Tie Top Ribbon Valances tutorial

My kitchen valances were a long time in the making mostly because my hubby and I couldn't decide on a fabric.  I had so many fabric scraps by the end we joked that I could just make a patchwork valance (maybe another time).  However, I knew I wanted to use a spool of ribbon I've had in my craft supplies for awhile, and I wanted to try to sew them so that the face of the fabric folded over to the back so you wouldn't see the lining.  Here is what I came up with.

Materials
(for ease of explaining I will tell you what I used for the valance pictured above.  You may need to alter measurements based on the size of your window and effect you are after)

Fabric- 10" of 45" fabric
Lining- 9.5"x44"
Ribbon- 7 pieces of 1" wide ribbon cut 21" long each
Thread



All seam allowances are .5"

Your valances should be about 1.5 - 2 times the width of your window depending on the look you are after, although I often don't follow this rule.  My main window is about 33" and my fabric was 44.5" wide.  So I just used the whole width of my fabric and cut it 10 inches long.  Cut your lining 1" shorter on the width and .5" shorter on the length.

Determine the top of your fabric.  With right sides together line up the top edge of your fabric and lining.  Pin the sides together so the edges are even and the top is even but the bottom of the fabric hangs lower than the lining.  Once pinned it will not lay flat.

Sew the sides.  Turn the fabric right side out.  Center the lining so that about .5" of fabric comes around the back and press the edges so you get a nice crease.  When you turn your fabric inside out again, you will use this crease as your finished edge NOT the seam.

Turn fabric so right sides are together again.  Use pins to mark along the top edge where your ribbons will go.  They should be about 6-8" apart, but you could certainly put them closer or further away depending on the look you are going for.  I put my first and last ribbon .5 inches from the edge.  I spaced the rest 6 13/16" apart so that I had seven evenly spaced ribbons.  Fold each piece of ribbon in half, and pin it BETWEEN the lining and fabric with the folded edge lining up with both raw edges at the top.  (Last ribbon placed on top is to show you what it looks like before you put it between the fabric and the lining)

Once they are pinned sew along the top edge.  Be sure your ribbons are not twisted when you sew over them.  Next, trim a small square from your fabric at the bottom edge up to the lining and sewn seam on each side as shown below.

Then, line up the edge of the lining with the bottom edge of the fabric.  This is tricky at the corners, but it should look like this.

Sew along the bottom edge and leave a 4" opening somewhere so you can turn the whole piece right side out.  Also, make sure you do NOT catch any of the ribbons in this seam.

Turn it right side out, and use your fingers to straighten out the corners and seams. Your corners should look like this.

Place valance face down on the iron and press a crease in the bottom edge so that about .5" of fabric wraps around to the back. (See picture above.) Hand sew the opening closed.  I used a blind hem stitch, don't know if that is really the best one for this application, but it worked. Use a lighter to slightly melt the ends of the ribbon so they won't fray.  Ta-dah!  Now you are ready to tie it to your curtain rod.

I see all kinds of possibilities here: longer ribbons for making pretty bows, multiple thin ribbons for a festive look, or a full length curtain.  Don't be afraid to experiment and share!