SewLibra:
I bought a Tommy Bahama king size bedspread and shams for our queen size bed. There was no option to buy the smaller shams, and the king size are huge! Will need to cut those down.
SewLibra:
The pillows in my old shams were flat so I got two of these Serta gel memory foam pillows. They are heavy and very comfy to lean against while sitting in bed reading or watching TV. I highly recommend them for that purpose!
SewLibra:
I placed the pillows in the shams and measured how much to remove from the bottom and side. I made sure the main print on the front was the same on each sham, leaving intact the large palm leaves on each.
SewLibra:
The original stitching had a 1/4" SA under the binding, so I determined the amount to remove and wrote it down. Always write it down! Lol.
SewLibra:
I removed the binding about two inches beyond my cutting lines to give me room to reattach the bindings later.
SewLibra:
Before sewing back the seams on the shams, I steam pressed the bindings. They needed it!
SewLibra:
I sewed 1/4" SA to put the sham back together, then placed the binding on the wrong side of shams and sewed on the fold line. I only used pins at the corners as I came to them. On the second sham I made those edges even instead of set back like this.
SewLibra:
After sewing on the wrong side, the binding is flipped over to the right side. Where the binding meets, trim and press under the edge. You only need to overlap a little bit.
SewLibra:
Before sewing the right side, go to the wrong side once more to sew the overlap as was done previously on the rest of the binding.
SewLibra:
Give the binding a good press before sewing on the right side, making sure your tape is as even as you can get it.
SewLibra:
Again using an edge stitch foot, sew around the perimeter of the binding on the right side, using a longer stitch for your topstitching. I used a 3.5 stitch.
SewLibra:
This looks so much better than folding the extra width and length under, like I did before getting to this project. The corners, even though I rounded them, look pointy. However, so do the original corners on the left side so it's okay!
SewLibra:
This is one of my four old valances. I've had boring taupe too long but I have always enjoyed the bead trim. I unpicked 200 inches to get them off. My seam ripper got a workout!
SewLibra:
Couldn't find Tommy Bahama Bonny Cove fabric by the yard, but I did find a 100% cotton shower curtain on Amazon! I started by removing the header with the hook holes.
SewLibra:
I made one valance for each of the two windows rather than the former two valances per window. I wanted the same 18" length and was able to cut three rows of 22". I needed 3.5" for the rod pocket so I knew I would have a small hem.
SewLibra:
Each valance had to have one seam with fabric taken from the third row I cut. I tried to match the print the best I could, but yardage was tight! They are gathered valances so I didn't stress out about it.
SewLibra:
The seams had to be small to keep the so-called print matching in place, so I used my serger and pressed to one side.
SewLibra:
I had to laugh when I tried to match the second valance. The only thing I could do was blend two different types of palm leaves together. Thank goodness for the gathers!
SewLibra:
I've pressed my 3.5" rod pocket and do not need to turn it under because the lining will take care of that. If I want to keep the 18" length (I did!) I will only have a 5/8" hem. A 2" hem on curtains is ideal, but I can't do it here.
SewLibra:
Here I'm working on the width, which has to be 100" finished. That's the amount of beaded trim I have, enough for two 100" valances. I allowed 3/4" for the side hems.
SewLibra:
I serged the raw edge of the bottom hem since it's tiny already, but turned, pressed and stiched the sides.
SewLibra:
I used muslin from my stash for the lining. I pinned it to the rod pocket's raw edge to know where to cut it, leaving 3/4" for side seams on each end Each lining also had to have one seam each due to fabric length.
SewLibra:
Here my lining is still pinned to the pocket and I'm testing to make sure my lining is slightly smaller than the valance. I don't want any lining peeking out when they're hung.
SewLibra:
I took the lining off and hemmed the sides, then re-pinned to the rod pocket edge. I'm going to sew a line through all 3 layers which will form the rod pocket and attach the lining in one swoop!
SewLibra:
I used a quarter inch foot to make this line of stitching. It was important to keep the actual pocket 3 1/4" to get it smoothly on the wide rods I have. The lining is being attached at the same time.
SewLibra:
Close-up of the quarter inch foot. I don't know if sewing the lining and forming the pocket at the same time is a "thing" or not, it just made sense to me!
SewLibra:
I pressed the 1/4" SA outward, free of the fashion fabric and lining. I'm going to serge the raw edge with the blade disengaged.
