabric over the top and proceeded to pin it. My sewing machine made quick work of the rest. Once my extensions were hemmed and ironed, I added them onto my curtains.

I love the look of these curtains! I am now debating the possibility of making a brown stripe the width of one of the existing stripes on the curtains to add a little touch of color, but I'm afraid I'd be opening a whole can of worms then. I mean wouldn't I then also need to add the brown to the ties and the valance? How would I add it to the valance, just on the hem? Would just some embroidery look okay? What do you think?


Thank you for stopping by to chat with me. Please leave me a message, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Cindy