Falling back in love...with my shower curtain

Sometimes I just have to change things up around the house so I can enjoy looking at them. One such spot is in our guest bathroom. I fell out of love with the shower curtain in there a long time ago, but a new one never made it on the list of Things We Need.

So last week I took matters into my own two capable sewing hands...

 And I've got a tutorial to go with it!
(Because, really, why make something like this if I can't pass it on?) 

You'll need...

A large piece of fabric measuring 82" wide x 76" long (I used Kona muslin because it comes in extra wide yardage and I love it so much)

About 1/3 yard each of 3 different prints (I used the same fabric from this project - Charisma by Gail Kessler)

Rotary cutter & mat

Clear quilting ruler

If you're wondering how you cut a huge 82x76 piece of fabric, here's how: you fold it in half and then half again (below) and use your rotary cutter. It will most likely not be perfect and this it totally fine. We're going for beautiful handmade goodness, not perfection.
{Oh, and this shower curtain will be wider than standard because I wanted more "ripples" across the top}

Trim your selvages and cut your prints into 9" strips running the full yardage width.
Cut those into various width pieces.

Arrange them in a random/alternating order.

You'll need to create a long strip measuring 82" after they're all sewn together.

 Sew your pieces together using a 1/4" seam allowance and press your seam allowances to one side.

 Now cut your long strip down the middle, dividing it into one 6" piece  and one 3" piece.

 Press the long edges 1/4" to the wrong side.

Now you'll get ready to pin those long strips to the large piece of fabric.

Lay your ruler perpendicular to the bottom hem and mark 15" and 17 1/2" from the bottom. Do this all the way across the bottom, marking about every 10-12 inches. These will be your guides for placing your strips.

Your 15" and 17 1/2" marks...

Line up the top edge of your lower strip with the 15" marks. Line up the bottom edge of upper strip with the 17 1/2" marks. Does that make sense? 

To add visual interest, flip one strip horizontally.

To the untrained eye, it will look like you pieced together two completely different strips...see how that works?

Pin them a lot as they want to shift when you sew them.

Edge stitch the strips on top and bottom edges of each.

Now you'll do the side seams. Fold and press the sides over 1".

Tuck your raw edge into the fold and press.

Edge stitch the side seams and do the same press/tuck/stitch for the bottom hem.

Next, press your top edge over 3" all the way across.

Like before, tuck your raw edge into the fold and press.

Stitch all the way across the top edge, creating a 1 1/2" pocket. 

 Mark the placement for your buttons (12 total), starting 1" from either side and working into the center, marking every 7". I laid my measuring tape down the center of the top hem and marked on either side of it (see below).

If your fabric wasn't measured/cut/sewn perfectly, you may not meet in the middle at exactly 7" increments. I know this because mine didn't meet up just right... But it's OK - no one will ever know once it's hung up. I promise.

Before you start laying down buttonholes, grab that manual (or buttonhole foot instructions) and follow it step by step. I still do this every time I sew buttonholes...

And practice a few times on the same kind/thickness of fabric to make sure your buttonhole looks just right.

(use your old shower curtain as a guide for buttonhole size)

Hopefully, you'll have something that looks like this.

Now trim all those threads and hang it on your shower!

And if you're anything like me, it will make you happy every time you walk past it.

If you use this tutorial I'd love to see your creation! 

Feel free to post it to the Handmade Mommy Tutorials Flickr Pool.

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