Ribbon Detail On Plain Jane Curtain Panels

Thank you for commenting on my living room this weekend. You make blogging so much fun! Wanna see what kind of trouble we can get into now?

Adding ribbon detail to store bought panels

Seems simple enough...or so I thought...

You can add some detail and personality to plain store bought curtains in very little time and little money...music to your ears right?
I found some great linen-like 96'' panels at Big Lots for 7.oo, holy moly cheap! Gauzy like fabric, lending a easy breezy feel to the living room, but I wanted to add some detail.
Ribbon seemed like the perfect method of jazzing up some plain Jane curtains. I whipped out my fabric glue, cut the ribbon to size, glued that ribbon down...and this is what I got:
Bad, bad, before: That's not wet...it's dry...overnight even...like overnight was going to help, I kept thinking that my faux pas would "clear up" magically during the night...nope it didn't...
Learn from my mistake; test the glue first!!!
If you are wondering if I did the entire 96'' panel, on both sides, yes. yes, I did. geez.
I was so happy too, shuffling off to bed, glancing back at the panel, already hanging proudly on it's rod... it said it would dry clear....I couldn't wait to see it the next morning...lesson learned. This lesson is right up there with learning to prime metal first. Just do it! Just test it!

After kicking myself for not doing the test spot first, I resorted to using another method of adhesion, Heat n bond. It became clear, and very quickly so, this was going to be my new best friend. Heat n Bond, meet Krylon Spray Paint, we are all going to be BFF's!
It was so easy to use! I barely followed the directions and it still worked!!!

I used the 3/4'' hem variety, and I was ironing merrily along...worked like a dream! Now only if it would salvage the awful mess I made with the fabric glue...I thought that I would just go over the top of the stained ribbon, but after pulling on it enough, discovered that it would rip right off, I was left with a messy glue trail, but it worked!

The Heat n Bond cover my I-didn't-do-the-test-spot-first sin!
So there you have it, I didn't ruin a curtain panel, learned of the magic of Heat n bond, and added a lot of zip to an otherwise plain curtain...

They turned out great! It's a subtle detail, but I really love it! It also got me to do the dreaded ironing of the panels too...



No measuring, I just eye-balled it...

Added a strip across the bottom too, I'm telling you, that heat n bond stuff is great!

It's so hard to photograph sunny windows!
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you're going to do a test spot inspired!
Later this week, I'm going to show you the beauty of spray painting your stuff! Nobody told me spray painting was additive!