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Dec

22

Holiday Wrap

do it yourself / entertain / fun / gift wrapping / holiday / party / Uncategorized  Posted by / 0 comments

Just a quick holiday check in to see how ya’ll are doing with your shopping, baking, wrapping and trimming. I myself am doing quite well with my holiday to do list. So well in fact that I thought I’d take a moment to share two of my favorite gift exchange traditions. Lisa Jean, this one’s for you, a girl after my own heart who has a weakness for artful and thoughtfully wrapped packages with ribbon, lots of ribbon. And then maybe some more ribbon.

1. Nothing says the holidays like cheetah

A few years ago while  pawing through the boxes of wrapping paper in Target desperate to find something free of snowmen and hideously glittered poinsettias, I  had an epiphany. Essentially the heavens opened and angels clad in Santa hats and motorcycle jackets, wielding trumpets and scotch tape,  sang out, “HEY, LAURA ASPINALL, don’t  use traditional wrapping paper, go wild, go crazy, get whatever YOU WANT!!!” It was really a very freeing moment. I may have even shed a tear or two as I fled the Christmas isle in search of glorious, beautiful, Christmas -cartoon -character-devoid wrapping paper. And let me tell you, its everywhere and its so much prettier.

This year I found my sweet wrapping paper gems at Marshall’s. Gorgeous, high quality, metallics and animal prints, for a whopping $2.99 a roll. Okay, one was $3.99. I splurged. The black and silver wood grain paper featured above is my favorite this year.

One of the truly great things about going with the nontraditional is you can use it all year round. The secret is in the trimmings. Traditional Christmas colored ribbons, and an ornament or two is all you need for this paper to read Christmas. Swap that out with a black, or hot pink ribbon later in the year and you have an awfully pretty birthday gift.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Discounts and Coupons

I clip coupons and then never use them. They sit stuck to the frig while I stand in line at some craft store or another cursing myself that yet again I left my 50% off one item coupon at home. Well, no more! This year I discovered that most major craft and fabric stores have an app. Micheal’s, Joann’s, Beverly’s all have apps where you can access their current coupons immediately and then just show the store clerk your phone. The angels didn’t make an appearance, but there was a faint trumpeting to be heard if you listened closely. For me this year that meant that I got all my ribbon half off. Definitely worth taking the two minutes to download their app.

3. Its all over but the shouting (what does that mean, anyways…)

In my family we do something called tree gifts. Its an English tradition that takes place after dinner on Christmas Day. After all the presents have been opened, the food has been eaten, and everyone is starting to think to themselves, “Well, I guess that’s it til next year…”, someone calls out, “Wait! We have tree gifts!”, and we get excited all over again. Tree gifts are small, low cost gifts, that adorn the tree. Everyone gets one and they are typically labeled, “from the tree”. Our family has come to really enjoy and look forward to this tradition. In a nutshell, its a fun way to end Christmas day.

Happy Holidays, everyone, and don’t forget to make some room for yourself this holiday season. Until next year!

Aug

30

You say tomato…. I say canning project!

canning / do it yourself / kitchen / summer / tomtaotes / Uncategorized  Posted by / 0 comments
IMAG0197

So even if you’re not a gardener, chances are you can tell the difference between the taste of a tomato picked at the pinnacle of its ripeness, and and a store bought, out of season, sad little interpretation of a tomato. There really is no comparison. Pale, watery and mealy, the out of season tomato  seems unrelated to its flavorful, juicy and deep, deep red counterpart. Maybe you’ve even tried your hand at growing a few of these lovelies. Maybe you’re like me and plant six tomato plants every year. Maybe you’re more like my sister in law and planted THIRTY TWO plants this year. Really, she did. The mere thought of the bounty that is about to happen in her garden makes me both pleased and terrified. So this one’s for you, Emily, and the tomato explosion that is about to be unleashed upon you.

