Curtains....

 

Of Velvet and Lace....

I added the lace curtains to the two little windows on the opening wall, Dear Readers, and because they are so like the first lace curtain, I didn't take many pictures of them. But I did get a great shot of them through the window in the morning light! (I love the morning light in this house!) And because I was admiring the lace in the morning light, I thought I would show you the other lace curtains again, in the morning light, before they become partly obscured by the velvet ones.

I am sure I am not the only one who falls in love with the mini decor

 at every stage of its creation... almost reluctant to add the next layer...

(like my trouble with deciding to paint the paneling!) 

and yet eventually it all seems to come together

 and "be" what it was meant to be when you first dreamed of it...!

But that means you must persevere and keep adding new layers...

So I began the velvet curtains.

Velvet is a tricky material to work with, and strictly speaking,

 it is completely out of scale in mini rooms!

But I love it, and you might have noticed that

 I am not a "stickler" for perfect scale in all my minis.

I love the look that I think of as "antique dollhouse" 

which is more charming than perfect...

more "enchanting world" than museum piece.

And so I allow myself to use pieces of velvet for curtains!

I don't remember where or when I bought this cloth.... 

but it is the sort of cloth that I buy whenever I find it!

It is lush and regal and opulent and old fashioned.

(And I have been imagining it as dollhouse curtains for a long time!)

But you cannot use the "pretty pleater" methods on it.

 It will not work to wet it with glue or spray. 

So I use the wire in the hems method of trying to be

 able to shape the drape of the cloth.

In this case I am using florist's covered wire stitched all around the edge.

And because I like to be able to manipulate the curtains.... 

opening and closing them...

I have sewn tiny curtain rings to the top edge.

And we need a double curtain rod too.

And I know it is a little hard to see, Dear Readers,

 but if you look closely you will see that the rod support hooks 

on the left side have had the "eye" pried open part way.

This allows for the curtain rod to be slid in and out of the supports

 to change the curtain if I need to... and to work on it now.

There is no glue involved at all!

So I can test how it will fit as I am sewing it.

And with "pleats" caused by shaping the wired hem...

And both curtains...

Here I am pinning the bottom hems...

This is looking in through the side door to the tower stairs 

(not yet started...)

And because I have dreamed of it... 

there needs to be gold braid and fringe...

Which has to be tested in place...

(Lots of testing in place with these curtains!)

One curtain with the braid and fringe all stitched on!

Stitching the other one....

And both curtains are completed!

But of course, it has become late and is dark out.

And in the morning light, Dear Readers, 

I begin to feel that the curtains are right for this room!

They are bold and lush and Beautiful!

Yes, they dominate that wall.... 

but it is the side wall.... 

There will be many more things to rival

 the brilliant curtains before this room is done!

And that was all I accomplished

 last weekend, Dear Readers,

But now I have my beautiful 

lush curtains of Velvet and Lace!