Monday, June 27, 2011

Patriotic Window Treatment Idea: Fabric Wrapped Stars

Here is an Americana craft/decoration idea just in time for Independence Day!  This 4th of July window treatment is super easy, cheap to make, and gives the space where it hangs a subtle festive feeling.


Here is the spot I was looking to add a little seasonal color.... I usually wrap a plastic flower garland around the tension rod above my kitchen sink to add a little seasonal festivity to an otherwise hard to decorate room.  This is my REAL office, by definition of the place where I spend the most time working...


What I had available... some fabric remnants, ribbon, yarn, and stem wires in the right colors.


First, to make the stars, I bent the stem wires into star shapes. I overlapped the edges and twisted them together on some of the stars, and just overlapped the edges on others.  Cut the fabric into thin strips (< 1/2 inch or about 1 cm) and rough up the edges by running the strip through your hands until the edges start to fray (a great kid job).

 



Put a little tacky glue on the overlapped edges and start wrapping! 
 Wrap the entire star. Then, use a little tacky glue to secure the end of the fabric strip.

 I had some white feathery "yarn" to use for hanging the stars, but any sort of white ribbon would do the trick.  At this point, the stars could hang in a window as is, or be part of a garland or window treatment like below.


To cover the tension rod, I cut another strip of fabric wide enough to wrap around the rod to make a fabric sleeve.  I sewed two lengths together so that the fabric could bunch up along the rod.  Then, I cut a bunch of small pieces of ribbon to make loops for hanging the stars.  Turn the ribbon shiny side down and space them where you like (I used a ruler width).  My very fancy method of holding the ribbon in place was a small piece of transparent tape! Fold over the edges and sew together, inside out.

When you turnover the rod sleeve (outside in), you can remove the tape and admire your loops!


Here is the rod sleeve with loops, all done and ready for the stars!


Here is the finished product, with stars attached:


Happy 4th of July to you!

I've linked this project up with a whole bunch of creatively awesome crafts here:


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