Curtain Tie Backs, Finished at Last!

       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.

    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!

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!

I really like the look! It is easy to blouse the drapes anyway that you want them to look.

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.

If you have gone through as many pairs of sewing scissors as I have, you will know why. (tee hee)