Monday, September 10, 2012

the Curtain-Along is a go!


I was really overwhelmed by all the wonderful responses that I got to the idea of having a curtain-along project, so I'm going to make this thing official and get us all started!  Woohoo!

First of all, I wanted to give you some more accurate measurements on the amount of fabric that you are getting in each curtain.  The dimensions given on the package are 50" wide by 84" long, but once you unpick the hems, it is actually 53" wide by 96" long (134 cm X 244 cm).  Sometimes those extra inches really help.  You also get a tieback that adds another 8 1/2" by 26" piece of fabric when it is unpicked (21 cm X 66 cm).  That averages out to $7.50 a yard for the creme fabric and $9.36 for the noir and crimson if you buy the curtain panels from Lowe's. This is quite a bargain compared to the same fabric at Joann's which is selling for $17.50 to $22.50 per yard on sale.

Some people have mentioned that Lowe's will not ship internationally, but I found the creme and noir curtains on Amazon (cremenoir), and Sears (cremenoir).  I also saw a few on ebay, and I'm sure there are other venues that I am overlooking.  You might try searching for Waverly Felicite to find other sellers.  I couldn't find the crimson colorway anywhere other than Lowe's, but if you don't have access to a Lowe's and that's the color that you are interested in using for the curtain-along, let me know and I'll buy some and ship them to you. Also, I thought that if any of us end up with left-over cuts from our curtains, I could help you advertise that here and maybe somebody would like to buy half of a curtain for a small garment, or maybe they just need a little extra to finish a project.

So what can you make with the amount of fabric that you are getting in a curtain?  Well, from what I have calculated so far, half of a curtain (or less) should be enough for a baby or toddler dress, a spencer, a man's waistcoat, a boy's jacket, doll clothes, or a fabric-lined bergiere.  One curtain will make a petticoat, a jacket, a caraco, a bedgown, a bibbed apron, a girl's dress, a medium sized cloak, or a banyan for a smaller person.  Two curtains would be necessary for a matching skirt and jacket, a round gown, an open robe, a long cloak, or a banyan for a larger man.  You would probably need three curtain panels for a robe a la francaise, a polonaise, or any other type of gown with a full overskirt and matching petticoat.

I have updated my Pinterest board with direct links to the curtains at Lowe's, and I've decided to also include links to in-progress blog posts on Pinterest in addition to just posting the finished photos.  Pinterest is such a great way to keep up with all the links, so I thought it might be easier to track multiple projects there vs. making people search back through my blog entries for links.  Let me know when you start sewing your projects, and I'll add a link to you blog on my Curtain-Along board so everybody can see what you are working on.  Oh, and because a sew-along isn't really official without a badge, I made one in case any of you want it. Feel free to grab and use the small or large icons however you want, or you can also embed my pin of the badge from Pinterest if that is easier for you.  But please don't feel like you have to use this badge or include a particular link or anything like that.  I just made it for fun.  :)

And with that, I will leave you with this excellent article by Kendra exploring the history of 18th c. Indienne print fabrics, and I also made a new Pinterest board of Indienne print inspiration which documents a variety of garments that use similar colorways to the Waverly curtians, and it also has plenty of examples of bold, large-scale botanical prints.   I can't wait to see what you all make!



28 comments:

Aurora said...

Has anyone figured out the difference between the $18 fabric and the $23 fabric at JoAnn's? They have some colorways (like blue) at both prices and I can't see a difference . . .

Jen Thompson said...

Aurora - I can't figure that one out either! I know some of these are heavier outdoor fabrics, but neither of those blue colorway listings mention that. ???

Lauren said...

Fun! I really want to join in. Will keep my eyes peeled for Kohl's coupons :)

Lauren R said...

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Yay! This is going to be so much fun! :)

Mistress of Disguise said...

Yay! I'm so glad to see that this has taken off so well! I'm totally in! :D

Unknown said...

i would love to take part, but i will have to wait untill after halloween (my 1880's countess dracula gown is sucking me dry of all spare funds) sooo, for now i will read along and live vicariously through all of you

Anonymous said...

Ok, I'm in! But I bought a different print. But it's still a curtain panel. Does that count?
Alyxx

Anonymous said...

I really want to see someone make a banyan and a matching cap out of the embroidered pillow!

http://www.amazon.com/Waverly-Felicite-16-Inch-Embroidered-Decorative/dp/B006JNCCMG/ref=sr_1_6?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1347342249&sr=1-6&keywords=waverly+felicite

bauhausfrau said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
bauhausfrau said...

