Sew Awesome | SIMPLE VALANCE

Remember when I showed you these easy peasy drapes here a month ago? Well if that wasn't quite challenging enough for you, I've got a valance you can sew for your smaller windows. I sewed all my window coverings at once, so I may have taken the easy way out and repeated a few pictures (sorry, folks). Ninety percent of this design came from Sarah and Cozy.Cottage.Cute in this post. (Her decorating tastes are really similar to mine, so I totally creep on her blog all the time.) I just made a few changes to hopefully streamline the sewing process and add some versatility.

Start with a single length of 36" wide muslin and 2 simple buttons. You will need two 3" wide strips of the muslin, plus a large rectangle to cover the window. The measurement of the large rectangle varies depending on your window length, but if you add 6-8" to the length of your window you should be in good shape.

1. With each 3" strip, fold in half and press. Then fold the rough edges under about 1/2" and press again.

2. Pin together the strip edges that you just pressed.

3. Sew a tight stitch along both long edges. Fold ONE end (on each strip) under twice and sew another tight edge. Create a button hole in that same end of each strip. Put the strips aside for later.

4. On the large rectangle piece, fold both rough edges over 1" and press.

5. Fold those same edges over once more and press.

6. Pin and sew along each edge.

7. This step depends on the thickness or radius of the rod on which you plan to hang your valance. Mine was a standard aluminum flat rod (probably the cheapest thing you can get) that the last tenants left behind. To fit this rod in the valance pocket, I folded the top half over about 3 inches. Place the two strips just under the folded-over lip with button holes facing DOWN or AWAY FROM THE POCKET (it would be a shame to hide away all that good work). Run one last seam over the folded over edge to create a pocket.

8. This part is tricky to describe, but important to grasp to sew your buttons correctly. In image 7, the side I show is actually the back side of the valance (the side that will face the world outside your house), and the side where you just sewed the pocked edge down. The side on the ground in image 7 is the front side, and the side where you will sew on both buttons. Sew these buttons directly opposite where the strips connect to the pocket.

To hang your valance, simply thread a curtain rod through the pocket. Roll or fold excess fabric up and pull the strips from the back to the front, attaching to the front of the panel via the buttons.

P.S. Notice how my buttons mysteriously changed colors? I have another tutorial headed your way in a few days on a really cheap faux antique metal technique that I used here!