Sewing Project: Patchwork Linen Window Treatments
I had such old window treatments on this glass door for years and I knew it was within my abilities to do something about it and to do it in a beautiful creative way! This is beginner friendly if you take it slow. If you want to get very complex and creative with this design, I am very inspired by the work of artist Adam Pogue, but for this project, I wanted to keep things very simple with larger squares and rectangles. This project is all about sewing simple lines. Sewing window treatments was actually one of the best things I did during my early days of learning to sew and when Jim and I were newlyweds and everything was out of budget to buy new. Sewing straight lines will develop your skills so much and I highly recommend starting with pillows and simple window treatments for anyone starting their sewing journey.
The joy of these window treatments is customization but the magic of these is the LINEN. Oh my word, can you see the natural woven texture highlighted by the sun in each beautiful rectangle? If you have or can find hardware with little clips like these, you don’t even need to include a casing to slide the bar through your fabric. Here are the links if you would like to get the exact same curtain rod and rings with clips if it’s helpful but you’ll want to choose your own color, metal and size for the specific room.
Get ready to make a little sketch. You will need to measure your window or door area and make a sketch of how you would like the shapes to play out. This may seem daunting at first but it was more simple than I thought it would be and it really turned out better than I expected. Don’t be afraid of math. If your math doesn’t work quite right, you can just add another panel to the side that needs it. My hems all the way around are ½” folded twice. If you’d like a larger hem, make sure you add that into your equations and remember, every 5/8” seam that connects really takes 1.25 inches (3.18 centimeters) from your fabric equation. My sliding glass door is 97 inches wide by 80 inches tall and I ordered 3 yards of Angora, 1 yard of New Wheat, 1 yard of Dried Herb, 1 yard of Ginger and 1 yard of Mahogany Rose. With this I made two mirroring panels and had only tiny pieces leftover.
The seams are done with flat felled seams. Pinning the seams right sides together, sewing at 5/8”, trimming ONE of the raw edges at half the width and then folding the longer raw edge side over the cut side toward the larger body of fabric, iron neatly and then sew 1/16” from the fold to secure. Fabrics-store even has a tutorial on this step HERE. The seams will not only be sturdy, they will be neat and tidy! Another beautiful feature, these panels are washable! Because I pre-wash and dry all my linen, there is no concern of shrinking. For best results I will machine wash on cool, dry until just slightly damp and then iron. No heavy, dusty, dry clean only drapes.
I hope you enjoy the creative process of this project as much as I did! I think you’ll agree, with the beautiful and subtle irregularity that happens in the weave of linen, the sun shinning through your window makes this project a creative show stopper.
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Alisha Cooke
Ma Ma Osa is a handmade clothing brand that offers heirloom quality garments and patterns, hand-made by a mother. We celebrate the cherished craft of sewing and seek to honor the art of slow fashion in all our practices as a brand.Leave a comment
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11 Comments
Kathy Brothers
These are beautiful and you’ve inspired me to try it! What did you use for the black outline around each panel?
Alisha Cooke
Yay! I’m so glad you want to make them too. The outline is created by using flat felled seams on each connect point. That’s it. There is a tutorial on this blog for Flat Felled Seams I believe.
Kathy Brothers
Never mind, I figured it out!!!! Just the way the light shines through the seams. Duh!
Audrey Anderson
Does the linen fade at all in the sun? I have made curtains from other fabrics that looked horrible after one summer due to fading. Don’t want that to happen again!
Alisha Cooke
This window gets morning sun from sunrise until around noon and I have not seen much fading at all! These were made about a year ago.
Kate Renwick
I love these. The way the light filters through them and that they match, not random. I once covered some chair seats in patchwork as there wasn’t enough curtain fabric left but the patchwork did the job.
Alisha Cooke
That’s a very fun use for small pieces as well! 🙂
Amy Pezzimenti
They came out beautifully…thanks for this inspiration!
Alisha Cooke
Thank you Amy. Feel free to tag me on instagram to show me what you end up making. 🙂 ma.ma.osa
Sarah Tremaine
Perfect timing, Alisha. I just pulled out some fabrics I was going to use for curtains, too my measurements, and was going to sit down today (!) to figure out how to work out all the seam allowances – now I have your article as a support. YAY. I’ll post pix when I get them done. Best, Sarah
Alisha Cooke
Yay Sarah, I’m so happy to hear you want to try it too – I enjoy them so much. Can’t wait to see what you make. If you’re on instagram, feel free to tag me – ma.ma.osa