DATE: Sunday, August 24, 1997               TAG: 9708230049

SECTION: HOME                    PAGE: G2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JACEY ECKHART, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:  199 lines

FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE STEPS TO GREAT-LOOKING WINDOWS

HERE ARE step-by-sTep instructions for window treatments that almost anyone can create, along with suggestions for where to find the materials required. DISH TOWEL CAFE CURTAIN

A recent women's magazine showed an upholstered chair ``slipcovered'' in dish towels. Not surprisingly, it looked like an upholstered chair with a bunch of dish towels stuck on it.

I don't blame them for trying. The heft of good quality, flat-weave (not terry) dish towels is delicious, and the fact that they are already hemmed makes them even more attractive.

Dish towels may not make good slipcovers, but even you can turn them into whimsical kitchen curtains that can be recycled years from now as - you guessed it - dish towels.

You will need: Best quality dish towels - 3 for a window less than 30 inches wide, 4 for a window less than 40'' wide (Williams-Sonoma, 6 for $8.39); a brass-tone tension rod to fit your window (Bed, Bath and Beyond, $4.49); 1 package of 1-inch brass cafe clips (Bed, Bath and Beyond, $3.99 for 14 clips).

Instructions:

1. Sprinkle dish towels with heavy spray starch and press.

2. Fasten 4 evenly spaced clips to the top edge of each dish towel.

3. Thread clips onto tension rod and mount rod on window so the bottom edge of the dish towels just grazes the window sill. CROCHETED LACE VALANCE

You probably have something serviceable at the window, such as miniblinds or a pull-down shade to keep out light and protect your privacy. It looks awfully plain, doesn't it? This little window treatment will add a bit of romance to a sunny window - perfect for a powder room or child's bedroom. And if you can't get this treatment up in 15 minutes or less, your child probably.

You will need: 36-inch crocheted lace table square for a window 36 inches or less (Marshall's, $6.99); brass-colored tension rod (Bed, Bath and Beyond, $4.49); optional: narrow grosgrain ribbon (Piece Goods, 99 cents for 5-yard spool).

Instructions:

1. Mount tension rod to determine exact width of window and carefully remove.

2. Beginning at one corner, weave ribbon through edge of lace table square on all four sides.

3. Cut 2 10-inch pieces of ribbon and tie into bows at opposite corners.

4. Place tension rod across diagonal of table square and fold corners to fit rod. Fold corners with bows over rod until they line up evenly and mount rod at top of window. NO-SEW POUF

Do you ever look with envy at those poufs your best friend was able to achieve effortlessly with special brackets? Well, you are about to try something that is less expensive, easier, and even ecologically more correct if you use the existing brackets from a previous window treatment.

The no-sew pouf uses a woven tablecloth instead of decorator fabric, although you could use a length of fabric if you would like. If your window is wider than 30 inches, substitute a longer tablecloth or twin-size flat bed sheet and fold edges until they are about 20 inches wider than the window trim.

You will need: 52-inch woven table cloth (Marshalls, $7.99); 2 wide rubber bands; 3 sheets newsprint or tissue paper; 2 nails.

Instructions:

1. Mount nails in uppermost corners of wood trim or use existing brackets.

2. Starch and press tablecloth, then fold in half lengthwise.

3. Beginning at bottom left corner, gather fabric into 2-inch pleats and secure with rubber band 6 inches from edge. Repeat on other side.

4. Crush newsprint or tissue paper loosely into basketball sized balls. Stuff gently between folds to create pouf.

5. Attach pouf to window by hooking rubber bands onto nails.

6. Separate pleats on each end to make florets. BATTENBURG LACE CURTAIN

Battenburg lace, like asparagus, should only be purchased in season. Never, never, never buy Battenburg lace unless it is on sale, and it goes on sale all the time. The tablecloth purchased for this treatment sold for $70 one week and went on sale the next for $19.99. Discount stores with linen departments, such as T.J. Maxx and Marshall's, are also good sources.

You will need: 102-inch Battenburg lace tablecloth to make two treatments (Hecht's, on sale $19.99); tension rod.

Instructions:

1. Cut tablecloth in half to make two 51-inch squares. Set one aside. Starch and press the other.

2. Mount tension rod to determine exact width of window and carefully remove.

3. Lay rod on diagonal of tablecloth and fold corners to center until edges line up with rod.

4. Fold corners over rod to form triangle, and mount just above half point at window or at the point where corner of tablecloth grazes window sill. ROD-POCKET CAFE CURTAINS

Can you sew just two straight seams? Do you have a friend that will trade you two straight seams for a lasagna? Terrific! Then you can make this breezy treatment because it takes more ironing than actual sewing.

