Back Tab Curtains

 

Pattern matching

 

     A client brought me six drapery panels that she had bought.  Originally they were pinch pleat panels.  She removed the stitching and had them cleaned.  She wanted a heavier panel to replace the back tab panels that she currently had hanging.

Tab tucked under heading

     These panels were heavy!!  The fabric is a heavy brocade.  She wanted three panels total, two with the panels sewn together and 88" long and one a single panel at 50"long.  

Tab turned under on top of heading

     To find a good pattern match I had to take apart all six panels to find the best edges to match.  The heavy weight fabric made it more difficult to get a precise match but from a viewing distance it looks good.  Then I had to hem them, do the side hems and add the lining back in.  Basically I had to start from the beginning but with the added steps of undoing everything first.

     I followed the sizing of the tabs as on the old panel that she currently was using.  When I tried to tuck the tab under the heading piece it didn't look clean so instead I just turned under the bottom of the tab and sewed it on top of the heading piece.  

Stitching at the top to hold tabs and heading in place

     The only problem with back tab panels is that you have stitching showing on the outside of the panel.  However if you use matching thread it can blend in and not be very noticeable.  

Pastel Patty Cake Quilt

 

Finished quilt

     While on vacation in Virginia in July 2018 ago we stopped at a quilt shop.  I bought a couple of 'Layer Cakes', 42 10 inch squares.  I also bought  pattern at the same time.  In October of that year I bought more 10 inch squares at Millhouse Quilts and the background and border fabrics at Patched Works.

Pattern

      I cut it all at home and at retreat in October 2019 I started piecing it.  When retreat time came around in March of 2020, all was shut down so I did a 'virtual' retreat at home and finished the quilt top.  

Block detail

Border with flange

     It took a bit for me to get the backing and then my quilter had some surgery and couldn't quilt it right away.  I wanted to have the center and borders quilted separately so that the flange between did not get quilted down.

Quilting detail

     I finally got it quilted in August of 2022.  Then it took some time for me to get the labels made as I was busy using the embroidery machine to make presents.  In March 2023 I stitched out the labels and then did the binding while watching television or driving to visit our son and his family in Iowa.

Label 1

Label 2

     I used a quilt label design that I bought from Embroidery Library.  I did make a mistake by stitching out the wrong label on the fabric I had reserved for my labels.  I had a few different labels on a floppy and I thought it was the one I had designed for this quilt.  It turns out it was for a different quilt and now I had to scramble to find a piece large enough for the label.  It was too small to hoop so I had to use sticky paper.  Then I had to find some scraps of the border fabric to make the label big enough to sew onto the quilt back.  

    This quilt was fun but you really need to pay attention to fabric placement.  

Why Should You Learn to Sew?

 

     I have been sewing for over 50 years, I learned as a young girl from my grandmother.  I have found sewing to not only be useful but it also keeps my mind working.  I took a sewing class at a summer park district program, I took a year in high school and have been taking classes all over ever since.  

     I have done needlepoint, counted cross stitch, knitting and crocheting.  My latest passion is machine embroidery and quilts.  Growing up I didn't know you could make a living doing sewing.  I went to school for nursing and did that for 25 years.  Soon after that I started working in sewing stores and got into teaching sewing.  I now teach and sew for others.  I have learned how to sew home decor items at CHF Academy and continue my learning at Workroom Tech and CWC.  

     I have found that I detest doing alterations but love sewing clothing from the very beginning.  I can't draft a pattern but I can do modifications to a pattern to adjust the fit or style.  I have done couture sewing but much prefer simpler items.  

     I have found that I can simplify sewing to be able to teach others how to sew.  I am happiest when a student finishes something and they look at it with a 'Wow I did this!' look.  Even if my students never go on to sew a lot, I feel good when I know they can operate a sewing machine and hem their pants or fix a torn seam.  

     I think knowing the basics of sewing is as essential as knowing how to cook and balance a checkbook.  Let me teach you the love of sewing, or at least the basics.

Pleated Pink Pillow

Completed pleated pillow

          In a webinar I listened to we were challenged to do Pick a Project 2023.  I chose to make a pillow using a pleating technique that I had seen in a Sew News Magazine years ago.  I decided to do a large pillow to really show off the pleating.

Sew News Dec 2014/Jan 2015 issue

     I then needed to find fabric for this.  My thought was that most home dec fabrics would be a bit too thick for this technique so I looked in my stash for a more clothing type fabric.  

Hot pink linen

     I found a hot pink linen that I had bought many years ago in a kit to make a top for myself.  Never got it made and I no longer liked the pattern and the color was too bright for my coloring anyway.  So this $70 fabric/kit was now going to become a pillow.

Triangle for drawing lines

Drawing the lines for the pleats

     I cut my center panel the width of the fabric, 60", by the width I figured out in my calculations following the article instructions.  I determined the center panel dimensions by dividing the whole front into fifths equalling about 5 inches.  The center was about 3/5 of the front.  I then followed the instructions to make my triangle and start drawing lines on the fabric.  Some of the instructions made no sense to me so I wound up improvising.

     I pressed the fabric on each line, one at a time, and then stitched 1/2" away from the fold.  I pressed that pleat down and then pressed in for the next pleat.  Quite time consuming to say the least. 

Completed pleated center panel

Fusible knit backing

Adding the lining

     

     Because the fabric was so lightweight, I added fusible knit backing to the backs of all the pieces.  I fused the interfacing to the back of the pleated panel after doing the pleating.  I added a covered cord between the center and side pieces of the pillow front.  This helped set off the pleating.  I also top-stitched the seam allowances towards the side pieces to keep things flatter.  I then serged napped sateen lining to the backs of the pillow front and back panels.  I used my pillow template with the tapered corners to cut the lining pieces.

Detail of front panel

     I used the same covered cord around the outside of the pillow and placed a zipper in the back panel.  Sewed it all together and pressed and turned and stuffed in the pillow form.

Pillow back

Covered cord detail

     Several things I learned while making this pillow.  Linen is not really suitable for pillows, too flimsy in my opinion, at least for this piece of linen.  I had a hard time getting the folds pressed out of the fabric.  I tried steam and Best Press.  I left marks on the fabric.  I used a yellow Chac-o-liner on the pink, it did not come out :-(  This process is probably too labor intensive to make a pillow to sell.  A more substantial outer trim would have looked better on this size of pillow.