I'm having this problem with my living room curtains. The problem, is that I hate them. And the worst of it is that I talked Will into them because, standing in IKEA, high on so-many-fun-things-to-buy I thought they would be the perfect compliment to our burnt orange and brown color scheme. When I got home they looked, well, sort of coppery. Which is fine, but not what I had in mind. And because they hang behind the couch they are too long and always tangled up, which leads to me trying to tie them back in various ways, none of which I've liked. Ugg.
On top of all of this, I've fallen out with rod pocket curtains. Actually, I don't think I ever liked them. I haven't even had them before which makes me wonder why I even bought them in the first place. I usually go for some kind of tab top style which I generally like. A few months ago I bought curtains for the dining room that have these neat little tabs over the rod pocket so you can choose a traditional gathered top and a french pleat look. Once they were up on the wall (in french pleat mode) I realized this was my new favorite curtain style (as if I had really thought about things like that before!) And so I've been doubly (or is it triply) cursing the living room curtains. Wrong fabric, wrong length, wrong gathers. Woe is me.
I'd love to just replace them but I can't a) fit it into the budget yet and b) find anything I really like anyway. I might try to get more of the fabric that I recovered a chair in last year (since the chair was, um, over loved by the kids and is now in the mudroom waiting for yet another cover, this time out of sturdier fabric) but again, budgetary concerns delay this prospect. But during my morning glare at the offending window I came up with an idea. What if I slit the rod pocket to make flaps similar to the beloved dining room curtains?
So I gave it a go. Measuring off of the other set, I cut slits in the webbing (yeah no hemming!) every seven inches or so.
And now?
Well, I don't love them, but I don't hate hate them
anymore either. Which is good. At least it will prevent me from tearing them down in a fir of rage one day. I also used pieces from Briton's marble roll (don't tell!) to keep the couch from moving all the way back against the wall and thus squishing the curtains, better and better. WE;ll see how long it takes for him to discover that mommy has re-purposed his toys....