Bathroom Makeover

"Plain Jane"

I think everyone can agree that this bathroom needs color like a bird needs feathers. So you can see the before. Now here's the after...

"Hot Mama"


Today, my mother's guest bathroom got a little makeover. I'd mentioned the fabric that didn't work for any of the bedrooms, but fit perfectly for the bathroom...well, this is it my friend.

And this is how I did it.

1. Measure the window and the shower.
a) Window - I measure from the bottom of the ceiling trim to the bottom of the window sill and add 4 inches (2 inches for "turn under" at the top and bottom...turn under is what makes it pretty). For the shower valance I measure the length of the tub (I think it was 58" and the distance between the top of the shower door and the bottom of the ceiling trim and add 4"). Since the valance needs to fold, tucker, etc, I take 58" and multiply it by 1.5 to get ~87". That's just a rough formula I use if I don't want it to lay flat, but want it to have body. Figure out your yardage from there.

2. Whatever yardage you buy in your fabric, buy the exact same amount in your curtain lining. I usually just use an off-white cotton, it's about 3.99/yard at Hancock's. You can also use blackout lining, which I sometimes like in bedrooms if you want it dark, but not in this bathroom which is light and airy.

3. Roll out your fabric and cut it. I started with the drapes. Since this window was so small, only 22" wide, and the fabric was 54" wide, I decided to just split one standard width in half and thereby reduce the panel width/fullness by half...which conveniently is a terrific way to reduce the cost of treating that window by half. After I cut the fabric, I roll out the liner fabric and cut that right over it.


4. For the valance, I knew I'd need to sew two widths together (which is more than the 87" I'd mentioned in Step 1, but I didn't mind overshooting). Since there's a pattern on this and it's not a solid, you must sew them together carefully so there's not an obvious gap in the pattern. As you can see in the first picture, lay the two widths side by side to where you can't tell where one ends and the other begins. In the second picture, pin the two pieces from top to bottom. Sew it up, and then check your work!


5. Next step...IRON the seam! I always just keep my ironing board out and the iron on whenever I'm sewing drapes. My husband always thinks I'm about to iron his clothes, but what fun would that be? Sucka'!



6. Repeat the same step for the lining. This is much easier since there's no pattern to line up. But put like sides together (if you can tell the difference in the sides!) and sew it up! Don't forget to iron this out too!



7. Lay the liner on top of the backside of the fabric. It's time to put these two together! Once I get the liner on straight, I put several pins in place to hold it in place securely since this is such a long piece of fabric.



8. As always, you start on the sides. Fold each side in 1" and pin. Then iron each new pleat. Remove pins and fold each side over again 1". (You are taking 4" total off the total width of the fabric, but it gives it a marvelously finished and professional look). Observe and agree...
* Note that this is only after turning the side over once, I got lazy and forgot to take the second picture, but you can refer to other posts to see what it looks like.



9. After both sides have been turned under and sewn down, it's time to tackle the bottom of the valance. Turn over, pin and press, repeat. Sew.


10. It's time now to sew the rod pocket. It might have been better to do this first, then hem the bottom, but I started this project at my house, but didn't trust my mother's measurements over the phone. So I wanted to complete as much of the project as possible before I went out there.
Excuses aside, when it's time to sew the rod pocket, you need to measure the circumference of the LARGEST part of the rod. I rudely capitalize because I once made the error of measuring the circumference of the shower rod itself, and sewed about 7 fee of stitches just to realize I couldn't fit the rod pocket over the shower rod. The ends were to big, and they weren't like the finials from a curtain rod that can be unscrewed...so therefore I was, ahem, screwed. I started unstitching that beast of a valance and was done two hours later.

Here's the formula for a round rod pocket --> Measure the circumference of the widest part of the rod, divide in half, and add 1/2 inch. Say the circumference is 5 inches; half of that is 2.5 inches, plus .5 is 3 inches. If you want a ruffle, and of course I did, add that measurement too. 3 inches + 2.5 inches (ruffle). Take into account about an inch for turn-under and that's the amount of the top edge you need to fold down.



11. Now, as you are pinning the edge under, you should constantly be measuring from the top of the valance to the very bottom of the valance to double-check that it's consistently the same length. You cannot assume that you cut your fabric perfectly straight, unless you are working with a plaid or striped pattern (which are favorites of mine now, for those very reasons). I typically pin, flatten out the rod pocket, measure from the top to the bottom, then re-pin if needed.



Once you've turned under your raw edge and sewn it, you need to a parallel seam for the ruffle. I wanted approximately a 2.5 inch ruffle, so I pinned it and then inserted the rod just to make sure I was ok. As you can see, there's plenty of room.


12. Sew your final seam and hang that beauty up.