3 Winks Design
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • Printables
  • From Cover to Reel
    • Contests >
      • Writing Challenge
    • Show Notes
  • Where I Party
    • Places Featured
  • Archives

Curtain Tie Backs, Finished at Last!

11/8/2016

5 Comments

 
Picture
       It feels like forever since I put up the tutorial about sewing your own drapes and then promised to show you how to do the tie backs.  Sorry! But, they are finally finished!  Please excuse my photo because it is really difficult to take pictures of an open window in the daylight.  
​       On today's market, you can purchase hook-like contraptions to use as tie backs for your curtains.  Here are some, and here.  Or, you can purchase other types of ties, like these, these, or these .But, for some reason in my mind I envisioned same fabric tie backs, matching my drapes,  that kind of buttoned on some sort of a knob or something.  So, with my husbands help, that is what I did.
       First of all, let me show you how I made the tie backs.
Just like when I told you how to sew the drapes, measuring is very important.  But, it is up to you to decide how wide and long you want your tie backs to be.  For mine, I used a tape measure to wrap around the drapes and hold them back to what I thought was a good look and took my measurement from that. Mine in this case are about 28" long (71 cm) and since I wanted a thicker band holding back the drape, they are 3" wide (7.5 cm). Remember to allow extra for a seam allowance, so I cut mine about an inch larger all around, then trimmed the seams afterwards.  Click on the pictures for more directions.
Here is the fabric, cut to the size I wanted and inside out. I took about 1/2" seams.
I started sewing the seams from the fold end to the open end. (I had cut one long strip and then folded it in half. You could cut two separate pieces and then put them together and sew 4 sides instead of just 3.) Remember to leave one end open for turning.
After stitching, trim the corners, threads and...
and the seams.
I use my scissors to turn my tube. You could use something else long with a little bit pointy end, (like a knitting needle). Just be careful not to poke through the fabric and create a hole.
Be sure to take extra care to get the corners out to make a point.
Now you have a long tube that just needs to be pressed flat. I then top stitched mine all the way around to finish off the open end.
      Now that the fabric part of my tie back was finished, I had to figure out what I wanted to have hold them on the wall.  I looked and looked and the things that I thought were the most beautiful, went with my room's decor and would work well were actually drawer pulls!  There are so many choices of drawer pulls, but the problem is, I wasn't going to be attaching mine to a drawer.  That created a problem because you couldn't get to the end of the screw to add the nut to hold it in place like you would on a drawer.  I told my husband my idea and dilemma and he didn't even bat an eye! He just came up with the solution.
I purchase these medallions from the craft store!
Here is a closeup. They were really inexpensive.
I painted them the same color as the living room wall. Luckily we still had some of the oatmeal cookie paint leftover.
My husband drilled a hole to attach the drawer pull. He recessed the hole in the back and recessed the holes for the screws that would attach the medallion to the wall. You can also see the pulls I chose here.
Picture
    To cover the screws, he purchased some wood plugs that fit right in the holes. I will show you the picture in a minute.  
       Next, I had to put buttonholes in my tie backs in order for them to work.  Measure how large your knob is, and always make a test buttonhole on a scrap of fabric to see if you have the size right.  When I went to make my buttonholes, I discovered that a piece of my buttonhole foot was missing! Argh!  I had to manually make the adjustments on my machine to get them done., so don't expect closeups, Ha Ha! But, actually, they look pretty good, and the big knob covers most of them anyway.  So, here is how they look!
Picture
You can see the plug that covers the screws here. We will come back and paint them the same color as the medallion. I just wanted to post this today!
Picture
I really like the look! It is easy to blouse the drapes anyway that you want them to look.
Picture
I love the width of the band as it holds back the curtains.
      So, there you have it!  Not necessarily a faster, easier method, but the look is what I wanted and my husband and I worked and problem solved together to make it happen, and that is a big part of the fun in the process! Now, my front window is ready to frame my Christmas Tree when we put it up.  
     By the way, if you were wondering about the writing on my sewing scissors, here is a picture.
Picture
If you have gone through as many pairs of sewing scissors as I have, you will know why. (tee hee)
5 Comments
JENNIFER BLY link
11/8/2016 07:24:02 pm

These look REALLY great! Well done indeed. I've been wanting to do tie-backs for a while now - I may try your instructions.

Thanks for sharing.
xoxo

Reply
Helen Reynolds
11/8/2016 09:09:20 pm

Thank you so much! Hope your attempt goes well for you. Thanks for stopping by.

Reply
Helen at the Pleasures of the NW link
11/15/2016 07:16:54 am

You make it look so easy!! Thanks for sharing on the Pleasures of the NW's DIY Party!

Reply
Patty Gordon link
11/18/2016 12:59:10 pm

Thanks so much for posting this great tutorial to the #fandayfriday link party! #fdflinkparty. Hope to see more of your posts there soon!

PS - I totally understand the scissors! My kids steal mine all the time!

Reply
Helen Reynolds
11/18/2016 02:02:43 pm

You are welcome! Thank you for hosting the party.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs!  (copyrighted)
    Subscribe to Our Email!
    Picture

    Author

    Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to fifteen!  I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born.  Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out!  Read more about us here!
        

    Picture
    Click this link and visit 3WinksDesignShop on Etsy. Find our Hot Cocoa Bomb Idea Book, our For the Love of PIe e-book and more of our creations!

    Picture
    Shop Mood Fabrics




    RSS Feed

    Archives

    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • Printables
  • From Cover to Reel
    • Contests >
      • Writing Challenge
    • Show Notes
  • Where I Party
    • Places Featured
  • Archives