Flannel also makes a good batting.

I haven't read the answers to your question, so I may be repeating what someone else has written. I made a shower curtain quilt. Top and backing only, with round buttonholes for the shower curtain rings. Lightweight shower liner to keep it from getting wet. I imagine something similar would work for your door - depending on what you use to hang it. You'll want to quilt it together to keep the blocks from drooping. I get lots of compliments - I'd post a picture, but it's in CT, and I'm in AZ.

Great idea. I've been planning on making a quilt for a small window that lets in cold and gets the afternoon late morning and afternoon sun and gets very hot in the summer. I also have a door with a gap--not my house--that lets in cold in the winter. I never thought about a quilt there--so thank you for this thread.

If you want the quilt to appear like drapery pleats put small sleeves on the back about the size of a tab and space them three to six inches apart and when you push them to the side the area of the quilt that hasn't a sleeve pushes forward and it appears to be a pleat. For a lighter weight I'd use flannel and no batting.

My mom has whole cloth quilts as her closet doors in the bedroom.
She purchased them and took them in and had large grommtts put in them and then put them on a pretty rod. I'll see if I can get pictures when we get down to visit next.
This is how they hang:
http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/prod...1&SKU=15939222

When we lived at Tahoe we had window coverings that had a light batting. We had single pane drafty windows-brrrr. I would think a cover over the door would save heating like the window blankets did.

How about hanging on the wall leaving the opening area for the door behind the quilt. The wee animal could find a way around the quilt without you having to move it and the area between the quilt and the door would serve as a sort of air lock.

k3n wrote:
..... DH says when I've made the curtain he'll FINALLY make a cupboard to hide all that electricity gubbins you can see...

this has been a looong, but most interesting/helpful thread k! don't have any suggestions for ya, thinking you have jogged me to do something bout my drafts too!
just have to tell you, love the way you talk too, lol...is 'gubbins' a french word or a 'k' word? lol!!! :wink:
...smart girl to not take anything away from hubby. Makes them much more eager to help again in future. My hubby thinks he came up with lion's share of ideas 'round here...uh huh. :D

another thought....you can hang the quilt FROM the door by attaching small wooden cleats first. using a spring-bar, the quilt can hang straight down to more cleats and another spring bar. leave a cut out in the corner with it's own teeny quilt for your puss.

does the wind come in only through the door or through all the windows as well?

can you do a large bi-fold door with quilted panes? they do that on windows in milan (no quilts, just shutters). again you could leave a small opening for chubby. or just hang his little drape.
if id doesn't hang well, you can do what someone here suggested - hang the unhinged corner with hook and eye overnight. the shutter could have weather-stripping on all the panel bottoms. i envision 3 or 4 so they don't bunch up when opened.

I think it would work great, however you would need to put something very hefty inside to help with the draft..Maybe even that silver stuff we make hot pads with? Expensive, but very effective. There is something out there that is especially made for drafty windows..can't remember the name of it, so not much help there! Good Luck! hapytlk

I haven't read everyone’s ideas but my thought is to make your quilt curtain and get a shower tension rod and line the quilt with a shower curtain and hang them together using a liner of fabric or a sheet for the backing with the plastic between Q. and backing. You can make tie backs to hold your curtain when you need it open. Hope this makes sense to you. It’s hard to get a clear idea of your problem from the picture, but maybe this will give you some idea Good luck
Carol

I like Arizona Sunrise's idea of the tabs. I would use a light lowloft poly batting (for the insulation quality) and a backing.

Another idea for the top would be --that's if you don't mind making holes in your "quilt" -- use those large gommets that are all the rag in window treatments. That would slide well over your rod.

Another thought: what would be wrong with making it the same size as the door.? Who doesn't like seeing a beautiful quilt hanging on the wall?Good luck. Happy quilting. :lol:

Gubbins is not a French word (that I'm aware of). Of course, I speak Cajun French not Parisian French. Cajun French is a dialect combining French from different areas.

No, not a French word, see here:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_b...sages/227.html

Thank you, K. Never a day goes by that I don't learn something new. This was very interesting.

I have roman shades made with a product called warm winter that is a batting covered in cloth and quilted in channels. I don't know if you would want something like that or not, but I bought it at JoAnn's Fabrics.

I have a king size quilt that we use as a curtain on the doorwall from our bedroom to our deck. I don't imagine the window in your door is very large. I would make the quilted curtain more than 1 width of the window...1.5 to 2 times wider would be better. If you can, I would recommend that you use plain white backing if the back of the quilt will face outside as any other color will fade where the sun hits it...it also looks better from outside. Check at a home supply store or hardware for a curtain rod and curtain rings with spring clamps on them. If those are not available, you could always sew white plastic rings onto the quilt/curtain for hanging. Good luck with your project. Be sure to post photos when you are finished.
Wendy

Hi, Just thought, if not to late, I'd let you know that you can make a quilted curtain for over your door. I have them over the windows in our house. I used sheets to match on the inside and a plan one on the outside with ¼" fiber fill inside. I tied the units and either used cafe clips or made grommet holes and used shower rings to attach to a rod. The first time I made them, I used a pattern for Roman Shades. Sorry, I can't find it now. Hope this may help!

Hi mamajan, welcome from Washington state. I looked for you in Introduce yourself but you are'nt there.

