Monday, November 06, 2017

Another Dishtowel Curtain...


A couple of days ago I posted about a dishtowel curtain I made for our kitchen windows. I decided to make another set of dishtowel curtains for our nook area -- our informal dining area just off the kitchen. A little background info...

I've had a collection of blue and white plates for years. My parents started my collection with plates from Williamsburg and various places in Europe. Each time they would visit a spot they would bring me home a blue and white plate. After awhile other family and friends continued the tradition and soon I had enough blue and white plates to cover the soffit around my kitchen. Here's what it looked like...


I liked it for a long time, but for the last several years I was definitely in the mood for a change. Ergo, the kitchen renovation and the removal of the plates. The plates, however, have a sentimental place in my heart, so I wanted to find a way to use some. I ended up moving some of them to a wall in our informal dining area off the kitchen, but that created another problem. What to do with little window to the left of the plates and the other identical window on the other side of a sliding glass door in the same room.


I knew I wanted to play off the blue and white plates, and I had just bought the dishtowels for the curtains in the kitchen, so I decided to look for another dishtowel that might work. I found another dishtowel at Cost Plus World Market that I loved...


I bought a tension rod from Amazon and made a simple gathered curtain.  These windows are narrow -- only about 17" in width. I used two towels per window. 

Here are some very simple instructions for how to make these curtains. All you'll need is:

a tension rod
double fold bias tape
 & dish towels 
That's it!

I picked up some double fold quilt binding bias tape at Hobby Lobby and cut a length the width of the towel + 1".

Unfold the bias tape and iron the middle fold flat. {See above right.}


On the wrong side of the towel, pin the bias tape 1 1/4" from the top of the towel to make a casing for the tension rod. When you get to the edge of the towel, turn under the ends of the bias tape about 1/2" on each side. Then stitch the bias tape to the towel close to the top and bottom edge, leaving the ends open.


Insert the tension rod through the casing you've made and you're done. It's the easiest curtain I've ever made. 


These curtains literally take minutes to make. Like... five minutes -- maybe six if you're feeling a bit sluggish that day.


I was kind of limited by colors, but here are other samples of cute dish towels at World Market that could be transformed into curtains...


Love those pom-poms. Anyway, one last look at the dishtowels turned curtains I made. Love these simple and easy-to-make curtains...