By the time August roles around I am chomping at the bit to harvest my tomatoes. Partially because I can’t wait to taste them, and partially because work is about to start up again I have canning to get to. Yep, canning. I said canning. Before you stop reading and roll your eyes in, “who does she think I am” disgust, hear me out. Canning is not just for pioneers stocking up to make it through winter without having to eat the horses, or overachieving home enthusiasts who worship the ground Martha Stewart walks on, NO! MakeRoom is here it encourage you to be a teensy bit brave, and reap the rewards of food preserving at home. And tomatoes are just the thing to start with. I cannot tell you how great it is in the dead of winter (if Northern California really has a dead of winter…) to pull out a jar of tomatoes from the cupboard and whip up a batch of tasty pasta sauce. I’ve been asked many times what’s in my sauce that makes it so flavorful. The answer is the tomatoes. All the other ingredients are the usual suspects. It really is the tomatoes. Tomatoes preserved at the height of their season.And you don’t have to grow your own to enjoy tomatoes at their best. This time of year they are everwhere. The supermarket, the Farmer’s market, next door at your neighbor’s house, you get the idea… So round up a flat, a bucket, a grocery bag, a whatever, of tomatoes and let’s get started!

Step One-Read all the directions.

And then read them again. Canning is not difficult, but it is multi-stepped and you want to be prepared.

Step Two-Round up your supplies.

You may consider asking around and seeing if you can borrow some supplies. There aren’t a lot of things you need, but the average kitchen isn’t usually stocked with a jar lifter or canning funnel. Now a days you can find canning kits at many grocery and hardware stores. Just last weekend I saw a complete set of canning tools (including the pot) at our local hardware store for a very reasonable $19.99.

Things you will need:

  • Canning pot (large wide pot with lid)
  • Another large pot
  • Canning rack that goes inside the pot so the jars aren’t sitting on the bottom of the pot. In a pinch you can line the bottom of the pot with canning rings, but they rust and this isn’t a good long term solution.
  • Jar lifter
  • Magnetic lid lifter (not essential but cheap and keeps one from burning their fingers)
  • Canning funnel
  • Jars. I like pint sized jars for tomatoes as this is what you need for many recipes. Don’t make the mistake of using all quart sized jars, this can lead to waste as many times you don’t need the whole jar and now you’ve opened it.
  • Lids and rings. These come with new jars and you can buy replacements if you are using old jars
  • Lemon juice
  • Salt
  • Paring knife
  • Cutting board
  • Ice
  • A few large bowls
  • Ladle
  • Candy thermometer
  • dishtowels
  • music
  • cocktail

Step Three-Just like painting, its all in the prep.

Turn on the music(I prefer a mix that is far from domesticity as is possible. It provides a nice contrast).  Mix up your favorite cocktail. Its time to get started. On the stove get a large pot of water boiling. You will use this water to slip your tomatoes out of their skins. While the water is heating, cut an “x” in the bottom of each of your tomatoes. This helps the skins come off MUCH faster. I only learned this a few years ago, it was life changing. Fill up your sink with cold water and ice cubes. This is where you will remove the skins from your tomatoes. And you don’t even have to buy them dinner first. HA! Okay, that was a bad joke. Back to business. You will need to work in batches as not all of the tomatoes will fit in the pot at one time. Once the water is boiling use your ladle to put your tomatoes in the pot. In a minute or so you will start to see the skins peeling away around the “x”. Using your ladle again, move them to the cold water bath in the sink. Repeat until all tomatoes are in the sink.

Another revelation. Peel the tomatoes in the sink. Let the peels fall to the bottom of the sink. Put naked tomatoes in a large bowl. Again, nobody told me this til I was many years in and had been fussing around with bowls of ice water. Peels were everywhere, stuck to me, the cabinets, the floor, everywhere. This is a waaaaay better method. When all tomatoes have been peeled, drain the water and discard the skins, compost them, feed them to the chickens, you get the idea.

Depending on the tomatoes you are using you may want to do one or both of the following:

1. For large, juicy tomatoes, squeeze out extra liquid over the sink before placing tomatoes in the bowl. Like you were squeezing out a sponge.

2. For really large tomatoes, ones too big to fit through the mouth of the jar, cut them in half or quarters

Tomatoes are now prepped and ready for canning! Easy so far, right? And yes, that is a bottle of gin in the background. I wasn’t kidding about the cocktail.