Here in the states, we have a product called Warm windows. you could make your quilt top and use it for the backing. Thats what it's made for. I have made them for my windows.They work really well. They also keep the heat out in the summer on those very hot days.they have a web site. www.warmcompany.com I never thought of using them for my doors, but like the idea. Susan

Thank you all for your ideas!

I've decided to make the quilt one and a half times wider than the opening; I'll use a very thin batting and an extra wide cream backing that I've seen online which has a tone on tone print so it is a little bit more interesting than a plain but shouldn't fade in the sun; DH and i have been looking at curtain tracks and have found a rail with a groove on the underside with rings that run along, then some hefty metal hooks in wide curtain tape on the back of the quilt - this should hold the weight, no problem; whether I gather the tape or not, we'll see when it's done, try it ungathered first as izy suggested! as they say in france 'au fur et à mésure'! :wink:

I'll definitely make a tie back and if I've got enough fabric, i like the idea of a valance. This would work even though i plan to hang the curtain outside the recess as there is a cross beam in the ceiling a couple of inches in front of where the curtain will hang!

i also just love the idea of a mini quilt for the catflap, (butterflywing! :D ) and even though i won't make the quilt fitted to the door because i want to pull it right back in daytime, I might make a mini curtain for Barney's door just for fun!

It may take a while as I'm currently researching a new sewing machine (hooray!) so will wait til I get it to start on the curtain. I've already designed a pattern though (ohio stars alternate with three strip blocks in three colours - dark red, navy and old gold) and yes, I've already bought the fabrics! :wink:

Will keep you posted, thanks again for all your help!

K x

I wouldn't use felt, because I don't think you could wash it.
I have seen some curtain rods that will swing out of the way, like a door. Actually, like the old towel racks people used to hang in the kitchen (only they had three arms) I don't know how long of an arm they have, though.
It doesn't looke like you have enough room for one on each side. You need someone to engineer something for you that would fold up accordion-style, and still support the weight.
Good luck with this!

thanks J - I'm getting a new sewing machine soonish (hooray!) so I'll wait til then to start and OF COURSE I'll post pics when I'm done! :D

K x

I have seen some drapery that is usually like silk or thin material . The lliner is the regular lining material plus flannel . so maybe your quilt curtain would do well with a flannel filler. I think a colorful quilt could add so much for the decor of the room. You could pick out the colors to enhance your room.

One idea is the "Warm Window" products. They sell a 4 layered quilted, insulated fabric and the hardware to hang it. Here is there main info:

http://www.warmcompany.com/wwpage.html

You can also buy the fabric at most larger fabric stores and on line.

So, your budget is more like $20 a window? See what this frugal person did with only $20:

http://countrylife.lehmans.com/2007/...window-quilts/

Another frugal minded person did this:

http://energyboomer.typepad.com/ener...-make-ene.html

One of my favorites, probably because hers LOOK like quilts:

http://www.manytracks.com/Homesteading/winquilt.htm

Hope some of those ideas work for you and others. I've just used a thick batting on my two sewing room windows for the last several years. I hang lined curtains in front of it, then I can take the top part down half way to let more light in if I want.

Thanks for the ideas, and for bumping my topic LOL!

I've got all the fabric now and will make it like a regular quilt but with thin batting. I'm going to wait til I get my new sewing machine tho!

K x

You're welcome! What kind of new sewing machine are you getting? (Sorry if you've addressed that elsewhere and I didn't realize it).

Karla

ETA: Would love to see pics of your new window quilt when you get it made up. Thanks!

I'm getting the Janome 6600MC! Can't wait! A friend has one and she loves it! I've had a little play on it and I know I'll love it too. At the moment, I've got an old Toyota - just about the most basic model you can get. It does straight lines and that's about it. I've done a bit of ditch quilting on it but you can't drop the feed dogs so can't do anything more fancy and for piecing, well, i know a bad workman blames his tools but I'm SURE my seam allowances will be better when i get my new toy - at least, I won't have any more excuses, will I! :wink: :D

K x

Wow! What an awesome sewing machine!!! I can imagine that you will enjoy this machine for a long time to come. I'm excited for you. Congrats! Gee, I didn't even know Toyota made a sewing machine, lol. What a wonderful step up for you. Enjoy!

Happy quilting,

Karla

Will a quilt curtain help keep the heat OUT in the summer?

Thanks Karla! :D

K x

I hope so - wow I hadn't thought of that! The door is nearly all glass and south facing so it might be great for that too! I got a kind of antiquey tone on tone tea print for the backing which won't mind a bit of fading!

K x

I am new to this but, i would try a tension rod and just use t-sirts for the batting and no backing is needed, just use creative stitching and or a nice color thread, and when you make the panal[ATTACH=CONFIG]531863[/ATTACH] ok so i cant draw buti hope you understand my gist of it, the bottom right if you make it so the cat door is like a flap for her or him it may be cool to look at also. And for the wires if you start by pulling out tools as though you are going to build it, ( make sure he is home to see you) or ask him if he will help get the correct tools to build it yourself, he will probably do it right then and not keep putting it off. Good luck and I hope you understand my gibberish...

I made a quilted shower curtain too...made button holes in the top. I didn't use batting, but just quilted through the front and back. Think the process would be the same .. and it still act as a cold barrier. Maybe if you wanted something a little "more" you could use flannel as the batting?

Why not do a roman shade type one using your quilt.

You could use a drapery holdback on the left side to expose the cat door! Be sure to let us see what you end up doing! Very interesting problem but solvable!