Sunday, May 2, 2010

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!

The Girl Creative
Making

24 comments:

  1. i would have never thought about doing something like that. it turned out great! thanks for sharing.

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  2. Those turned out great. I am working on dressing up plain panels, too. Will post soon.

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  3. Michelle, it was worth all of the trouble. They turned out great! And what a deal on those drapes. laurie

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  4. Just the right amount of color splash with your blue touches in place. I gotta start hanging (get it it, hanging?) out at Big Lots more!
    Debbie

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  5. That does it....I'm going to Big Lots. Your panels look fantastic! LOVE!

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  6. Love the ribbon detail. Looks fabulous. Never heard of heat and bond. I have to remember that one. Thanks for sharing. Hugs, Marty

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  7. I love those panels...I'm totally planning a trip to Big Lots!

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  8. Your panels look fantastic with the ribbon! Good thinking about the heat and bond.

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  9. I love it! I'm copying you immediately!! I have some really pretty gauzy sheers that I got on clearance at Target that have been hanging in my windows Un-Adorned for a while now...the ribbon is JUST what they need! I swear by the iron on heat bond stuff too but I buy mine at Ikea in their fabric section...its like 40 cents for a long roll of it. Thanks for the great idea!!

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  10. Looks great and so glad you did the test run for us!! Great tutorial! That heat and bond....gotta love it! Your room is beautiful!
    Wendy

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  11. HI Michelle! Oh, I'm so glad there was a happy ending to your curtain story! Your drapes look so nice and custom! I'm kinda like you, I just go for things and they don't always turn out. But hey! Look at you - you fixed it and they lived happily ever after! :)
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia ;)

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  12. Hi, stopping in for the first time. I can definitely relate to a design snafu. I had one last week with a lamp project. All's well that ends well though. The pop of color really brightens up your panels.Only $7.00 too, well done!

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  13. That turned out beautiful!

    hem tape is my FAVORITE!! I made a no sew curtain with it. =D
    http://melaniescrafts.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-new-curtain.html

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  14. Thanks for weighing in on my curtain dilemma, Michelle :) Now I have an idea for what my drop cloth + ribbon panel will look like should I decide to go that route! Yours look great - I'll definitely remember the hem tape tip.

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  15. Thanks for visiting me and your sweet comments. Your new curtains are really cute! I also appreciate your lesson learned, thanks for passing it on! You did a fantastic fix, looks great!

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  16. Very pretty! Just a little punch of color makes all the difference. I really love the color too!

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  17. I love how the curtains turned out! Too cute! I love the color of the ribbon you used. I need new curtains. Did you find the curtains recently at Big Lots?

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  18. oh my gosh that is amazing stuff! I just loved what you did to the panels and I probably would go crazy doing pillows to match for the couch too!
    MAH---VA---LOUS job! LOL

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  19. Oh...all that time and ribbon, but I'm glad you made the mistake first so that you could teach all of us what not to do. Well, I'm not glad you made a mistake...well, you know!

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  20. I just did a no-sew post and included your great project. Thought you'd like to know.
    http://muralmaker1.blogspot.com/2010/06/no-sewlow-sew-projects.html

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  21. I love the panels! I have never thought about putting panels on my plain curtains. What's the iron for? I have some extra hand forged hooks in our basement that I'm planning to use for hanging curtains in our living room. Hmmm, so I think I'll experiment with the fabric and put panels.

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  22. Margery,
    The iron is for the heat and bond...the adhesive to bond the grosgrain ribbon to the curtain, it's heat activated which means no sew!

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Thank You for taking the time to comment! Because of the insane amount of spam comments, I had to stop anonymous comments-sorry for the inconvenience.
Michelle