Step Four-Sterilization

There are a number of ways to go about this. And much depends on the volume of tomatoes you are canning. If you are Emily and you are elbow deep in tomatoes I say opt for the dishwasher option. If you are new to to tomato preservation and only have a produce bag or two, stove top sterilization is fine.

Dishwasher Sterilization

So clearly you have to have  dishwasher for this option. Wash you jars on the hottest cylce you’ve got with nothing else in the dishwasher. Leave them in there until you are ready to use them. Thas it.

Stove Top Sterilization

Put your canning rack in your canning pot. Put as many jars as will comfortable fit in the pot. Fill it with water. Bring the water to at least 180 degrees. Maintain this for 10 or so minutes. Your jars are now officially sterile.

Sterilizing lids

I put the lids (not to be confused with the rings) in a separate, small sauce pan. I used to throw them in with the jars, but its really hard to get them out later. Again, 180 degrees for ten minutes (ish). Important note: DO NOT REUSE LIDS. They are a one time only deal. Recycle them after use. Rings and jars are fine to reuse as long as they are free of rust and cracks.

Step Five- IT IS TIME TO CAN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Put out a nice clean dishtowel. Using your jar lifter, remove jars from dishwasher/canner, empty them of water and place on the dishtowel. For pint jars put a teaspoon of lemon juice and and a teaspoon of salt in each. Why? Because acid is important when canning. Acid is what keeps food from doing weird and terrible things once preserved. Tomatoes are already acidic, so it doesn’t take more than a teaspoon of lemon juice to set things right.

Now its time to pack, and I mean pack, your jars with tomatoes. Cram them in there.The first time I canned tomatoes I was waaaay to gentle, giving the tomatoes “their space” (remember, I live in Northern California). It was very disappointing when after processing them I had a good two inches of liquid at the bottom of each jar. The heat from processing is going to shrink the tomatoes, so be sure to really wedge them in good.Fill any extra space with the juice that has collected in the bottom of your bowl. Use your canning funnel to fill the jars, its far less messy then just putting the tomatoes in each jar.

Use a scraper/spatula/butter knife to push the tomatoes down and release any air bubbles. Leave a half inch of “head space” a the top  of each jar.

Its important that the tops of your jars, where the lid and ring will make contact, are clean. I dip a paper towel in hot water and clean the rim of each jar.

Now remove the lids, one by one, from their water bath with your magnetic lid lifter. Place lids on jars. Screw bands on jars to what is called, “finger tight”, meaning tight enough so it stops moving but not so tight that you’d need pliers to get it off.

Step six- Processing

So your jars are filled. Air bubble have been eliminated, lids and rings are on. Now its time for the magic. Using your jar lifter place each jar back in the canning pot. Once water has reached at least 180 degrees start the timer. 15 minutes for pints, 20 minutes for quarts.

Turn off the stove. Let your jars sit in the water for awhile. Maybe 30 minutes. Then lift each jar out and place it on a dishtowel to cool. In a few minutes you will hear the sound that all canners listen for, the sound of lids being suctioned down to the jar, or, “POP!” This is how you know that mission canning was successful; by the time your jars are cool all of the lids should be concave. Jars that have lids that you can press down and they pop back up should be discarded (I’ve never had this happen).

Now put your jars of tomatoes on your cupboard shelf and fee pleased with yourself. You did it!

I will warn you. Canning is addictive, the sight of sweet little jars lined up on your shelves, just waiting for winter, may cause you to feel the desire to can things other than tomatoes. Don’t worry. I have just the site for you. Check out www.mypantryshelf.com to discover fabulous recipes for food preserving, and much, much more.

Parting thoughts: Make a little room for something new. Maybe canning is your something new, maybe its not. Either way, think about it. What new thing are you itching to try? Do it! And tell me all about it.

 

 

 

Jul

11

Anatomy of a Party

entertain / fun / party / summer / Uncategorized  Posted by / 2 comments

My apologies to the 9 people who read my blog. I have been remiss in posting these past few months. Between end of the semester shenanigans, Bryan’s graduation, two weddings, a birthday, a jury duty stint, and smattering of other events, Makeroom took a little hiatus. But! Its summer! School is out! And I am a free agent for the next six weeks. Watch out. Blogging commenced!