BTW, the SNS (or SUN N SHADE) fabric is the "sunbrella" one, probably stiffer than the non-SNS one and is !00% poly.

Green Martha said...

Now you make me want to buy some curtains to make a new 18th century frock. Those prints are fantastic ! Must. Resist. CADD.

Aurora said...

Ok, I went to JoAnn's today, and they had the 17.49 blue colorway and it seemed perfect for this project: slightly satin-y cotton with a slightly cream background and a bold blue print. I dunno what the more expensive one is, but for people wanting to buy online the cheaper one is good for dresses imo.

Aimee said...

I bought the creme lowes curtains a little while ago. I'm probably going to make some sort of round gown/anglaise out of it with a white petticoat. I'm 35 weeks pregnant right now though so I probably wont actually make this until next year. ah well!

Thanks for posting the yardage estimates and ideas of what you could make out of how many curtains, that's pretty great! I got three panels because I'm tall and didn't want to worry about not having enough.

Caroline said...

This is such a fun idea! I love it. I bought the blue a while ago form Joann's. It is light enough weight for dress, but it isn't satiny like the curtains. It is a little stiff, but not heavy like an outdoor fabric. Though I think a lot of the Waverly prints are outdoor weight so you must double check.

Laura said...

Alright, I just might have been bitten by this bug. First I need to finish the 40s kit, then... remake my stays. Then we'll see if this happens. :) I'm loving the crimson, but not so much the price! The Amazon Prime deal for the creme et noire is much more tempting, but the colors... Hmm.

crafty lady said...

The fabric is on sale!!! I just got an email from Joann - all their fabric is on sale 60% off on the web site only until Saturday (Sept 15th). It's all selling for $13.99 & $17.99 - even the blue colorway. Get it while you can!

Melissa said...

I bought some of the curtains, I couldn't resist! I need to make stays first though...but I think this will push me to get them done!

saraquill said...

My fancy was piqued when you mentioned doll clothing. Unfortunately, the scale is far too huge to really work for that purpose. On the other hand, if there are any scraps for sale after this challenge, I'd be happy to help take some off of people's hands. I'm sure thay would make lovely kerchiefs or aprons.

Lithia Black said...

I've spotted this print in two more colors at fabric.com
Indigo 14.90/yard(blue flowers on white background) and Mineral 14.90/yard(pastel hues of green,blue,orange yellow and brown on cream background)

Lithia Black said...

Correction it is onlinefabricstore.net has have them. Direct links to the colors:
Creme
http://www.onlinefabricstore.net/drapery-fabric/floral-drapery-fabric/waverly-felicite-creme-fabric-.htm
Indigo
http://www.onlinefabricstore.net/drapery-fabric/floral-drapery-fabric/waverly-felicite-indigo-fabric-.htm
Mineral
http://www.onlinefabricstore.net/drapery-fabric/floral-drapery-fabric/waverly-felicite-mineral-fabric-.htm

Merlina said...

Well I'm in. I've a Lowe's very close to me and I fell in love with the fabric when I saw it. Plus I need another 18th Century gown. I'm thinking the creme over a red petticoat. SHould be fun to see how it all works out!

Cheers,
Merlina

MCB said...

I'm in too. There is a cream print sacque in my future. Unfortunately, Lowe's kicked up the price on the cream colorway to match the others so I ordered from Amazon. Here's hoping they come soon; I started patterning the lining last night!

Anonymous said...

I've just ordered the black colorway from http://www.housefabric.com/Felicite-Noir-P5414.aspx It's $15.95 a yard. I'm planning a sacque gown, to be done by the end of March.

sandysister said...

I just found some curtains of my very own, but I am new to this era of gowns, can anyone point me in the right direction for patterns? I have two panels.

rebekah said...

Is this appropriate for the 1770's? i t looks lime it is more 1780's, but I'm fairly new at this and was hoping someone with more knowledge knew. ;)

rebekah said...

Is this appropriate for the 1770's? i t looks lime it is more 1780's, but I'm fairly new at this and was hoping someone with more knowledge knew. ;)

Fabric Carolina said...

its looks like retro kind of design and trend now.these designs will give ancient look and i also designed some fabrics like this.
Waverly Fabric

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