Tuesday 18 September 2012

Of practical patchwork

Things that I love about patchworkng are not only it's hugely decorative aspect but also it's practical application. Some time ago when we were painting and decorating on a shoestring, we needed several window coverings and an under-stairs drape. I decided that patchwork on a large scale would solve the problem and using the existing curtains as a starting point for a colour palette and as a mainstay of the design, I set to. Chopping and cutting and pinning and stitching - the room's requirements included a small single curtain, a larger single curtain, a roman blind and a set of nearly floor to ceiling curtains - I have to say that in our ancient cottage this isn't a great drop, but still when working on items of this scale onyour hands and knees a small floor area, it was a challenge. The only fabric I bought , was a check that combined the cream, dull red and soft greens prevalent in those I had already. Top tip!!! Checked and striped fabrics give structure to a design and are easy to cut in straight lines accurately. I was so pleased with the results and they are much commented upon. 
If you like the look of these, I could come and mix and match fabrics for you, just drop me a line...


The roman blind back lit by the sun, you can see the seam structure clearly

Detail of the roman blind

One of the long curtains

Gathering detail of curtain

Detail of window seat cushion piped with remnants from the curtains

1 comment:

  1. Love your roman blind and the mixing and matching for curtains.....I made a roman blind for my study using a blocked printed fabric brought back from my travels in the 90 ( Indonesia. Colourway is brown, white and blue. I had to edge the blind because the width of the fabric didn't cover the window space. My mathematics was somewhat challenged....but the finished blind was a joy to behold and it is still in place to this day (if a tad faded).

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