In honor of the high season of festivities (summer) I dedicate this post to the art of throwing a  party. Many have said I said I know a thing or two about this, and  well, without bragging too much, they are correct. I throw a great party. This, however, was not always the case. Like all things, practice makes perfect. So, for the party shy (you know who you are), here are a few tips I’ve gathered over the years to encourage you to invite your nearest and dearest over and have a great time.

1. Why on earth would I willingly invite a mass of people over who I will have to cook and clean for? And then clean again for after they’ve left????!

Because you love them. Because you have been a guest at many a party (perhaps even too many…), and now its your turn to host. Because it can be fun and not a drag. There used to be a time when that’s what people did, they entertained. They got together, ate, drank, connected, and essentially had a good time. So keep the art of entertaining alive, preserve it! Don’t rely on social media to keep in  touch with your friends and maintain your relationships, make a little extra effort.

 2. Safe Choices

As with most things you have choices. So don’t throw a party that scares the beejeezus out of you. Like inviting everyone you know. Like making a really complicated menu. Like hosting a party that starts at eight o’clock p.m. when you turn into a pumpkin at 9:30. You are the host! You are the decision maker! That means you call the shots and get to only do what you feel comfortable doing. A party can be anything you want to make it, big or small, formal or informal, breakfast or dinner, whatever YOU want.  Sometimes I think we forget this, especially when it comes to parties, we feel pressured to perform and try to do everything, and please everyone. The truth of the matter is that your guests are coming because they like you, they won’t like seeing you running around stressed and overworked. Its pretty much the biggest party downer ever to see the host not having fun. So stop and think. What is the party that will work for you? What sounds fun to YOU? A happy host = happy party guests. A few things to consider when deciding what party would make you happiest:

Your Home

Case in point: As I have mentioned before, my house is on the smaller side. I am fortunate though to have a large patio and backyard.  Therefore, with very few exceptions I don’t throw big, or even medium sized, parties in the dead of winter. And I don’t do sit down dinners. As much as possible I try to get people outside. It also makes clean up a whole lot easier. So think about what makes sense for hosting at your house. When we first bought our house the yard was atrocious. I mean really bad, lava rock as far as the eye could see. It is amazing what the cover of darkness and a few twinkle lights and ton of candles can mask. Suddenly there was “ambiance” and “romantic, flattering lighting”, in a place that looked like the surface of the moon during the day. As a result, there was a while there where most of our parties happened at night. But my point is, it didn’t work for me to have people hanging out in my crappy backyard, so rather than say,” We’ll have a party when the backyard is all landscaped” (which took about 6 years), I came up with a party plan that worked for me.

Your strengths and Weaknesses

Capitalize on them! Are you like Bryan and bake amazing chocolate chip oatmeal cookies? Do you make a phenomenal margarita? Do you have an exceptional music collection? A party should include the things you do well, and feel comfortable with. A party is not the time to work on your weaknesses. Perhaps you love the idea of a BBQ but you have never seen a piece of meat you didn’t grill to a charcoal-ly crisp. Yea, no. Don’t do it. Work on your grilling during your private time, not with the people you allegedly love. Or, recruit someone else to take care of the the things you aren’t so good at (We’ll talk more about delegating later on).

Keep it Simple

No one ever said, “Gosh, I wish I’d made things more complicated, I really just didn’t have enough hostessing duties at the party last night!” Embrace the concept of less is more. When you start uttering phrases like, “that looks easy, I could do that!” or, “that shouldn’t take long!”, these are your warning signs. You are heading into dangerous territory, and yes, you are correct, you COULD do that, and it SHOULDN’T take long. But I promise you, it WILL take longer than you think and it WILL be more complicated than you ever imagined, so evaluate your time and energy, do you really need to do those things? And guess what, no will no if you don’t.

