The Selfish Seamstress must be feverish today. Nothing else could possibly explain the sudden overwhelming burst of generosity that has overcome her- a generosity that she suspects she will come to regret, a generosity that tastes foreign and bilious in her mouth, a generosity that she will probably later decide you did not deserve. But by then it will be too late.
First, a word on wearing curtains. If it’s good enough for Scarlett O’Hara…
And it’s good enough for the Von Trapp family…
And it’s good enough for the magnificent Melissa of Fehr Trade (okay, to be fair, her beautiful Burda dress is made from a shower curtain, rather than drapes per se, but same concept)…
… isn’t it good enough for you too?
Most notably, don’t you think you need the new spring Vogue 1174 Cynthia Steffe dress…
… sewn up in these vintage new old stock (i.e. they’re vintage but have never been used) drapes?
As of the time of writing this post, these lovely pristine drapes are available on eBay (yep, to the folks who were asking where I get my vintage fabric, that’s my main source). Two panels of 24″ by 84″ (though I’m guessing that width would probably be greater once if you let out the pleats, not exactly sure how pleated drapes are measured) for a not too unreasonable $59.99. It’s a Buy it Now, so first come, first served! (If you’re reading this post and someone already got to them first, haha, sucka!)
No, I’m not the one selling them so I can’t tell you anything more about them other than what’s on the eBay description. I have, however, eyed them longingly a couple of times in the last few days before reminding myself that I don’t need any more dressy fabric. Or any more fabric that matter. But if you want them, get them now before I have a change of heart. I can already feel the selfishness bubbling up inside of me, and it’s starting to make me wonder if maybe you just don’t deserve them. Go!
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April 7, 2010 at 8:05 am
Lee Ann
Oh yes! Do it!
If Peter at Male Pattern Bloldness can wear a gently used sheet, you can definitely do curtains!
I use home decor fabrics a lot – I love a lot of structure in my clothes
:)
Lee Ann
April 7, 2010 at 8:10 am
Harriet Graves
and when you are complimented on your dress/drapes, you can say; “I saw it in the window and couldn’t resist”.
April 7, 2010 at 8:13 am
selfishseamstress
*giggle*
Question though, what does one say about stuff one makes from fabric found in the trash? Hey, it happens :)
April 7, 2010 at 8:12 am
peter
My next project is going to me made out of vinyl siding — stay tuned.
April 7, 2010 at 8:16 am
selfishseamstress
There’s a guy who pops up on BurdaStyle every so often and he makes garments out of Tyvek.
April 7, 2010 at 8:36 am
Darci
The *only* trouble I’ve found with vintage curtains is that if they were hung and exposed to sun at all, they rip like the dickens once you sew them up. I found a supercool cabbage rose curtain at a garage sale years ago and made bermudas out of them. Upon first wearing (out of the house, of course), they ripped like crazy in the bum region. Luckily I was wearing a cardi and could wrap it around my waist. It was SO disappointing!
And Peter, vinyl siding? I’m seeing some FIERCE shoulder pads for Cathy!
April 7, 2010 at 8:39 am
Welmoed
Heehee! Done that several times. In 2008 I designed a display for a drapery show with the express intention of taking it apart afterwards and making a gown from the fabric:
http://www.sissonfamily.com/Sewingroom/pages/smithson2008.htm
I use a lot of drapery fabric in my sewing; it has body to it that is often missing from traditional garment fabrics.
April 7, 2010 at 8:44 am
PatternJunkie
I made a skirt out of a cloth shower curtain last year. It’s really one of the best skirts I have — although I haven’t worn it in the rain to see if its water-repellent.
April 7, 2010 at 8:58 am
heather t
I don’t know. When I hear “mid-century curtains” I think of two words: stiff and scratchy.
Also, I have reservations about the flocking.
Note that I have no problem with using home dec fabrics for clothing as a rule, but I would be worried about this particular eBay listing. YMMV.
April 7, 2010 at 9:37 am
Auntie Allyn
The only fabric store anywhere near my retirement/weekend home is a decorator fabric store. I go in their regularly to pick up remnants of lighter-weight cotton drapery fabric, out of which I’ve made several jackets and simple skirts. Dresses can be tricky, as the fabric tends to be a bit heavier-weight than one would want.
I share your concern about your sudden onset of generosity. Sounds like you’ve possibly got a case of the vapors . . . you should sit quietly in a chair and fan yourself until you regain your senses!!! ;-}
April 7, 2010 at 11:16 am
Jennifer
Ebay! I wouldn’t have thought to look on there for vintage fabric! I am going to be scouring ebay now! I am going to have to get a cute border print and be a copycat! Thanks for sharing!
April 7, 2010 at 12:34 pm
~buzzybee~
Opening this post I was expecting to see your poppy fabric as drapes!
We made very cute Tyvek skirts one year – the Tyvek was punctured with needle holes in a rose print pattern similar to those drapes above – they were gathered onto a yoke, and had no hemming (yay!) just pinked edges!
We made Tyvek pretty!
April 7, 2010 at 2:13 pm
vespabelle
You most likely don’t want to make a dress like Carol Burnett’s Scarlett O’har!
April 8, 2010 at 8:38 am
Sabayon
Virtually half of my clothes are made from re-purposed drapes or sheets and absolutely all of my muslins are made from cotton flat sheets bought at Goodwill, which manage to somehow be four times cheaper even than muslin.
April 8, 2010 at 8:40 am
melissa
pfff! I’m almost ashamed to admit it, but I did indeed make a dress out of house curtains (as opposed to shower), too! Genuine, German vintage curtains that actually hung in my friend’s mother’s house in Berlin.
http://www.fehrtrade.com/gallery/15/not-your-average-von-trapp-dress
(my god that’s pushing four years ago now!)
The shower curtain dress is cooler though. :)
April 14, 2010 at 4:11 am
fabric store – Pleather Fabric
[…] You should wear curtains « The Selfish Seamstress […]
May 11, 2010 at 3:29 pm
JBalloon
My mom bought a huge roll of beautiful paisley fabric that she is using to make curtains. I am eagerly waiting til she has made them all, and then I’m going to use the leftover fabric to sew myself a dress. Who doesn’t want to match the curtains at home?
October 29, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Pamela
I just took my old shower curtain out of the dryer and thought, huh, I wonder if I could dress up like one of the Von Traps by re-purposing this thing. I was google-ing to see what the print really was, and found your blog. Love it and the internet!!!
September 15, 2013 at 11:34 am
Karssi
I absolutely love this idea although im not sure how it would work with jungle print fabric. Oh well. One can Dream
February 21, 2015 at 2:17 pm
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