A new year's recipe...



Total time: three days                                           
Prep time:  10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes (x 8)

Ingredients (makes two curtains):                                                      
150 x 25 cm fabric
150 cm silk cord
coordinating sewing thread
sewing needle
2 small flower decorations
thick card stock
FrayStay
fabric glue
Pretty Pleater

Directions:
Cut four pieces of fabric according to the swag and drop pattern.  Pull out threads to create fringed edges.  Secure fringes with FrayStay.  Glue silk cord along fringed edge. 
Cut four pieces of fabric floor to ceiling length, the width of the window.  Put FrayStay on all cut edges.  Dry.

Pre-heat oven to a low heat.  Soak one fabric panel in water, dab off excess and arrange fabric in Pretty Pleater.  Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until dry.  Repeat with all fabric panels.

Cut two pieces of card stock the width of window x 3 cm.  Cut four pieces of card stock 1 x 3 cm.  Glue into two U-shapes and cover with fabric.  Arrange and glue two pleated fabric panels on inside of U-shape.  Repeat for other U-shape. Arrange and glue two fringed and pleated fabric pieces on outside of U-shape.  Use needle and thread to pull up fabric in corners to create  a swag and waterfall drop.

Cut two strips of fabric 1 x 10 cm.  Pull out threads to create a fringe.  Secure fringes with FrayStay.  Use needle and thread to gather fabric and create a rosette.  Glue flower decoration on rosette and glue this on the top centre of curtains.

Cut four 1,5 cm strips of fabric on the bias, fold long edges to the inside, iron and glue.  Arrange as curtain tie-backs.  Hang and arrange curtains in front of windows.  Enjoy. 







Well OK,  this is not a real recipe, but it is what I have been doing the last few days.  And I did put the fabric in the oven to dry it.  So a recipe of sorts. 

When I was going through my stash of fabrics a few days ago I found a piece of fabric which had the perfect colour for the Dining Room of my new Canal House.  Although not silk as I had intended, the cotton looked so good with the wallpaper I will use in this room (see my blog post from July), I decided to go ahead and use it anyway.

I used the curtains in the background of this painting as inspiration.  Of course I did not have a pattern to work from, so I just kind of made it up as I went along.  They turned out quite well. 

I still have to adjust some of the draping but I will do that when I install the curtains permanently once the room is finished.  The other items in the room are just there for a bit of set dressing, they won't be in there when the room is finished.

Comments

  1. Oh Josje, they are beautiful, well done. I love the color and the way they hang, greeatinspiration for my windows!
    Keep up the great work
    x

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  2. Stunning thanks for sharing the "recipe"

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  3. This is certainly the sort of things I would like to cook- up....they look great!!!

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  4. Outstanding work! Mini curtain's are one of the hardest things to get right and make them hang like real life one's and these do!! :o))

    Michelle :o)))

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  5. ooooooo fabulous recipe!! thank you :D Linda xxx

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  6. Great recipe, great result :) I especially like the decoration detail using the button, a good idea. And the fringing looks great. I think it's very funny that you put the curtains into the oven to dry, I'd never thought of that altho sometimes I blast fabric and paper with the hairdryer but sometimes the 'wind' makes it take off - I'll have to consider your oven idea next time.

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  7. Ooooh they are lovely! The color is beautiful and the way they drape is so natural!!!

    I am afraid if I tried that, it would be a recipe for disaster! LOL

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  8. My favorite kind of recipe, the curtains looks great Josje!!!!

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  9. una buenisima receta y el resultado magnifico ¡¡ me encantan esas cortinas ¡¡
    besos Elena

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  10. Wonderful result, well done!! Looks outstanding as everything you make! :) Happy this year! :)

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  11. Met stof werken vind ik 't einde. Maar zulke mooie gordijnen maken lijkt me erg lastig. Erg mooi Josje.
    Bedankt voor het 'recept'.

    groet Heleni

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  12. Gracias por compartirlo, me encanta

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  13. Thank you all.

    Simon, yes I think this style would look good in your room as well. The painting I took my inspiration from is of a real (and still existing) interior in 1794, so that is within the Georgian era ;)

    Norma, I have a large AGA cooker in my kitchen and as the ovens are always warm, it seems a waste to use them for cooking food only. It was perfect for drying the curtain panels.

    Heleni, het is net als met alles eigenlijk, je moet het gewoon doen. Makkelijk was het niet en er is nog ruimte voor verbetering maar het is toch een mooi resultaat!