3. Pick a Theme

I love a good party theme, it makes planning so much easier, and much more amusing. Again, keep it simple. No complicated obscure themes, just something to inform your choices and to make your guests smile. Here are some themes that have worked for me:

Poker Party

I should preface this by saying a really know very little about poker. I rely on Bryan for the actual playing of the game, and if poker isn’t your thing, pick a different game. But as far as party themes go, this is an easy, low cost, low effort one. No need for lots of food as this is an after dinner kind of thing, just your typical poker snacks, pretzels, chips and dip, etc. This is also a great opportunity to harken back to the golden age of entertaining, the fifties. Chex party mix. Deviled eggs. Pigs in a blanket. Lil smokies. Weird nut covered  cheese balls. And as poker kind of smacks of rec rooms, basements, and smoky backrooms, we’ve held this in the garage, and even in our living room during a major renovation (no dry wall, no floors, big hole in the floor…think war torn  Eastern European country remodel), in both cases it really just added to the ambiance. Other poker party tips, green felt from the craft store makes for an easy and cheap table cloth, get your sunglasses and hats out for people to wear while they embrace their inner card shark, and a  piece of poster board listing poker hands in their winning order is very helpful for novices. Do keep in mind poker is best played with no more five or six, so you might need more than one table. More than that and the game starts to fall apart a little.

Happy Hour

So I can’t really take credit for this one. I have studied dutifully under the happy hour tutelage of one Allison Freeman. She is a happy hour master, and through her I have learned  the beauty and simplicity of happy hour. The great thing about happy hour is it starts early, ends early, doesn’t involve a great deal of food, and can be thrown together last minute. And I get to use all my fun bar accessories. You do need a few cocktail recipes to make it really authentic, although wine works too. Fortunately there is this fantastic thing called the internet, where cocktail recipes abound. This is also a great weeknight event, I am particularly fond of Thursday night shindigs. Its almost Friday, so people tend to think, “what the heck, why not?”. And weekends can be tricky, people often have plans, but are usually free on Thursday evenings.

Art Night

So this one might be a little more specialized, but I’m putting it out there as I’ve enjoyed it. Art night is when you invite people over to do a little art. Its best to pick one medium; paint, collage, knitting, quilting, maybe an art form you are particularly interested in. A while back I took an encaustics class (painting with hot wax) and really enjoyed it. Since then I’ve hosted two Art Nights where guests got to play around with the medium. I ask that everyone bring $5.00 to cover the cost of supplies and a food or drink item to share. My favorite part is seeing people who don’t consider themselves “artistic” have a great time. This is also an excellent all ages party theme.

Halloween

So for those of you who know me, you know Halloween is my holiday. I friggin love it. The decor, the dressing up, all of it. Which is hilarious as I hate scary movies, and am a big, big chicken. The last scary movie I saw was Nightmare on Elm Street, and I am still traumatized. But! As far as party themes go, its a great one. We have  a huge Halloween party every year, I’ve got bins of decorations that I’ve collected over the years, we invite well over 50 people. That being said, you don’t have go crazy with it (like me), but why should all the kids get all the fun? So now that I’ve sold you on Halloween , don’t even think about stealing my thunder. If you live in Sonoma, County, BACK OFF, and re-read the first line of this paragraph- Halloween is MY holiday. But everyone else, you are more than welcome to throw a Halloween party. In fact, tune back in for October, for a more detailed account of how to throw the best Halloween party ever.

3. Delegate. Delegate. Delegate.

It has been my experience that people like to help. And if people offer to help-take them up on it. Consider the aspects you enjoy most about throwing a party, and farm out the rest. I really like doing the decor, flowers, entertainment, music. Food, meh. I like making a few things, but that’s not my favorite part. Fortunately, I have many gifted and talented cooks in my circle of friends and family who are very generous. This is when you need to re-read the paragraph on playing to one’s strengths, and apply it to your friends and family. My friend Carolyn makes uh-mazing deviled eggs, my mom has got the best potstickers and sausage rolls (see photo to left for proof), my friends Tara and Jennifer make  superb cupcakes , I believe I have already mentioned Bryan’s cookies, and then there’s my brother and his girlfriend who have a corner market on all things Asian and delish. You best believe I’m calling on all of them all when I have a party.

