Burlap Curtains

I've had a huge chunk of burlap on my craft room counter for ohhhh... about six months now.  So I finally got down to business and made Brody's burlap curtains last week.  I should call them my "Phineas and Ferb" curtains, because it only took one episode of the show to keep the kids entertained while I made these.  What took me so long?

They are the perfect finishing touch to his earthy, dinosaur room.  They're not the usual brown burlap, but instead they have a greenish hue to them.  I love how rugged and imperfect they are.  I didn't measure a thing - how's that for professional work?  I didn't hem any edges, and there are still frayed bits here and there, but I'm happy with them.

And actually, now that I see the picture, I'm noticing that maybe one side is longer than the other.  And I'm not in love with the curtain rod, which was previously hidden by the valance that hung there when this was Brody's nursery.  But you know what?  Brody doesn't care, and neither do I.  And why am I pointing out all the faults? Pretend you didn't read that part.

I didn't plan to leave the top fringed like this, but I hung the first side backwards, saw that I could just fringe it and liked the look of it!  

Next time, if I intend to have fringe on the front like that, I think I'll make the rod pocket a bit deeper (longer?) so that the fringe is further down the curtain.  But I wasn't going to turn on another episode of Phineas and Ferb to fix it.  ;)

And then I didn't have any plans for tie-backs, so I just took a few scraps and tied them on and voila!  And I love how they're fraying.  Any bets on how long before Brody figures out they fray and I have burlap all over the room?

I'm happy with how they turned out, especially given the whopping 20 minutes I put into them.

Do you know how easy it is to work with burlap?  One thing I always get hung up on in my sewing projects is cutting straight.  I know, that seems so silly.  With burlap, it's a piece of cake.  (You're thinking, "yeah, and with a ruler it's a piece of cake.")

I'm using an old scrap to show you how.  See how uneven this piece is?  It makes me wonder how horrible the previous project looked when it was done.  Yikes.

Just take one of the "threads" of burlap, and pull.  It will gather, but just gently work it out all the way to the end.  (Yes, I need a manicure.  Don't judge.)

You'll be left with a gap where the thread was.  Cut along this line and you'll have a nice, even edge.

And then you can make some really fancy, professional curtains like these.  And a strange thing I love... his room smells like burlap now WHICH I LOVE.