Curtains: A Walk on the Home Decor Side of Sewing

Son #1 and his partner recently bought a co-op apartment.  (Co-op apartment owning was a new concept for me to get my head around.  You basically own a share of the entire building with the right to live in a particular apartment in the building.  It's sort of like a condo except that the residents own the building, not the condo corporation.) The building is from the 1920's with old, large windows making them difficult to dress.  They asked me to make them some curtains for the bedroom and a French door.  So, another learning adventure began for me and has just concluded with this result.  These pictures are taken on my window which is narrower than their windows by a few inches and has a much lighter rod than theirs.

Lessons learned from this adventure in sewing:

• Curtains always take more fabric than you expect.  I bought an extra yard because it was the end of the bolt and I knew I wouldn't be able to go back and buy more if needed.  In the end I had about 1/2 yard left over.
• I still don't like making curtains very much.
• Buckram is a stiff interfacing type material used in the header to provide body.  Prior to this I had never heard of the stuff.
• Grommets are actually pretty easy to install.  The hardest part is getting them evenly spaced.
• Cotton is so much easier to work with than synthetics.  It's predictable, it tolerates ironing well, resists stretching and stays where you put it...unlike the fabric used for the curtains.  But I have to admit that this fabric hangs nicely without a wrinkle in sight.
• Curtains always take longer to sew than you expect.
• I still don't really like making curtains, but I'm always glad to be a part of my children's lives in whatever way I can.

  Here's hoping that the curtains fit as expected and are liked!