Pictures by Meredith Mascola (c)2011.
As I have eluded to many times in the past, I got married this past May. It was a magical DIY-filled day months in the making and I was maniacal about documenting every silly little project to someday share with you, the people of the internet. Well, it seems that day is today...
Welcome to my first ever Wedding Wednesday Tutorial!
My plan is to feature a wedding themed project and tutorial from my very own wedding every Wednesday until I either, A) run out of projects or B) just kinda forget. The first project I'm going to feature is a ruffle curtain made from recycled (aka old) sheets, curtains, tablecloths and pillowcases that hung behind CakeTown (above) during my reception. I got so many compliments on it I thought I'd tell you all how I made it.
Below (left) is the inspiration for this ruffle curtain- an adorable shower curtain from, where else, Anthroplogie. It was so so cute and so so expensive but mostly, it was so so pink. The picture on the Right is what I made instead. The entire cost of this project was about $20. The total cost for the Anthropologie curtain was $250. I think I've made my case.
Below (left) is the inspiration for this ruffle curtain- an adorable shower curtain from, where else, Anthroplogie. It was so so cute and so so expensive but mostly, it was so so pink. The picture on the Right is what I made instead. The entire cost of this project was about $20. The total cost for the Anthropologie curtain was $250. I think I've made my case.
"How-to" after the jump...
For this project you'll need the following supplies:
-Different colors, prints, patterns and textures of similar colored fabric
-A base piece of fabric (I used an old curtain)
-a few different trims- fringe, dingle balls, etc.
-sewing machine
-thread
-scissors
-hot glue (I put this on every list whether you need it or not)
-measuring tape
This is the fabric I'm using below. I, well, Liz and I, went to a couple Goodwills to find the perfect mix of beiges, whites, textured materials and dingle balls! The ruffles should coordinate and be cohesive but not match. Matching is boring. All together, this fabric cost me about $12.
I also found this 42"x84" vintage (read: old) curtain that I'll use as my base to add my ruffles to. It was $3.99 from the textile bin at the Goodwill in Davis Square.
Next, I made a mark on the fabric at the height I felt each ruffle should be. That height happened to be exactly 11". So, I measured and cut/ripped 11" strips of fabric from each of my sheets.
After I had all of my strips cut, I laid them out on top of the base and experimented with a couple different layouts. The most important part of the curtain was going to be right at eye level since that is what would show up in pictures of the cake cutting so I made sure to add extra details in that area. I used a beautiful old lace tablecloth ($2.99) right at the 5' mark and put one of my rows of dingle balls right underneath that.
When I was satisfied with the layout, I sewed each layer on to the base layer using my sewing machine. The great thing about this project is that nothing needs to be, or should be for that matter, perfect. That helped make the sewing part a lot easier.
At the end I attached some thick twine with my hot glue gun to both of the top corners for the curtain to hang from and Viola! It's done! Here it is below being modeled by my front stoop.
And below, in action at the wedding. Let me know if you're going to attempt this project or if you've made one of your own like it. I'd love to see it.