It's cold. No, I mean really cold. It's the inside cold. The inside cold that means the boiler is broke.
(This is not actually that surprising as 2 weeks ago there were plants growing out of it)
In an effort to stave off hyperthermia I finally worked up the courage to start working some home-made curtains to brighten up Dougies rather grey interior.
Last night was spent trawling websites for custom curtain measurements, asking my dad obscure questions about the length of things in the van and making myself pretty pictures on the computer to try and make all the curtains come out of the 7m x 1.5m bit of fabric I had already bought.
Top tip 1 - Work out how much fabric you need before you buy it!
Yes I know I should have done this but hey, it was an impromptu Ikea trip. Took some minor adjustment to fit everything in, but I had intended to alter the length of the tail gate curtains anyway so it was OK.
The easiest way I found to fit everything on was a scale model in powerpoint.
Make sure you add the hems, again here was somewhere I managed to save some fabric.Instead of having a wide hem on the top and bottom, just put one one the top. The numbers in brackets on the diagram are the actual curtain size and the other numbers are the actual size I cut.
OK so once i was reasonably sure that everything would measure up, I started drawing out the first set of curtains. Went for the biggest first but I'm pretty sure you could start anywhere.
Top tip 2 - Measure twice, cut once.
Do as it says. I actually followed this one and picked up on what could have been some pretty dodgy mistakes.
Top tip 3 - Find yourself a large, bright space where you have enough room to lay out the fabric flat.
Unfortunately I didn't follow my own advice and was trying to do this in my lovely dark and sloped roof attic room. And after spending a lot of time on my hands and knees (thanks roof) I can advise a softer floor as well. Never the less, got the curtains cut without too much hassle.
Top tip 4 - Use the right tools
I didn't. Sadly we didn't have any scissors in the house that were sharp enough to cut tissue paper, let alone quite sturdy fabric. Luckily my trusty pen knife came to the rescue! Yes some of the edges are a little rough, and it too AGES but it worked. Also when measuring things like this I imagine a meter ruler and a friend might help. I used a tape measure. It behaved like an agitated snake and was pretty useless when it came to drawing across. Took some gentle encouragement (I stood on it) to make it stay still long enough to use as straight edge.
Finally, once you have all your curtains cut, fold them neatly so you can stick a photo on your blog and enjoy the fact that your room is permeated by the smell of Ikea candles.
(This is not actually that surprising as 2 weeks ago there were plants growing out of it)
In an effort to stave off hyperthermia I finally worked up the courage to start working some home-made curtains to brighten up Dougies rather grey interior.
Last night was spent trawling websites for custom curtain measurements, asking my dad obscure questions about the length of things in the van and making myself pretty pictures on the computer to try and make all the curtains come out of the 7m x 1.5m bit of fabric I had already bought.
Top tip 1 - Work out how much fabric you need before you buy it!
Yes I know I should have done this but hey, it was an impromptu Ikea trip. Took some minor adjustment to fit everything in, but I had intended to alter the length of the tail gate curtains anyway so it was OK.
The easiest way I found to fit everything on was a scale model in powerpoint.
 |
| Scale plan of fabric (red) and curtains (blue). |
 |
| Hems. Both for the curtains and of my PJs |
Top tip 2 - Measure twice, cut once.
Do as it says. I actually followed this one and picked up on what could have been some pretty dodgy mistakes.
Top tip 3 - Find yourself a large, bright space where you have enough room to lay out the fabric flat.
Unfortunately I didn't follow my own advice and was trying to do this in my lovely dark and sloped roof attic room. And after spending a lot of time on my hands and knees (thanks roof) I can advise a softer floor as well. Never the less, got the curtains cut without too much hassle.
 | |
| One of the biggest curtains for the front cab area |
Top tip 4 - Use the right tools
I didn't. Sadly we didn't have any scissors in the house that were sharp enough to cut tissue paper, let alone quite sturdy fabric. Luckily my trusty pen knife came to the rescue! Yes some of the edges are a little rough, and it too AGES but it worked. Also when measuring things like this I imagine a meter ruler and a friend might help. I used a tape measure. It behaved like an agitated snake and was pretty useless when it came to drawing across. Took some gentle encouragement (I stood on it) to make it stay still long enough to use as straight edge.
Finally, once you have all your curtains cut, fold them neatly so you can stick a photo on your blog and enjoy the fact that your room is permeated by the smell of Ikea candles.
 |
| Success! Sink curtain, 2 for the tail gate and 3 for the front and sliding door |
The next step is to start arranging the hems and practicing sewing. Hopefully i can find an iron somewhere.
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