Curtain Call...

Not really curtains....Really valances...

I wanted plain muslin valances, like I have in my real workroom. 

Anything else would look too busy with all of the other prints that I have in the cottage.

The first thing I did was rip the muslin crosswise in the depth that I wanted the the ruffle.  Then I very carefully trimmed all of the edges.

After that, I ran a bead of white glue along the edges and smeared it with my fingers, so that the edges wouldn't fray. If there are any edges that need more trimming, I do it after the glue dries.

I then did a running stitch about a quarter inch from  one of the long edges.  I like this better than by machine when I am trying for relaxed, irregular pleats.  It seems to be easier to coax them in place when the stitches are irregular.

If you look closely at the first half of the pleating, you will see that the top has almost twice as many pins as the bottom.

I am following the lines in the graph paper to get it as level on the top and bottom as possible.

I pin a couple of the top gathers first and then go down to the bottom and, with a pin, pull down on the edge and angle all pins with the heads away from the material. Alternating between the top and bottom makes for more natural pleats. This stretches the pleats and holds them in place until they are sprayed and dried.

Here is the whole 36 inches of fabric.  It gets compressed down by less than half in length.

I took a photo with the kind of hair spray that I prefer for this.

I have been using this one for years and it seems to hold and not change the color of the fabric.

I just sprayed the pinned fabric and I will spray it again after it dries the first time.  I usually leave it for 24 hours to make sure that it is completely dry.

Notice in the third photo that the hairspray has leaked onto the graph paper and loosened the ink....Not to worry.  There is a piece of wax paper on top of the graph.  That prevents the ink from staining.

Anyway...Now we wait.  Tomorrow I will show you the rest of the process.

See you then.