Post-Martha: A Curtain With Many Moods
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I Am A Strange Loop: A continuous curtain is adjustable for endless moods.
Posted by ReadyMade
Project by Adrian Van Allen; photos by Jeffery Cross
In the days before washing machines, some clever homemaker came up with the circular towel: two fabric strips sewn together and hung on a rod. Much hand drying ensued, and laundry was avoided for an extra week. Martha appreciates the Shaker simplicity of this design and suggests using antique linens, adding a glass knob to each end of a painted wooden dowel, and securing the whole ensemble to the wall with cup hooks. That’s nice, though a tad twee for us Readymakers. Here’s a way to bring the same utility, minus the fuss, to your window coverings. Martha may look askance at the raw edges of the fabric, and she’ll certainly grimace as you use your dirty paws to rotate the loop and adjust light levels. But this is your living room—you make the curtain call.
Skill Level
Easy
Active Time
Half a day
Cost
$$
- Several yards of two types of fabric—one opaque and one translucent (examples: raw silk and organza; cotton chintz and open-weave linen; or velvet and muslin)
- 2 cup hooks
- Metal, wood, or Plexiglas rod cut to span your window
Materials
- Needle and thread or iron-on fusible bonding web (such as Stitch Witchery)
Tools
Measure the fabric against your window. For each type of fabric, measure out a full window length and width. (Or go wild and stitch together many different panels of fabric, making sure the finished piece covers your window.)
Sew the ends of the fabric together to create a giant fabric loop.
Secure the cup hooks by screwing them in just above and outside the edges of the window.
Place the fabric loop on the rod, and hang the rod on the cup hooks.
Rotate the fabric for greater or less translucency, taking a moment to admire the various patterns of shadow and light.
Think deep thoughts.
