Turning curtains into a quilt?
 

I have been gifted a pair of very expensive custom curtains. They are practically brand new but they are also 14 foot long if they are an inch! The backing is 100% cotton sateen and the inner lining is 100% heavy cotton flannel. The curtain fabric is a beige polyester moire satin. One panel is wide enough to cover my queen size bed with a 15 inch + drop on each side of the bed. Of course given the length I will have plenty of fabric for the pillow tuck at the top. My questions are: would a long arm quilter be able to quilt it into a whole cloth type quilt for me, and would you replace the flannel with quilt batting?

I will still have the other panel to harvest fabric from to make a bed skirt. I am going to save the sateen from it for quilt backings. As for the flannel inner lining, I am thinking of turning it into receiving blankets for the local women's shelter.

I'm not a LA quilter, but I think it could be done. If the curtain panel has a seam straight down the length, that might be an issue. I like the sateen for backings and the flannel for baby blankets ideas. In this house, since I make costumes as much as I quilt, with fabric like that, I'd be making hooded cloaks. LOL

I'm not a long armer, either. But it sounds like the kind of thing I do all the time! I guess you could take it to someone who does LA, or your LQS and ask.

No, no. You are supposed to make a fancy gown with curtains aka Gone With The Wind. ;)

Jokir44, with the curtain rod still attached a la Carole Burnett, lol.

When I first read your description, I immediately thought of a whole cloth. Not sure about the long arm work but it should be do-able.

Yes, it can be done, as I've done it myself, and it will be beautiful. My only thoughts would be the weight, and whether the fabric has sun-block on the back, if so I would not use it for a quilt.

Several years ago I had a home based business. I made window treatments. The most important concept was matching draperies and bed cover. I made the draperies and sent matching fabric out to be quilted into the bed cover. Always beautiful. So, a longarm quilter could do this as a wholecloth project. I would recommend using batting rather than the flannel because you will want loft. Please show us your project when you finish it.

Thank you, Ladies! I am not planning heavy quilting, just a pretty pantograph will suffice. I hadn't thought about the loft of the batting. I will use it instead of the flannel, it will make it lighter too - that flannel is heavy! I will post before and after pictures. There is so much fabric I need to get it taken care of soon, this is one UFO I don't want laying around!

If you are thinking the foam backing , no. it is just regular fabric.

Can you make a valance type window treatment to match your bed quilt?

I will have enough fabric from the other panel to make a full set of curtains; each panel is approximately 8 yards of each of the 3 fabrics. Crazy amount of fabric!

I like your thinking...repurpose is the phrase these days... not wasting is my phrase and creativity...love it.
A LAer could do it if it's not too wide for her table...the widest table, I believe, is 14 feet. You would have to ask specifically about the width...length is no problem.

I'm betting your recycled project will be more beautiful than anything you could have purchased. Recycling is environmentally beneficial, more creative than buying new, and usually better quality! You go girl.

That sounds really nice! Is it heavy drapery fabric or washable chintz? With my three dogs, I can't do anything that isn't washable. I never know what is going to end up on the bed! :D I know what you mean about a ton of fabric. My last house had 12 ft ceilings and a huge window in the front room. I made the drapes for that room and I measured and calculated about 3 times. I couldn't believe how much fabric it was going to take. And I didn't even hang mine from the ceiling. Just from the top of the window! That's why I headed to the discount interior fabric store. Heavy chintz for $5.99/yard :thumbup:

Post pics when you get it done!

I am going to say it is washable, or it will be once I am finished. I am going to take everything apart, serge the edges to stabilize the fabric then take the whole kit-n-kaboodle to the laundromat to wash it and dry it. If it survives that, it will survive anything.

Before I start tearing things apart I will spread it out on the bed for the before picture and post it. I am thinking I would like it quilted with a dark brown or navy blue thread. I am going to call a long arm quilter in the next town over to see if he can do it and get started. I can't let them sit around the house taking up space - they fill a 55 gallon drum size trash bag!

A lot of interior fabrics are washable. I've washed several to make the fabric into jackets. One thing that sometimes happens is that it will shrink up a bit and have more texture. When I was making a jacket from it, I really liked the added texture. If it's a chintz, it may lose some of the shiny surface but will be just fine. I can hardly wait to see the pics!

It is a moire satin, it is kind of shiny but not like regular non-textured satin. I have enough of the fabric that I am willing to take the chance of washing it first. With the dogs and DH it has to be washable!

You might want to re-think using the sateen on the back -- in my experience it is slippery and causes the covers to slip. (I used it on a bed quilt and with out tossing and turning it wound up on one side or the other.)

That's one of the reasons I make my duvet covers. The ones in the store so often aren't washable and 3 dogs and a husband, it has to be washable!

As long as you have lots of fabric, go ahead and wash some of it. Some interior fabrics give interesting results after being washed.

Yes that.....she saw it in the window and she couldn't resist! :o)