If you don't like the length shown, measure from the top of the window instead of the midway point. These instructions call for a twin-size sheet but if your window is between 35 inches and 42 inches, purchase a double flat sheet. To keep your window treatment crisp, always purchase new sheets and don't wash before sewing.

You will need: 1 twin flat sheet with ruffle for window 34 inches wide or less (Kmart Martha Stewart Everyday, $4.99); tension rod; thread; pins; sewing machine.

Instructions:

1. Incorporating ruffled edge of sheet into panel, cut fabric to required finished length plus 4 inches.

2. Press top edge of fabric to wrong side 1/2-inch.

3. Press pressed edge of fabric to wrong side again 3 1/2 inches to form header; then pin.

4. To form casing for tension rod, slowly and carefully sew along lower edge of header. Then sew another seam 1 1/4-inch away. Then starch and press.

5. Thread panel on tension rod. Mount in window where ruffle grazes bottom of window sill. OVER-THE-ROD PANELS

Sometimes you need a little more than a scrap of fabric at a particular window. Sometimes you need something substantial, formal, elegant. Get thee to a decorator! Big windows and big window treatments benefit in a big way from the advise of professionals (See inset).

If you only need something to frame a window and you are working in a more formal room, even the least artistically adept among us can make these classic over-the-rod panels designed by Susan Pilato and Donna Irwin of UnderCover.

You will need: For each panel, 54-inch-wide white cotton duck, 1'' longer than floor-to-rod height (UnderCover, $9.95 per yard); 30-inch length of gold decorator fabric (UnderCover, $11.95 per yard); thread; sewing machine; previously mounted rod; tiebacks.

Instructions:

1. Fold decorator fabric in half lengthwise. Measure 9 inches down on raw edges and mark. Using a straight-edge as a guide, draw a diagonal line from center point to 9-inch mark. Cut along line through both layers of fabric. Open decorator fabric, so you have a point.

2. Stitch the other edge of decorator fabric to one end of the cotton duck. Hem the entire panel.

3. Like a fan, fold the panel into soft 2-inch folds at the seam between the decorator fabric and the cotton duck. Drape it over the rod and secure with tieback that you can make from decorator fabric, wide grosgrain ribbon, or any other tieback that suits your room.

Now that you have mastered these six treatments, go ahead and watch those people on HG-TV. Just don't let your therapist catch you. ILLUSTRATION: MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN photos/The Virginian-Pilot

This simple no-sew pouf valance can be made from a tablecloth or

twin-size bed sheet and can be mounted on two nails with two rubber

bands.

An elegant Battenburg lace tablecloth can be cut in half to make two

window treatments. No sewing required, and it hangs from a tension

rod.

Rod-pocket cafe curtains are a simple solution for many rooms. Start

with a ruffled sheet, sew two straight seams and you're there.

Graphic

DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AT HOME

Some window treatments, like the ones pictured on the previous

page, lend themselves easily to the amateur home decorator. Others

are deceptively simple in appearance, but for best results should be

left to the professional.

Local designers list four of the worst offenders:

Board-mounted formal swag

This one looks easy, just a little swoop of fabric at the top of

a window. How hard could it be?

``Very hard,'' says Donna Irwin of UnderCover in downtown

Norfolk. ``The shaped bottom has to be cut on the bias of the fabric

to make it curve that way. Then it's hard to get the folds to be

exactly even, especially if they are lined.''

Roman shades

Roman shades look like they would be inexpensive, because they

look so simple and require the least amount of fabric. Not so.

``Roman shades are the most expensive treatment you can do,''

says Susan Pilato, also of UnderCover. ``The measurements have to be

very precise, the mechanics are complicated, and it is very time

consuming. We hang a roman shade a million times before we bring it

to our customer.''

Swag valance

What everybody wants is a pole with a length of fabric wrapped

gracefully around it,'' says Ann Rogers of The Second Yard. ``But

its nearly impossible for it to stay still. If you cat gets ahold

of it, your whole valance ends up on the floor.''

Button-tab curtains

According to Irwin, this treatment is a case of ``the more you

see it, the more you think it's easy to do.'' The amateur sees a

plain panel with a few little tabs at the top. The professional

knows that every one of those tabs has to be sewn separately,

measured precisely and spaced evenly. Otherwise it hangs in a

drunken fashion.

It only gets more complicated when the tabs are buttoned, because

you have to sew buttonholes as well as attach the buttons. And if

you have a lot of windows, you have a lot of tabs. Life is too short

to sew tab curtains.

- Jacey Eckhart

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