Lace Curtains

If you've been following along since early summer, you'll know we bought a small farm in Oregon.  We've been working mostly on outside projects - like a chicken coop/run, deer fencing for the garden and orchards, garden planting ...  The house is a beautiful modern Craftsman style and we've also been busy planning decorating it with a Craftsman/Mission style theme.  If you also have that style of decor, you know how hard it is to find reproductions of anything except furniture - lots of choices there!  Recently I found a company that has a Craftsman inspired lace valances that we decided were perfect for our entry way.  Cooper Lace is carried by Oak Park Home and Hardware - there are four different patterns available and they also have matching curtain panels.

You order the valances by the foot and they come with the rod pocket already sewn in, so all that's left to do is finish the edges.  Generally you want to order 2 to 2 1/2 times the width of the window, however we wanted a non-frilly, flat look so I used 1 1/2 times the window width.

I rolled a narrow hem along the edges of the rod pockets and sewed these in place by hand.

Then I made a narrow hem along each edge, using the sewing machine.  I also sewed in a ways along the rod pocket sewing lines to reinforce them.

And on a slightly foggy morning, this is how they look!

Happy Creating!  Deborah