How to Sew Drapery Tiebacks
Drapery tiebacks hold stationary drapery or curtain panels in an open position. Leave them open all the time if you have a shade or blind underneath for privacy, or release the tieback at night to close the panels. Make tiebacks from your drapery or curtain fabric for a subtle, elegant look. Choose a contrasting fabric for a fun, casual touch. By sewing your own drapery tiebacks, you get to choose the exact look you want. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Cloth measuring tape
- Fusible interfacing, heavyweight
- Tieback fabric
- Ironing board
- Iron
- Straight pins
- Sewing machine
- Thread
- Hand towel
- 2 plastic rings per tieback, 1/2 inch
- Hand-sewing needle
- 1 cup hook per tieback, 1/2 inch curve
Instructions
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1
Loop a cloth measuring tape around one of your drapery panels, and pull it toward the outer edge of the panel. Keep the starting end of the measuring tape fixed, and adjust the trailing end of the tape until you're pleased with the length. Try the measuring tape at different heights --- typically one-third or two-thirds from the top of the panel --- until you're happy with the placement. Mark the mounting height on the molding or wall with a pencil, and make note of your chosen tieback length.
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2
Cut heavyweight fusible interfacing 3 inches wide and 1/4 inch longer than your chosen length. Cut your tieback fabric 4 inches wide and 1 1/4 inches longer than your chosen length.
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3
Lay the tieback fabric right side down on an ironing board. Center the interfacing on the tieback fabric, with 1/2 inch of fabric showing all around the interfacing. Iron the interfacing to the fabric according to the manufacturer's instructions.
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4
Fold the tieback fabric lengthwise with right sides together. Pin the lengthwise edges together with straight pins. Straight stitch the edges together on your sewing machine with a 1/2-inch seam allowance, creating a long tube of fabric. Remove the pins.
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5
Press the two fabric flaps of the seam allowance open with your iron. Turn the fabric tube right side out. Fold both short ends into the tube 1/2 inch and pin. Center the seam on the top of the tube, and iron the tube flat. Cover delicate fabric with a hand towel before ironing it.
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6
Place the fabric tube on your sewing machine, seamed side down. Topstitch around all four sides with a 1/4-inch seam allowance, but don't sew all the way to the edges. Stop sewing when you're 1/4 inch from each edge. Leave the needle in the down position, piercing the fabric. Raise the presser foot, pivot the fabric 90 degrees, lower the presser foot and resume sewing. Remove the pins.
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7
Lay the tieback seamed side up. Place one of the 1/2-inch plastic rings at one end of the tieback, with only the innermost edge of the ring overlapping the tieback's end. Hand sew the ring to the tieback, catching only the fabric of the seamed side of the tieback.
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8
Place the second plastic ring at the other end of the tieback --- on the seamed side --- with the ring's outermost edge 1/4 inch from the tieback's end. Sew the ring to the tieback by hand, stitching through just the seamed side of the tieback.
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9
Repeat Steps 2 through 8 to make additional tiebacks for the other curtain panel in a pair, and for the rest of the windows in the room.
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10
Measure the location of your pencil mark from Step 1, both the distance from the floor and from the innermost edge of the window molding or wall. Make a corresponding pencil mark at the other side of the window, if you're using a pair of tiebacks. Screw a cup hook with a 1/2-inch curve into the molding or wall at each pencil mark.
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11
Hook the plastic ring extending from the end of the tieback onto the cup hook, with the seamed side of the tieback facing you. Pass the tieback behind the drapery panel and wrap it around the front. Hook the other plastic ring --- the one sewn to the back of the tieback --- over the cup hook to hold the drapery panel open; the end of the tieback will hide the cup hook.
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Tips & Warnings
To embellish your tiebacks, attach bullion or tassel fringe to the bottom edges. Choose fringe with a decorative header, and hand sew it to the right sides of the tiebacks with a pick stitch.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Sewing machine image by Kumar RR from Fotolia.com
