{"id":23355,"date":"2012-09-10T09:00:10","date_gmt":"2012-09-10T13:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/?p=23355"},"modified":"2014-01-27T15:28:15","modified_gmt":"2014-01-27T20:28:15","slug":"cafe-curtains-from-vintage-linens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/cafe-curtains-from-vintage-linens\/","title":{"rendered":"Cafe Curtains from Vintage Linens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>The following is a post from contributing writer\u00a0<a target = \"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/wiMych\">Jami<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23378\" src=\"\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/cafe-curtain-banner.jpg\" alt=\"VIntage Cafe Curtains\" width=\"500\" height=\"335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/cafe-curtain-banner.jpg 500w, https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/cafe-curtain-banner-300x201.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Do you have vintage linens that have been handed down to you or that you&#8217;ve found in thrifting adventures, but are stored away in a cupboard?<\/p>\n<p>Think about making them into easy cafe-styled curtains which transform these treasures into something functional and also allows you to enjoy their beauty and uniqueness on a daily basis.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23379\" src=\"\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/two-cottage-baths.jpg\" alt=\"Cottage Bathrooms\" width=\"500\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/two-cottage-baths.jpg 500w, https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/two-cottage-baths-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When we remodeled our bathrooms, we replaced the dated, foggy windows with clear single-hung versions since we wanted to maximize the natural light in the rooms. Cafe curtains were an easy solution for both bathroom windows &#8211; they provide privacy, but still let in light above the curtain.<\/p>\n<p>With nothing but a single line of straight-stitching, I was able to use two pieces of vintage linen &#8211; one a pulled-thread cotton and the other a hemstitched pure linen &#8211; to create one-of-a-kind curtains.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23383\" src=\"\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/vintage-linens.s.jpg\" alt=\"vintage linens\" width=\"500\" height=\"279\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/vintage-linens.s.jpg 500w, https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/vintage-linens.s-300x167.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Supplies Needed:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Vintage tea towel, small tablecloth, runners, napkins, etc.<\/li>\n<li>Tape measure<\/li>\n<li>Sewing machine or needle and thread<\/li>\n<li>Small tension rod (for inside window placement) or cafe curtain rod-and-holder set (for outside placement)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23382\" src=\"\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/sewn-rod-pocket.jpg\" alt=\"sewn rod pocket\" width=\"500\" height=\"335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/sewn-rod-pocket.jpg 500w, https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/sewn-rod-pocket-300x201.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4>Instructions:<\/h4>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Measure your window<\/strong>. The width is the most important part, but you&#8217;ll also want to know how much length you&#8217;ll want from your rod to the window sill.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Choose a vintage linen piece<\/strong> that fits your measurements. For the simplest curtains, choose pieces that fit perfectly the width and have only enough over-hang to create a self-valance for the height (as pictured above).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Measure your rod width<\/strong> to know how wide to make the pocket for the rod on the curtain (1-inch will usually cover most cafe-sized rods for smaller windows).<\/li>\n<li>There are <strong>two ways to make the rod pocket<\/strong>:<br \/>\n<strong>a)<\/strong> Simply fold over the end of the linen piece, mark where your pocket seam should be to create a pocket the width you need (based on your rod measurements) and sew a loose (set the machine stitch to 3.5 or by hand) seam straight across at the mark.<br \/>\n<strong>b)<\/strong> Cut the linen, leaving enough to make your pocket and fold a raw edge under &#8211; sewing as above.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hang your curtain<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-23381\" src=\"\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/two-curtain-examples.jpg\" alt=\"cafe curtain examples\" width=\"500\" height=\"250\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/two-curtain-examples.jpg 500w, https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/09\/two-curtain-examples-300x150.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>I chose to simply fold over the linens for both our curtains not only because it was simple, but also because I didn&#8217;t want to cut into the linens. This way, if I want to do something else with them, I can simply use a seam ripper to remove the stitching, wash and iron them and they will be back to their original states. More or less.<\/p>\n<p>However, what if you have a wonderfully embroidered tablecloth you&#8217;d like to use, but the decoration is only in a corner and it&#8217;s way too long? This is a case where you&#8217;d want to cut and add a side-hem as well as a rod-pocket.<\/p>\n<p>The point is to use these wonderful pieces that may have a special history for us or that we want to showcase as a way to honor our heritage as creative women. Some of these techniques like the drawn-thread-work piece on the left above are simply not produced by hand anymore. Or at least not very often.<\/p>\n<p>And they are amazingly well done. Let&#8217;s bring them into the light once again.<\/p>\n<p>Do you have vintage linens stored away? How do you like to use them?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/author\/jami\/\">More posts from Jami<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The following is a post from contributing writer\u00a0Jami. Do you have vintage linens that have been handed down to you or that you&#8217;ve found in thrifting adventures, but are stored away in a cupboard? Think about making them into easy cafe-styled curtains which transform these treasures into something functional and also allows you to enjoy [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":147,"featured_media":23378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[2548],"class_list":{"0":"post-23355","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-diy","8":"tag-diy-sewing","9":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v15.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cafe Curtains from Vintage Linens - The Happy Housewife\u2122 :: Home Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/cafe-curtains-from-vintage-linens\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cafe Curtains from Vintage Linens - The Happy Housewife\u2122 :: Home Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The following is a post from contributing writer\u00a0Jami. Do you have vintage linens that have been handed down to you or that you&#8217;ve found in thrifting adventures, but are stored away in a cupboard? 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