Once family and friends cotton on to ones sewing obsession, it’s not long before the mending pile reaches ridiculous heights! Victim of my inability to say ‘no’ perhaps, but ultimately, little sewing jobs are a great way to say ‘thank you’ to those who are always there to help me out and invariably I learn a new trick or two along the way. Oh I do like the occasional slaying of two feathered friends!
And so came about the task of neatening the sides of a bag load of my neighbours net curtains. ‘No worries at all’, I said. ‘Will take me 5 minutes’, I said. ‘Just a few straight lines of sewing… piece of cake’, I said!
I’m not sure how many of you lovely readers have net curtains in your homes so forgive me if I offend. Personally I’ve inherited a phobia of the frightful things from my mum. I couldn’t possibly count the number of times I was shushed as she stood, back to the wall nosing at the neighbours through her embroidered ‘balistraria’. Her constant obsession with how white she could get her ‘whites’ was actually quite tortuous too! Sorry mum!
Net curtains come on a roll, I’ve since found out. And they are only finished with a casing on the top and a hem or piped cord at the bottom. They are cut per width required and not finished on the sides. And so, after a single wash they will undoubtedly fray. Not least of all if they are cut wonky which most of these were too!
So battled commenced…
First things first, I changed the needle to a lightweight one.
I then unpicked the casing seams at the top – just a few centimeters – so I could finish the whole length without sewing the openings closed!
They had been cut so wonky, I had to straighten the sides so I wasn’t hemming on the bias! I pulled one of the vertical threads completely out of the weave so it left a clear ‘channel’ for me to cut along.
After straightening both sides I sewed a line of stitching 15mm (5/8 inch) from top to bottom of the the now straightened edges.
I then pressed the edges in, exactly on the line of the stitches, ensuring the iron wasn’t too hot but hot enough to hold a crease.
This made it easier to roll the edge in, so the raw edge met the guide stitching and I stitched very close to the fold to finish the edge neatly.
I pressed the hemmed edge again and then replaced the stitching on the casing, stitching over the original line to reinforce.
Some of these nets had straightforward hems and some with embroidered scalloped bottoms. These ones were easy enough to include in the hem. But there were a couple with fine piping in the tiny rolled hems, presumably to help them hang better. I just pulled the piping out a little and snipped it short before running the hem down to the bottom. Otherwise it was very difficult to fold back and stitch neatly.
I really can’t tell you how long this process took for a total of 7 very large net curtains… or how long the entire family, including cats, have been walking around adorned with little white threads… but my neighbour is overjoyed. And so am I that I’ve finally got round to finishing them!
Oh J, you ARE a good neighbour! And you have done such a lovely job of it, too. I’ve always appreciated if not liked sheers as they allow one to move around a house overlooked by others without any sense of danger. I am an inveterate domestic streaker! But in our lofty second storey apartment, all I have now is a panel of that stick on frosted glass laminate which is a pretty rococo pattern, in the bottom of my bedroom window, which shuts out the view from below.
I took to using the roll hem of my overlocker for doing the sides of sheers. Quite pleased they no longer feature in my life though!
Ooo… am liking the sound of rococo laminate, Mrs C! I did try the rolled hem foot but I only have a 2mm one and its far too tiny and fiddly and would most definitely have fuelled a spectacular tantrum or two!
You definitely deserve a medal! Consider it given……
Thanks Jots! I feel like I deserve to sew something interesting now!!! 🙂
I reckon she owes you BIGTIME!
lol… my neighbour is always there for me at a drop of a hat. Last minute babysits and feeding our cats when we go away… just happy to do a little something in return!
Oh god now THAT is a labour of love! Hope you poured yourself an enormous glass of wine afterwards?! x
Oh yes! x
I recently made roman blinds for my parents. They were huge. I had to piece two bits of fabric together to get enough width. The maths made my head hurt (and I’ve got a maths degree) as did the construction. The measuring and cutting could only be done on my parents’ large living room floor (with 2 year old daughter running amok). And lots and lots of long long straight seams. I only took this on because my parents (other than raising me) look after my daughter brilliantly two days a week. There is no one else that I’m similarly indebted too and I’m not doing it again (not even for my own gaff)
The things we do hey! I feel your pain. Even making reasonable sized roman blinds hurt my head! I bet your folks were well pleased though 🙂
Very nice repair job! I know the feeling — friends and family alike ask for me to repair anything from buttons, hems, seams, and sweaters that have unraveled. I guess it’s a compliment though — they must think we are really competent! 🙂
Thank you. I would like to think so! 🙂
have this nicely saved for when I need it ! Thanks Hun!
Most welcome, Rachel. Not the most glamourous of posts but another learning curve all the same!
As one who sides with Mrs C regarding the usefulness of net or sheer curtaining, and one who actually still has such things in her kitchen (very, very stained by now no matter what sort of laundering I throw at them), I thoroughly admire your dedication in putting up your hand to do that not-so-little repair job. So what’s the secret to really white whites? (School shirts are my particular nightmare.)
You are amazing…there’s no way in 20 hells I could’ve done this repair job!
Thank you!! I never thought of unpicking the header seam. I’ve done the first of a set of 3 curtain edges and ended up sewing over the casing, cutting through the fabric and then manually blanket stitching round the hole to stop it fraying. I knew there had to be an easier way!