NewVintageLady

When Joanns has a sale, you buy 24 yards of grey cotton flannel.

Yeah, that happened.

Hello lovely people.

Virginia says hi.

You know when you are sitting at your computer at 2 in the morning and you go on a site that you really don't need to buy anything, and they just happen to have a super good sale going on, so you look across your office and see that, "Gee, I could make new curtains for my pony wall."

Yes, I have a My Little Pony wall.

So... you buy $70 worth of cotton flannel and spend a day and a half making those curtains?

You too?

Ha!

My brain has sort of shut off for the last half of the year. Doing anything complicated with sewing, while I work full time at my normal job has been so much. But I love sewing, so straight lines are about all I can handle right now (I know). I get to zone out and just concentrate on a crisp seam. That's all I can do right now in my life and I feel at peace with that :) I will get up the gumption to get into more complicated stuff, rest assured.

When I moved into my new place in January (home tour coming up I swear), I DIYed this pony wall for my collection. I love it, and I hung my white curtains from my old place because there really was no need for me to take the time and spend the money to make any new ones.

That is until a sewing site had a stupid good sale.

I should also say all the curtains in my place I made, and for some reason I used cotton flannel. So why not continue that theme?

The width of the fabric was 44". I remeasured the length of the panels that I'd need for the pony wall and decided to brave it and have them kiss the carpet. It was 94" exactly, so I shaved an inch off that length because we all know that exactness in sewing can create a terrible mistake. I cut a total of 6 panels with two sets sewn together.

I technically needed about 18 yards of fabric for this project. Not 24, but they would only sell in bolts after a certain amount, so instead of the 20 that I planned, I had to get 24. Three bolts. Three bolts of 100% cotton flannel for $72. I am VERY okay with that!

This was mostly a cut and overlock type of project and did most of it while I watched the remake of Candyman for the first time. I LOVE horror movies, and I can talk about my thoughts on it if you you want :)

The curtain rod system that hangs from the ceiling is just hooks on a rail, but I have to create something for the hooks to rest in that will also have the panels keep their shame. I did a reinforced strip of the same flannel and just left a gap 7" apart. Worked great.

I will say, I didn't oversew as much as I normally do, that is, until it got to the pleated top that I decided to do at the last minute. I nearly got out my ruffler, but I didn't want a seam, so I tacked each pleat down to the cotton tape and now they look like unironed box pleats. I put loops at about 7" apart then simply thumb tacked the pleated panel into the ceiling. Didn't think the tacks would work, but it came out perfect.

As many of you all know, I can be lazy when it comes to ironing curtains, and as with these, I didn't iron anything except the center seams on two double width panels. Wrinkles galore. Ironing panels this large is a pain, and I would use my steamer, but I don't feel like removing all my ponies just in case. Instead I took some liquid fabric softener I never use (I'm a white vinegar household) and water and made a fabric releaser. I'm sure over the next week or so more wrinkles will soften more and the drape will look fine.

Below you can see the forward panel is after the fabric releaser.

As I was finishing everything up, I decided to remove the two smaller panels and just stick with the 4 panels sewn at the center seam. It's not as full, but with the ruffle at the top, it works.