A Lesson Learned

Have you ever spent time doing something the "fast and easy" way, only to find out you wasted your time?! For my dining room I was so excited that I found a fabric that I loved that I quickly sewed a pocket at the top, did a shoty job at measuring, and slapped those things up on the window. Problem was, I didn't line them...they puddled at the bottom {in a bad way}, and the pocket at the top was coming loose because my sewing machine was jumping. Here is the before. {I'm embarrassed that I'm even showing these}...

 {raw edge with no lining}

 Pocket coming unsewn...what you can't see is the safety pin holding it together.

 I decided enough was enough. I took them down and decided to do them the right way. Little did I know the nightmare that I was going to encounter.

I looked to Isabella & Max Rooms blog for help. She does great step-by-step instructions on DIY projects. One of the best DIY posts teaches you how to make your own drapery panels {the RIGHT way}.  Check out her posts here.   And although Janell makes this project appear effortless, I do not recommend this for anyone unless you have a clue of what you are doing. I may have a few gray hairs now. Below is the mess...

 

Look who I found under the bed...

 After my grandma passed, I was given her sewing kit. This was the first time I was able to pull it out and really take a good look at the amazing things she had. There were spools and spools of beautiful threads from years ago.

 

And after 3 nights of pure stress and a sobbing phone call to my mom for help, WE finished them! This was before they were steamed...but notice they hit the floor at the perfect length, they are lined, and we added rings at the top to slide easier on the rod. Had I done the right the FIRST time, I would not have experienced hours of stress and tears from this difficult project.

A lesson learned.

{Isn't this one that my mom taught me a long time ago?}

 Now if I could only decide what shade of gold I should paint the walls....