The Sewing Marathon is Complete!

I actually got everything finished last week, but due to my laziness, I'm just now getting around to posting this.

Here is the completed valance and drapery panels.

 

And with the drapes closed...

Showing you the blackout liner that hangs on the 2nd rod....

And an up close shot of the bottom...

Now let me show you some of my shortcuts and "mistakes"

First of all I didn't even bother hanging the valance on a rod...I just used the Nester's trick of using upholstery tacks and tacked it above the window.

I also didn't even bother hemming the blackout liner. The fabric feels similar to a vinyl tablecloth and is in no danger of fraying, therefore I wasn't going to waste my precious time hemming it. Another great reason for doing this is that I can now very easily reuse the liner when we move for another window. If you look really close at the bottom edge you can even see the blue marker that I used when tracing where I would cut...

Now, would you look at this mess! Look at all those threads popping out everywhere and uneven seams! But you know what? I don't care! No one will ever see this because #1 it's on the backside & #2 the blackout liner hangs behind the drapes, so no one will be able to see it from outside the window...besides if someone is inspecting my sewing from OUTSIDE the window, they've got issues. 

I even ran out of thread mid hem and had to switch not only to a different weight thread, but also to a different color! Who cares!

Lastly, the adorable pom pom trim separating the two fabrics that I attached using my handy HOT GLUE GUN....gasp! I bet ya couldn't even tell!

I should also note that the panels and blackout liner are hung using the drapery rings with clips - this made it much easier for me because I didn't have to sew a "pocket" for the drapes to slide on to the poles - just hemmed 'em and clipped 'em on!

Now for the most exciting part of this post....how much $$ I spent (and saved) making these (and the crib skirt myself)

Fabric for the crib skirt  & main drapery panels = 48.14

Velcro                                                                          = 6.99

Fabric for Valance & Bottom of Drapes                = 25.00

Pom Pom Trim                                                          =7.50

Blackout liner                                                            =23.96

TOTAL                                                                        = 111.59

I can't give you an exact figure of how much $$ I saved by making everything myself compared to my original plan of having them made by Javis Davis (see a few posts below - the one with the fabric swatches)  because the window treatments would have been a "custom design" and I have no idea how much they would have charged for labor. However, for the fabric alone the drapes + valance would have cost $133 - and this doesn't include the blackout liner or the funky pom pom trim. The crib skirt in the fabric I wanted (including labor) was going to cost $180!!! (I only spent about $24 making mine). I'd say I saved us a fair amount of $$ - and I had fun doing it!

I'm currently working on some other "projects" for wall art in the nursery including painting a barn star (did this today...pics to come later) and I'm about to head to Hobby Lobby to buy some letters to decoupage....very similar to what Jessica did to her little boy's nursery in this post. Of course I won't be able to show you pics of these till the babe is born (I'm mean and won't even let you know his initials!)