Dollhouse curtain on a curtain rod

I’ve made curtains in lots of different ways. But this time I wanted to add a wire at the base. I have used wire in bed ruffling (shown below in my vintage house). So why not in curtains? The top of a pushed open curtain is usually more scrunched and the bottom has loser pleats when pushed on a curtain rod. This is what I tried to emulate.

First, I cut some cotton fabric to a smaller width then the window. I imagined the width the curtain would be when open then made it less then that so when I made it permanently open it it wouldn’t take up too much space. Fabric in miniature can be bulky unless you can shrink down some fine cotton fabric with a shrinking machine. Still hoping for one of those someday.

Fold and glue the side hems with Tacky Glue.

Put glue at the top of the fabric and fold the top hem over your curtain rod. Be sure not to glue it to the curtain rod. Move it slightly to be sure it doesn’t stick.

Cut the wire and try and get it straight, glue your bottom hem over it. Immediately use your thumbnail to be sure the wire stays at the base.

Let it all dry.

Squish the top as tight as you can on the curtain rod.

Pin it to foam board at the top.

Then pull and pin at the base. Work your pleats until you are happy.

You can buy a Pretty Pleater if you want perfect pleats. But I personally wanted these curtains have a different look. If you were making curtains that you imagined would have hooks on the back a Pretty Pleater would be an ideal method.

I ran a shish kabob stick up inside to shape my wire folds at the base and to help guide where I would pin. Don’t force your pleats too much, let the fabric guide you. If it isn’t feeling right work the scrunched up pleats at the top a little. That can change the rest of the pleats.

Once you are happy, spray with your choice of fabric stiffer. I had some old Stiffen Stuff. The nozzle was clogged so I poured out an expired Benadryl spray bottle and used that.

You can also use aerosol hairspray but I have not tried that one yet because I always use this old stuff. :)

Once the fabric stiffener was dry I removed the pins. Use the tip of one of the pins to scrap out the holes left behind in the fabric.

I drilled a hole in my window frame (made from mat board) and put wires hooks through to hold the curtain rods for this treatment. Then I glued the window frames on the house. I am just starting this build so I was able turn the house on its side to weigh down the frames while they dried. 

At first I was bothered that there were creases here and there that wouldn't be there if it was in real life, but then I remembered two things. Some of my favorite dollhouses are ones that aren't perfect. It's a fantasy not reality. 

The other thing to always remember when working on something is that it will only be a small moment in a completed project. Yes, there maybe a few creases that bother me but once all the furniture, accessories, and lighting are in place they will disappear and a beautiful little world will emerge. 

It's up to the individual artist to chose which imperfections need to be reworked and which will only add to the fantasy. Always listen to your gut so you will be happy with the end result, but don't be too hard on yourself either. This is suppose to be FUN!

Looks like dad is leaning on his shovel talking with Pop-pop. Little do they know the kids are spying while the cat is taking in some sunshine.