Close Enough For Jazz....

...or templates for difficult shaped curtains....

And we did all of this before breakfast...

You saw the drawing of the asymmetrical curtains in an earlier post.  When I do something this irregular, I need a place to start.

This is how I do it, with a little bit of help from my friends...

I took a piece of graph paper and lined up one edge with the inside edge of the cage front, making sure that I had it all of the way to the top of the opening.

Then I creased the edge with my fingers.  It is hard to see, but there is a bend where the edges of the inside are in the first photo. 

I then went over those with a pencil.  It is not an exact science.  I just wanted something to go by.

Then I added more paper to the other side and lined it up with the other inside edge. I overlapped that one with the first one, matching them up. 

I stuck the two pieces together with tape.  That covered the opening, except for a small corner on the left side.

I patched that in with what I cut from the top...Did I mention that I cut around the lines that I just traced? I did.

After that, I drew the lines for the outer curtains on one side.  Then I flipped it over and did lines for inner curtains on the other side.

These are just tentative drawings.  I will adjust as I go.

I darkened the edges with a permanent pen.

I will cut these pieces out in card stock.  They will be my guide for the different sections of curtains. 

Since they are going to be lots of different fabrics, I can pleat them separately and then, when they are all done, layer them in the finished piece.

I think that you can see it best in the second photo.  I will start at the bottom and work up.

The curtain parts that touch the floor will be first.  I plan to let them puddle, so they will be pinned in an L shaped piece of foam core.  Then the top of that section will be done from the same material, but a separate piece.  That way it will be easier to make a droopy drape.  No pulling and tugging like I would have to do if it were all one piece. 

The first layer would be the left bottom curtain. The next layer would be the center section at the bottom of the house shape.  Then the right hand top of curtain.  Last will be the one that goes in the center of the roof peak.

Has anybody seen my pin box?   I fear that it is somewhere in the dreaded workroom.... Where's the piece of rope to tie to my ankle?  Oops...I think I saw that somewhere in the workroom yesterday...

Now that the instructions are all clear as mud, I am off to eat breakfast and go back to work. Wish me luck! I'm going to need it for this! Tomorrow there will be photos...


See you then.