I didn't want my little dollhouse family having to run around naked in front of open windows. Please ignore the fact there are no doors to any of the rooms. The family are very comfortable naked around each other. Sorry, I'm tired and my attempts at humor aren't great.
There are soooo many tutorials and products out there for drapes. The only one that inspired me to not want to forget curtains and make a roman shade was Studio E and Elizabeth's Bed Curtains Tutorial. I liked the natural sway of the curtains she made.
The Inspiration
- Studio E and their tutorial
- The need to provide cover for the dollhouse family
- I like drapes
Supplies
- A light weight cotton fabric
- Aleene's Tacky Glue
- A bowl (to soak curtains)
- 10-12 small art paint brushes (narrow but long, of various thickness)
- A ruler
- A picture mock up of your window
Picasa refuses to not rotate this picture against my wishes. So its crooked. Sorry!
I made a real to scale drawing of the window and wall so i could use it to ensure my drape was always in the correct position as I worked the fabric.
I cut the drape allowing for a 1.5-2 inch hem on the bottom. I wanted to give myself room to play with it.
I used about a 1/2 cup of water and a 1/4 cup of Tacky Glue dissolved in the water. I them submerged the fabric and ensured it was gluey wet but not riddled with glue globs. Wring it out with your hands.
My paintbrushes are just secured at random with green painters tape. Any tape works. The brushes are of various thicknesses for a natural drape.
There it is, a thing of glory, the fabric on the brushes. I used my ruler to push it between the brushes.
The visible left edge of my drape has the fabric rolled around the brush to hide the raw
I turned the bottom hem under. It sort of flows. Not stiff, just like the rest of the fabric.
The drapes dry firm, but are still really workable. That's why I didn't try to make the side sweep of the drape until its fully dry.
First I glued the un-swept drapes to the valance box (not on the wall yet). This gave me something to hold the drapes with.
I gave the drapes a little bit of a brush with water the next day along the middle so I could loosen the fabric and make the side sweep. I did a bit of hem tucking and used the white glue to secure it.
The valence box is straight forward. Very simple. Made with 1/16th craft wood and covered with the drape fabric. It hides the raw top edge of the drape.
The pull back tie is the same drape fabric and I glued it to the wall. Then I painted a wood bead gold and glued it on.
Over the tub I made a simple fabric blind. It doesn't move. Just a piece of fabric that I used iron-on hemming to hem the edges with. Made the same valance box to cover it too.
I edged the drape with a gold paint pen to give it a little something extra.