4.Music

Music is critical to a successful party, and between Pandora, Itunes, Spotify, Rhapsody, Sirius Radio, and various other online music services a great party mix is now readily available for all. It used to be we’d spend hours putting together the perfect mix, now, it takes all of five minutes to create a station or mix that will set the right tone for your event. Sometimes rather than choose by artist we choose our music by genre. The Ratpack  is perfect for cocktails, a Latin mix is upbeat and celebratory, and great for all ages. Or! Go old school- bust out your vinyl and ask you guests to bring over theirs, we’ve had a lot of fun with this and it has worked especially well for poker and game nights. I think it best to steer clear from music that is too obscure or specific; this is not the time to show off your collection and knowledge of rare Asian speed jazz fusion bands. You want music that’s going to appeal to most of your guests and create a fun backdrop for your party.

5. Activities

I  like to have activities at my parties, and usually they relate to the party theme. Most of the time they are very simple things like, darts, croquette, a costume contest at Halloween, etc. For Bryan’s graduation party we went all out and  my dear friend Maddie and her lovely girlfriend, Rhonda (another superb use of my delegating skills), dreamed up fantastic Bryan themed games. My dad did an excellent job of actualizing the “Bryan Bean Bag Toss”; Bryan later commented on how much fun people were having throwing things at his face…Activities are especially great for parties with kids, but they are also nice way for people to mix and mingle, meet people they haven’t met before, and with the exception of the costume contest, are always optional.

 

 

 

 

 

6. Plan Ahead

The more you can do before the day of your party, the better off you will be. Again, no one likes a tired, sweaty, bedraggled host. This also helps keep party tasks from getting overwhelming. Here’s a sample “Party To Do List Timeline”:

Two Weeks Before: Send out invites, make menu, recruit helpers, place orders for things like rental tables, food, etc.

One Week Before: Do any major cleaning/prep (ex: clean BBQ, hose down patio, get out lawn furniture).

Five Days Before: Take an inventory of party supplies you already have (ex: ice, paper goods, liquor), make shopping list for supplies and food.

Four Days Before: Shop for party.

Three Days Before: Figure out music for the party, review any recipes you are using, and start on food prep that can be done ahead of time (things like: make and freeze cookie dough, make marinades)

Two Days Before: Clean house (although I rarely mop before a party, what’s the point?), get all your party stuff (table cloths, cheese board, salad bowls, cocktail makings, ice buckets, etc) out, and check to see you have everything you need.

One Day Before: Major food prep, pretty much you want almost all of this done here, apart from the stuff that has to be done the day of (BBq-ing, assembly of salads…). This is a good day to get someone to help you, and if I’m having a really big party on a Saturday I usually take Friday off from work. Set up tables chairs, arrange furniture, decorate, get your candles out…I pretty much try to the lion’s share of the work on this day.

Day of the Party: Last minute cleaning stuff, last minute food stuff, get beverages on ice, set out food, turn on the music and most importantly, sit down, relax and have a pre-party drink!

The sun is out, the nights are long, and people are ready to have a good time. So make a little room this summer for a get together of your own!

Apr

26

Curtains for You- To Make!

Uncategorized  Posted by / 4 comments

Happy spring everyone! What better way to celebrate spring by outfitting your windows with new, fresh curtains. And it doesn’t need to be expensive or time consuming. So, today, read on for easy step by step directions for making your own fabulous window treatments, and follow along as I make curtains for my art studio.

Here’s my studio, sad and devoid of curtains. Also, far cleaner than it ever is…

  1. Step One-Obtain Your fabric

Do not limit yourself to the  confines of the fabric store! Remember what we talked about last month, look for alternative fabric sources.  Sheets, tablecloths, duvet covers, all are great for making curtains and are very affordable. I chose a floral print twin bed set for my curtains, and a chartreuse set for the liner. Each set of sheets was $12.99 and was enough for both  curtains with some yardage and pillow cases left over.

