Window Valances for My Friend's First Baby

I recently had the privilege of helping my dear friend Kristy decorate her soon-to-arrive baby's room (she's due any day now!). Kristy and her husband have decided to wait for the surprise of finding out if their little one will be a boy or a girl, until he or she arrives. Thus, they wanted the colors to be neutral (the suspense is killing me!). The design was based around her crib set fabric. First we selected colors for the walls, a happy green and a nice warm light yellow border, to go above the existing white wainscoting. Didn't they do an excellent job painting? Nice work.

To pull it all together, I convinced Kristy to let me to sew these adorable window valances (with her help of course). I have been wanting to try my hand at a project like this, so what a perfect opportunity! I wish I took some photos while we were actually making them, but all you'll see is the finished product. We started by removing the elastic and hem from 3 fitted patterned crib sheets. Next, we measured and cut the sheets to the size we wanted. Then we measured and cut strips of brown silky fabric for the trim. I was hesitant to sew such a silky fabric to a cotton fabric, because it was quite challenging to cut, as it kept sliding off the table (great choice Kristy!). But it ended up turning out beautifully and gave the valances such a nice finished look. We used a heavy white fabric for backing the valances to minimize light.

I basically sewed them like a giant pillow case, sewing the bottom and two sides (inside out, then turning it right side out). Then I folded over the top, toward the backside, to make a "tunnel" for the curtain rod. I love how they turned out.


Here are a couple more photos of the room. Don't you love the furniture? Kristy and her Mom recovered the rocking chair and ottoman with brown fabric to match the room. Nice!


The whole room looks beautiful! Kristy,thank you for letting me be part of welcoming your sweet little baby into his or her new home! I hope he or she will love sleeping and waking and playing in this adorable room. Can't wait to meet him or her!