Denim Curtains for the RV

I made two sets of curtains for the RV bedroom area. They are denim with cotton valances attached and matching trim and pull-backs.  I used the curtains that had been stock in the RV as a pattern, except I shortened the valance because I wanted to let more light in. I only wanted to cover up the fold-up shade underneath the curtains which didn't have it's own valance and was ugly at the top, with exposed stitching. In this picture, it is folded all the way up and is covered completely by the cotton valance. The shade matches the valance color but is plain.

I also put small Velcro strips on the inside side hems of the denim part of the drapes in the bedroom so that at night I could pull them all the way closed to keep it darker. Again, the entire curtain is one piece, joined with the valance so I can't just slide each denim piece closed underneath the valance. The cotton valance is "stuck" in between them. However, with the Velcro strips attached, I can "pull" the denim closed and attach the two pieces together with the hidden Velcro. The denim is heavier than the fold-up shade (tucked up underneath) so it makes it a lot darker when the denim is velcro'ed closed over the shade. 

Cool.

Then I made valances, trimmed with green, for the rest of the RV. I light lots of natural light during the day so I didn't want anymore fabric around the windows than I had to have.  The windows have the fold up shades which is enough for privacy at night and slide up, out of sight under the new denim valances during the day.

These windows initially had stock valances that were ugly, padded upholstery stapled to wood. They  bordered and partially blocked the window on the top and both sides. They made the interior dark and heavy-looking and jutted out into the seating area. They had to go. We kept them, stored in a friend's attic, in case we sell the RV and the new owners want them back. 

RV Closet Door Curtains

We live in an RV, a 5th Wheel toy hauler, Keystone Raptor. We moved in in March 2014.

One of the first things I discovered is that the mirrored sliding doors to the closet in the "bow" of the RV, the part that hangs over and hooks up to the truck, were heavy and noisy to slide open. They were large and inflexible and made the closet dark. There is about a foot of space between the queen bed and the closet, so with those mirrored, sliding closet doors, I was constantly having to muscle them around just to get to the side of the bed to make it, and that was done on tippy toes. Searching for clothes in that dark closet was difficult too, since I'd stand squeezed in between the side of the bed and the opening to the closet. We installed battery-powered lights but we still had the problem of the noise and the lack of flexibility with the heavy mirrored doors.

So we removed them because I had a better idea. The plan was going to repurpose denim and make curtain panels. So here is the series I went through, discovering how to do it.

First off, this is what our bed looks like. On it is a quilt I found in a thrift shop that I just loved and used in our old slide-in camper that we called Bertha. The interior of that camper was blue, so that quilt worked great on the bed in the loft over the cab. Since this Raptor has a queen size bed also, and I loved that quilt, (it came to represent the fun of going out on adventures) I kept it. At the foot of the bed is another quilt, a beautiful gift from a good friend. She got the colors spot on, right? I love it. She had never seen the other quilt. She was going simply off what she thought I would like.  How cool is that? I love BOTH quilts.

So when I made the patchwork curtain panel, it didn't look right with the quilts which surprised me and I couldn't have that. The panel was nice and heavy, and wouldn't wrinkle (well, OK, it was wrinkly in a Bohemian way) but it was just too busy-looking, too junky.

So I took it apart and made several large throw pillows for my grandchildren and some for grandnephews.

They all loved them because they can go on the floor and are meant to take a beating. The best part is that they have pockets and zippers in them which means all kinds of cool little hiding places for stuff, hopefully not bubble gum. But hey, have fun!

So I knew that repurposing old jeans was going to look too busy, and I was already sold on doing a denim look throughout the RV. I went to Walmart (the local area not having any fabric stores within 30 miles) and bought several yards of  a midweight denim and a heavy duty tension rod. I also bought several yards of a yellowish/orange cotton print to use as a trim on the denim. I liked how this looked. And it sure was flexible and serviceable. You could just pull it to the sides to look for things in the closet, and it makes it so easy to make the bed or to get in and out of bed on my side.

However, the midweight denim, lost some of it's stiffness and didn't fall straight (like in this picture) after a while. The moisture, which you are bound to have in an RV with the varying temps, made the denim more wrinkly and less like a panel.

So I added another panel.  Wa la!

Teaching my DIL to Sew

My husband and I went back to MD over Thanksgiving and Christmas to take a mental break and to be with our kids and grandkids. Several years ago, I'd bought my daughter-in-law a sewing machine. I knew she wanted one. After giving it to her I linked her up with an old friend who lives about a mile away from her and is a sewing Queen. She even has a home business doing fabric-based decor and other crafty type items. But my DIL is soft-spoken, busy with a young son and work and never followed up. She later confessed that she'd hoped I would teach her. It took a few years since we lived an hour or more away and I was working and commuting, but now since I'd quit my job and live in an RV, and am on a break from taking care of my sister in Iowa, I have time. I got it set up, and got her started sewing straight lines.  First, she made a big, fat pillow.

Afterwards, I thought we would go down to the local fabric shop where I would walk her through picking out a pattern, the fabric and all the accessories. Instead, she brought out a rag quilt she had bought on Etsy.com and asked if there was any way we could make something like it. I looked at it, deconstructing it in my mind, and yes. We did it.

Or she did it, I should say.

Love the eyes of my grandson peering over the top, making a face.

Is that not pretty? My DIL finished the quilt the next day! That is my grandson holding it up and making faces. He was so excited about his mom sewing that he kept urging her on so she finished it before I returned. I had gotten her started on just sewing the front to back (the individual squares are sewed first, with a large "X" right through the square that joins the front fabric with the backing. There is no batting in the middle. Then the squares are sewed together into a row, then the rows sewed together. Then you sew all the way around the edge. Once finished sewing, you patiently go around each square's frayed edges, carefully clipping into the fabric edges to encourage them to fray evenly with repeated washings.

Beautiful colors!!!

Little Bench Dresses Bohemian

Ta Da!!

I made this slipcover out of repurposed denim - from a very Bohemian, ankle length denim dress that I really liked and wore for years.  It ended up with a stain on it that I couldn't remove (out damned spot!).  So memories from that dress linger with this bench.

I've had the bench for years.  I bought it at an antique auction though it doesn't qualify as an antique.  It didn't have upholstery, just the bare fabric padding. Someone must have been getting ready to recover it and never finished. Anyhow, I kept it like that for over 30 years, too busy myself to get it recovered. I would just lay a nice scarf or a large table doily over it and drape/tie the extra underneath. Then forget about it. When we got ready to sell our house and get rid of everything, moving into a 38 foot 5th Wheel Toy Hauler as our full time residence, so to speak, I wanted to keep this little bench. It is lightweight, can be stowed on the love seat when rolling down the road. When camped, it doubles as extra seating or a foot stool.

It has two layers of ruffle. The first one wasn't quite ruffled enough. Yeah, I know, I didn't factor in enough material and was in a hurry. So I added another ruffle on top. Spending a little extra time getting started would have saved me time in the long run. But this was fun, and I went exploring with it. I wasn't worried about pleasing anyone but myself with this little project.