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  14. Perfect soft furnishing !
    I love it.
    (by the way, I used to be one of your followers and, I don't know why, I vanished in the cyberspace !!! I had to sign once again)

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  15. Best recipe read in a loooong time. The colour is so nice, I love it. Thank you for sharing, Rosanna

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  16. Hi Josje,

    The curtains look wonderfull.
    Also that fireplace looks interesting allready...is it based on the one from Willet Holthuysen?

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  17. They look gorgeous, Josje! Happy New Year to you and your family!

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  18. What a clever way to relate this little tutorial! The curtains are very impressive and you're so lucky to have a grand height to display them. It gives them more "oomph"!

    I use the tops of radiators to dry my curtains. I haven't got the patience to wait otherwise.

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  19. Unas cortinas preciosas y unos techos asombrosamente altos!! Enhorabuena!!

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  20. Een fractie van een seconde dacht ik dat het een foto van gordijnen uit een museum waren! Zo onvoorstelbaar mooi! Groetjes Smoek

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  21. Son una majestuosidad. Perfectas.
    Besujis!!!

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  22. Beautiful! thanks for sharing. ;D
    Hugs

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  23. Josje, Love the height of the windows. I did not know one should "bake" the curtains..... to set the pleats, I presume?

    Re the broken porcelain bowl. I had it made especially and only told my sons - now 30 & 33 how upset I was when they broke it. They were horribly shocked that I simply said nothing and didn't know I went into the bathroom and wept. Of course the broken bowl was mearely a symptom of frustration with the non-stop craziness of three wild boys in the house and a husband who was out of the country more than home.... but that is long ago!
    All the best.
    Janine
    minworks.blogspot.com

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  24. Marie-Laure, welcome back ;-) I'm very glad to be following your blog, as I think you are one of the most talented miniaturists in blog-land.

    Jeffry, no not Willet-Holthuysen, as I don't have photos of those ;-)
    Just kidding, but I used photos from internet to get a general feel for the fireplaces of the era. I want to cast a few of them. Annette and I did do a few test which did go quite well, but we would like to use a different moulding material.

    Irene, I am building this dolls house with much higher ceilings than my first house. This room is 32,5 cm high, so about 3,90 meters in real life, which is about right for rooms in those buildings.
    Yes, radiators, hair dryers, ovens...as long as they dry...But I have my ovens avaiable all the time so I used those.

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  25. Janine, you don't really have to bake the curtains, just drying them is enough. But using my oven (which is always warm anyway) speeds things up a bit, or a lot actually.

    How good that you have kept the bowl and the broken pieces all these years! I suppose when children are in the house these things will happen. And I must admit I have broken quite a few miniatures myself. Not by throwing a ball but just clumsiness.

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  26. Wat mooi, ik ben weg van de kleur.
    Mooi dat de kleine ornamentjes, ook terug komen in de schouw.

    Groet, Alexandra

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  27. The draperies are really beautiful, I especially like
    the rosettes with the fringe detail. The texture of the fabric adds a lot to overall presentation.
    Bravo!

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  28. Josje, de gordijnen mag je trots op zijn. Ze zijn perfect, mooie kleur en het licht komt er subtiel doorheen.
    Zijn ze voor het nieuwe huis wat je aan het bouwen bent?

    Groetjes, Roelie

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  29. Thank you for the Tutorial, Josje! I meant to comment sooner...
    These curtains are Fantastic! The Color is Beautiful! the Style is so Elegant! I am going to Finally try to make some curtains for one of my houses.... I want to use a brocade... but it is so thick... I am not sure I can make it drape at all!!! I do not have a "pleater" and I am not sure what water will do with the fabric... but I at least can TRY to follow your suggestions!
    I Love the elegance that you have achieved!

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  30. I don't enjoy cooking but this is one recipe I certainly will follow! Thanks you very much for sharing.
    Hugs
    Sandie

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  31. Dear Josje,

    I will be storing this recipe away for the time I embark on my curtains. They really do look beautiful and the colour is so rich, especially with the light flowing through them.

    Fi x

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  32. Your curtains have a majestic look about them. I love the way they fall. They are absolutely perfect!

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  33. I am late to finding this but I am glad I did. Yours are the best curtains I have ever seen in miniature. They have a natural drape and look completely real.

    Bless you for posting this "recipe".

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    Replies
    1. You're welcome Cassandra. Well the recipe is slightly tongue-in-cheek, but I really did put them in the oven to quickly dry them. Of course you don't have to do that, they will dry naturally, it just takes a little longer ;-)

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