I wanted to see how quick and easy I could make a window treatment, as I know my readers appreciate anything simple that looks terrific. A while back, I had purchased a tablecloth on clearance from Bed Bath & Beyond, so I thought I would see what I could make out of it.
It was a fairly large tablecloth about 60″ x 120″. When I saw it, I was buying it purely for the fabric to make Deco Wrap cornice styles, so I figured the bigger the better. It was marked down to about $10.00 if I remember correctly. Anyway, the window I was decorating was 41″ wide, but in challenging myself to keep it quick and easy, I decided not to even cut the fabric down. I simply folded the length in half, right sides out. Then I draped it over the tension rod which was between my mudroom cabinets. No rod pocket needed!
I could have easily cut the length down and decreased the fabric width, but I worked with the size I had, as to keep it simple. I figured I could gather the excess fabric at the ends. That is exactly what I ended up doing.
From there, I fan-folded the bottom into about four, 3 1/2″ folds. Note the bottom fold should have the hemmed edge facing the window. I measured in a few inches from the wall so it was equally spaced on both sides. Then I pinned the folded fabric in place using T-pins. Any type pin or fabric clips work fine.
Finally, I used drapery tiebacks to accent the gathered portion. You can use any type of tie, ribbon or cording. I thought these went perfectly with my fabric. I pinned them at the top, just behind the tension rod. Then I removed the pins that were holding the fan-folded fabric in place. I then dressed the fabric with my hands to make the folds smooth and even. Voilla! No sewing, no cutting, and in minutes a beautiful window treatment. I love it. I think I’ll keep this style up for a while. Happy decorating!