2. Step Two- Hang your Curtain Rod

Now, you might say, shouldn’t we sew the curtains first? And I say, no we should not. Here’s why. Hemming curtains is like hemming pants. They look really lame and dorky when they are too short. The way to avoid this is to hem  them in place. In order to do this, one must first install the curtain rod. The other nice thing about this is it minimizes the measuring one needs to do. And as I may have mentioned before, I hate measuring. For the unavoidable measuring involved in installing the curtain rods, I took the easy way out… I asked Bryan to do it. A man who was born to measure. It doesn’t hurt that he’s easy on the eyes too.

In keeping with the inexpensive, do yourself theme, I purchased galvanized plumbing fittings to assemble a rod and hangers from. All said and done, materials  for both windows cost a whopping $11.00.

 

 

 

 

 

3. Measure and Cut Your Fabric

Curtains hang better when they are lined, they also let less light through. Cut two panels of fabric per curtain, one for the front, your decorative fabric, and one for the back (your liner) a plain fabric. My studio windows get very little direct sunlight, so I am not concerned about sun damage to the liner. If you are making curtains for a window that gets direct sunlight, spend a little extra and buy blackout fabric. They will last a lot longer.

A rule of thumb when making curtains is to cut the fabric twice the width of the window. This way when the curtains are closed they don’t hang flat across the front of the window, which tends to make one’s curtains look a little cheap and skimpy. For the length allow around 5 inches for the rod pocket and another five or so for the hem. As we’ll be hemming them in place there is no need to be exact. Isn’t that nice? The other thing that hemming in place allows for is walls and windows that are out of square. Which describes my entire 1949 house.

4. Pin and Sew

Position your fabrics (liner and front panel) right sides together. Capitalize on any finished edges, meaning use finished edges for your bottom hem. Also, don’t line up the bottom edges, instead  position the bottom edge of the liner short, like in the photo below.This way you don’t risk your liner peaking out from under the finished curtain. Get it exactly how you want it, because guess what! This is last time your fingers will touch the bottom edge of your curtain. We ain’t gonna sew it, people! Crazy I know! Your curtains will hang way more better (how’s that for some grammar) with the curtain and liner left unsewn at the bottom. Maybe this isn’t news to you, and I say, well, good for you. I however was awestruck when I made this revelation a few years ago.

Now its time for pinning. I like to pin perpendicular to the fabric edge, this way I can  sew over the pins instead of having to remove each one as I sew. Pin down each length of the curtain. Next sew two long seams, one down each length of the curtain. You will end up with a big tube of fabric.

5. Top Stitch

Top stitching turns your sewing project from looking okay and homemade, to fantastic and professional. I know its an extra step, but its totally worth it. Turn your tube right side out. Iron your finished seams until they lay flat. This makes sewing the topstitch waaaaaay easier. You can see in the pictures below before ironing , icky and bumpy, and after ironing , lovely and flat.

 Then sew over the top of your newly ironed seam, about a 1/4 of an inch from the edge.

6. Its Time to Hem

Your curtain panel is so close to being done! Drape your curtain over the rod, liner facing the inside of the room, essentially backwards. Adjust to desired length, pinning the rod pocket as you go.  Don’t forget to step back often to make sure everything is straight and the desired length. Once you are satisfied with the length, take down the rod and slip the curtain off the rod.

7. Sewing the Pocket for the Curtain Rod

As you can see I had a lot of extra fabric at the top by the time I was done pinning. No problem. I laid my curtain on a flat surface and one at a time moved my pins closer to the fold. I then cut off the extra material, leaving three inches (ish) for the rod pocket, and a half inch extra to fold under as not to leave a raw edge. Besides being unsightly, raw edges are problematic when it comes to washing as they fray and unravel.

Next, I took my trusty iron and folded under the raw edge and ironed it under. Don’t worry about being terrible exact. Finally, last step, I sewed a seam roughly a quarter inch from the folded edge. Viola! Curtain 1 done! Now all you have to do is repeat the process for curtain 2 which will go much fast now that you know what you are doing.

That wasn’t “sew” (HA!) bad, now was it? Certainly not as bad as this pun…If this article inspires you and you take on a window treatment project of your own, send me a picture, I’d love to share it on Makeroom. See you next time, and until then, take a good look around and see what you can do to make a little room.