Tuesday 25 May 2021

Hanging curtains

 This weekend, I finished installing the curtains in the apartment.

Unlike all the dollhouse kits I have seen, the spacing between windows in old Danish houses is really narrow. At times no more than 50cm (20"), which translates to just 2mm (3/4"), which is the spacing I had made for The Toy House apartment. 

With such a narrow space between the windows, I had to be quite selective when it came to curtains, so that they wouldn't look too bulky. I have known all along that I was going (somehow) have semi-shear white lace curtains over roller blinds, which was really common for window treatment.


To make the curtains, I bought 10cm (4") wide Swiss embroidered edging lace. It is basically a Swiss voile with a machine embroidered edge. The beauty of it for this project is the fine, lightweight cotton, which draws up to fine, soft gathers beautifully. 

I cut the piece into the six lengths, pressed and handstitched the seams. Yes, you read correctly - handstitched! I know, slightly nuts, but I really don't like the stiffness of glued hems.
I then gathered up the top of each curtain before pinning the drapes into place and giving them a good dose of spray starch and leaving them to dry. 


While the curtains were drying, I made the blinds to go behind them (and of course forgot to take photos). They are basically a bit of fabric, rolled up around a toothpick, cut to length and a wee bit of string attached to the lower edge. You can just see a glimpse of them in the picture.

To assemble the whole thing, I cut three pieces of foamcore the same width as the windows. I glued a blind onto each piece. Once that and the curtains were dry, I glued a pair of curtains onto the front of each piece.
Then I cut a strip of balsa wood, slightly wider than the card pieces and about 1.5cm (5/8") longer than the trio of windows. This piece would both enable me to install the three sets of curtains nice and level, but also provide support for a pelmet.

I hope that all makes sense. You can kind of see how all the layers work in the picture above.

After debating about what to do for the pelmet for a bit, I decided to embroider one. I had (very brief) look around for a suitable ribbon, but an embroidered one would be nicely in line with the 'hand craft' movement of the time. 
 



I embroidered a strip of simple daisies. These are simple stitches (chain stitch, stem stitch and French knots), but I admit the size makes it a little bit fiddly. 
Once done, I cut it out and glued it over a piece of firm card. Before I glued the covered card onto the balsa strip, I stained the top of the wood to look like untreated, aged oak - now it just needs the dust to settle and it will look rather authentic LOL.


I am still undecided about curtain tiebacks. In some ways, it would make sense, but I don't want these windows to look too formal, and looking at photos it was rather common to have the curtains loose and just draw them back around the edge of the window sill... not sure yet. 

I hope you are having a lovely week everyone and hopefully find some time to mini.

Anna X




15 comments:

  1. Very fine curtains! Good work!
    Hugs Britt

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  2. Jeg har lige opdaget din blog! Jeg ser at du har skrevet på dansk på dit hus i ditt tidligere inlæg.
    Jeg bor i Sverige, men forældrene er fra Danmark.
    Her er min blog:
    https://brittsvirkochminiatyr.blogspot.com
    og min hjemmeside:
    http://fingerborgen.se/Hem.html
    og min E-butikk:
    https://www.etsy.com/se-en/shop/Smallthingsandmore?ref=seller-platform-mcnav

    Mange knus fra Britt

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hejsa Britt of velkommen.
      Ja, jeg bor i Australien men er foedt of opvokset i Danmark. En af de ting jeg savner mest er a gaa gennem gaderne i gamle koebstader - saa nu bugger jeg husene som jeg husker dem.
      Knus Anna

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    2. Ja men så får vi lov til at hålle kontakten via vores blog og e-mail:
      Her er min:
      britt@fingerborgen.se

      Delete
  3. The semi-shear white lace looks lush and chique, Anna, so your delicate curtains are just beautiful. They fit very well to the look of this room, and the embroidery on the pelmet too. Maybe you can use ear ring hooks as curtain tiebacks...? It's just an idea ;).
    Have a nice week.
    Hugs, Ilona

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Ilona, I hadn't thought of earring hooks for tieback. I think I might have some in my stash, so I will give that a try.
      Take care
      Anna X

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  4. The curtains and pelmet look beautiful - simple and cottage-y. The pelmet is so neatly stitched I thought it was an (machine) embroidered ribbon. Lovely! And I really really love that wallpaper. I really need to go back through your older posts for a look. Take care!

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  5. Thanks Shannon. I made the wallpaper from a swatch I found on a website that replicates old/antique Swedish wallpapers.
    Hugs, Anna

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  6. So pretty, delicate and pleasing to the eyes in terms of scale. I also love that you embroidered the valence yourself! Such a loving and personal thing to give to the toy shop!

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    Replies
    1. I guess, I just can't help embroidering - it is what I do for a RL living, so why not in mini, LOL?

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  7. Let the dust settle! All for that authentic look.

    I love the windowtreatments you have made for the appartment. You say the embroidery is quite simple, but to me it looks like magic. I love the daisy trim.

    Huibrecht

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your kind words, Huibricht.

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  8. The curtains frame the windows perfectly. And the embroidered accents are exactly what I would have expected from you. So neat and lovely colours.
    I once took lessons to make bobbin lace, for the sole purpose of making curtains for my dollhouses. After weeks of creating tangled spiderweb around pins, I gave up on it. Bobbin lace in a world of right-handed people is not for left-handers. There are so many fine fabrics and laces to choose from.

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    Replies
    1. I have never attempted bobbin lace - let alone in mini. Yikes, I can only imagine.

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