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From: Bama
Date: 12-10-2005, 10:49 PM (1 of 10)
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I found a pretty vintage chennille bedspread at an estate sale today and I want to make a shower curtain with it. It's kind of heavy so I don't know if I should use grommets (sp?), button holes, or just sew a casing for hanging it on the rod. Any suggestions? I'm also wondering if I should hang it on one rod, and the liner on another a few inches behind it so the curtain won't mildew. I won't start on it until after Christmas, but ideas are running through my head. Anyone ever made a chennille shower curtain? |
User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116 
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From: SummersEchos
Date: 12-10-2005, 11:27 PM (2 of 10)
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Sounds wonderful Bama. I would do to seperate rods one for curtain and one for plastic. I have never done a shower curtain out of an old chenille bedspread, but I did make myself a pair of bell bottoms and vest out of my bedspread when I was in college. I even inclused the fringe.
Summer
FREE FALLIN |
User: SummersEchos
Member since: 09-29-2004 Total posts: 884 |
From: beachgirl
Date: 12-12-2005, 12:19 AM (3 of 10)
| The double rod would be the best to use. Also I'd use one of the heavier shower liners. Since the material is heavy I'd use grommets. It wouldn't pull back so easy with a casing & button hole would have too much strain on them. Just what I think I'd do. Maybe someone else thinks different or knows more about it than I do. I made a heavy terry cloth one & did embroidery work all over it & have grommets on it. I call it the most expensive & time consuming shower curtain ever made. Curtain was easy & fast, all that embroidery work took loads of time. |
User: beachgirl
Member since: 08-31-2004 Total posts: 615 
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From: Bama
Date: 12-12-2005, 07:11 AM (4 of 10)
| Thanks ladies. I will probably use grommets. I wondered how difficult it would be to get them in that heavy fabric. Maybe I should try to test it in a scrap of chenille. |
User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116
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From: Shellymoon
Date: 12-13-2005, 10:22 PM (5 of 10)
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Saw a chenille shower curtain at the Linens and Things the other day. It had grommets. Seems to me, the hoops and the grommets together would make it easier to pull back and give it more support. You've got to post a photo! I've made pillows out of chenille bedspreads, but never thought about a shower curtain...how cool! Shelly Moon
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User: Shellymoon
Member since: 05-27-2001 Total posts: 240 |
From: MariLynntex
Date: 01-21-2006, 12:57 PM (6 of 10)
| I made a shower curtain years ago and put strips of fabric faced with a contrasting fabric at the top. It has lasted for years with no damage to the straps and is easy to pull back and forth. I attached the liner at the top like I would attach a facing to anything. Worked really great! I don't care for grommets; they are more trouble, seemed to me, both to attach to heavier fabric and in holding up for a long period of time. I spray the liner with something like a vinegar/water mixture or oxyclean once or twice a week to prevent mildew. MariLynntex |
User: MariLynntex
Member since: 01-05-2006 Total posts: 107 |
From: Bama
Date: 01-23-2006, 07:14 AM (7 of 10)
That's a good idea Marilyn. Thanks!  I still haven't started on my shower curtain. I looked at grommets and the tool to put them on the fabric but decided I didn't want to pay $15 for all of it. I think fabric strips will be the way to go.  Now I just need a vacation so I can get started. 
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User: Bama
Member since: 03-21-2000 Total posts: 2116
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From: milehigh2
Date: 03-13-2006, 09:31 PM (8 of 10)
| I've also made fabric shower curtains using grommets and button holes. I prefer button holes (even with heavy fabric) over grommets. I reinforce with a heavy iron-on stabilizer, then fold the fabric over it before sewing the button holes (does that make sense?). It's a nice look and it's very durable. You can use the metal curtain rings that allow you to slip the curtain onto the ring without having to snap (like the cheap plastic rings). I always use another shower curtain as a "pattern" for sizing and buttonhole placement, and I always use the second curtain rod too. |
User: milehigh2
Member since: 03-13-2006 Total posts: 6 |
From: Marilyn in MD
Date: 03-15-2006, 02:05 PM (9 of 10)
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Hi, Bama I've made many shower curtains - though not chenille, which should be beautiful - and I agree with Milehigh2 about the button holes and the iron-on, foldover reinforcement. I sew the button holes approximately every six inches, making sure there's one close to each end of the shower curtain. I don't use an older curtain for measurement because I customize them according to the opening. I've always lived in 100+year-old-homes, so the openings are never standard. If you have to seam the fabric (which I don't suppose you'll be doing), I make sure the seam is very close to a button hole so that, as the shower curtain falls into gentle folds, the seam is inside a fold closer to the tub. (Hope that makes sense.) And I always use two separate rods, hung 4-6 inches apart. Rather than plastic liners, which can be difficult to keep clean, I use cotton duck liners. About once a month I toss them in the washer and hang them back up while they are still damp. The wrinkles fall out within a matter of days (besides, they're on the inside of the tub). I also use button holes on the liners. There are lots of places on the Internet where you can find extra-wide cotton duck so that you don't have to seam it anywhere, and making your own duck liners is much, much cheaper than buying them ready made. Good luck on your project. |
User: Marilyn in MD
Member since: 03-13-2006 Total posts: 14 |
From: beachgirl
Date: 03-15-2006, 03:41 PM (10 of 10)
| Marilyn in MD, That sounds like a nice idea & must work for you. I've never had any problem with the shower curtain liner though. I use the heavy ones & just throw it in the wash with some terry towels . Always comes out like new. I also run it in the dryer with the towels & hang it back up, no wrinklesI sure don't care for the light weight wimpy plastic liners. They don't hold up long at all. At least not for us. I think if I make another shower curtain I'll do the button hole bit with the stabilizer . I hadn't thought of that . DUH !!! |
User: beachgirl
Member since: 08-31-2004 Total posts: 615
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