Classics never go out of fashion, and anotherconfirmation of this are the French curtains on the windows. They effectively decorate the apartment or house, giving the room charm, aristocracy, elegance. "The eyes of the house," as it is customary to call the windows in Russia and France, will indeed be transformed in this way. French curtains with their own hands to produce is not so difficult if you follow the steps step by step. 
Varieties of French curtains. There are several types of these items of decor, but it is better to start with those that require minimal time and skills. Beginners are usually advised to choose simple models and gradually move on to more complex ones. The first thing you need to understand is the calculation of the fabric on the curtain, because it will be very insulting if you do not have a dozen centimeters of fabric to make a thing.
From a light fabric with the help of the simplest calculations
Sometimes French curtains are confused with Austrian. The difference between things is substantial. The first can be combined with lambrequins and curtains. French curtains can have any length, but the most relevant is that to the floor. And French products have festons on the entire surface of the canvas. There are various methods for calculating the amount of tissue necessary for sewing. You can use a special table for cutter curtains (Fig. 1). 
Figure 1. Table for the cutters of curtains. It is fairly easy to calculate the number of festons and the distance between them, guided by the width of the curtains. But there is another option: to measure the length and height of the window aperture, multiply each value by 2. This will be determined by simple calculation of the width and height of the fabric needed for the curtain. The first curtains with their own hands it is better not to sew from expensive materials. Moreover, one of the advantages of things done for the interior decoration of a house in the French style is their refinement. Even if the product is made of inexpensive material, it will look respectable. There is a simple technology for creating such a spectacular decor. You will need the following materials and tools:
- wooden cornice;
- dense material for its decoration;
- the cloth;
- braid;
- tape;
- Nails for fixing the cornice;
- hooks for fabric;
- rings made of plastic or metal;
- The cord is best made of nylon;
- fasteners;
- lift handle;
- paper;
- scissors;
- Ruler;
- a simple pencil;
- a piece of chalk;
- thread;
- needle;
- pins;
- iron.
Tools for sewing French curtains. First of all, you need to prepare a pattern of curtains, you can make and its sketch with the preliminary marking of the parameters of the canvas on a scale. When calculating the length of the curtains, add about 10 cm for the side seams. For folding, less tissue is needed. The additive on it is usually 2-3 cm. If the fabric is dense for a thing, it makes sense to add 1 cm more to the hem. The parameters of the pattern are transferred to the material. It is carried out by cutting it. If you want to make French curtains large in size, so that the fabric does not move when cutting, use pins. After cutting, you can immediately start assembling things. First of all, it is necessary to press the side edges. For this, the sides recede 3 cm from each side. The crimped edges are crimped and they begin to cut the braid. At first glance, the second task seems simple, because the sufficiency is to measure the tape and divide it with scissors into equal segments. But immediately you need to consider: if the braid, like the fabric, is calculated incorrectly, the French curtains can not be executed with their own hands. The length of the braid directly depends on the parameters of the fabric, but it is best to measure it with a margin - add 5% of the desired value and add to it another 3 cm for each piece (by the bend). For sewing work, it is better to purchase a three-string braid. It is always attached to the wrong side of the canvas. 
Pattern of French curtains. French curtains can have almost any number and size of festons. To properly calculate their number, you need to take into account the texture of the fabric, its coloring, the style of the interior of the room where it is planned to place the French curtains. For beginner craftsmen, one should not strive to create things at once for the maximum number of festoons. The best option would be if on the experimental model of 3 meters width of the canvas will account for 5 festoons. Back to contents</a>
How much to retreat, how to sew and where to pull?
The next step after attaching the cord to the step isinstallation of rings. Modern furniture is made of metal and plastic. The first material is considered more durable, but for light curtains it is better to choose plastic. Places of fastening of rings should be marked with a chalk, a simple pencil or pins. Beginners have a common mistake: the rings that are at the bottom of the canvas are lowered very low. Correctly placed lower rings of the French curtain will always be 5 cm above its edge. Another mistake is the too large or small distance between the rings, more precisely - between their rows. The optimal option is a gap of 30 cm. It is also important to correctly measure the distance between the upper rings and braid. The standard option is 12 cm - this is how much you need to retreat from the top edge of the canvas before you start sewing the top row of fittings. 
French curtains are perfect forclassic interior with antique furniture. Important is the process of fastening the rings to French curtains. Correctly fasten the rings with just a few stitches, only two knots are made on the string. After sewing all the rings go to pulling out cords from the braid. Be sure to monitor the uniformity of folds during this operation and adjust it. As soon as the French curtains become necessary for the length window, they need to be fixed. To perform this operation, the cords are fastened to the top edge and gently tied together. The size of the rim should be equal to the length of the cornice. To ensure that the nodes of the cords do not unfasten much, it is necessary to take measures: knots tie as close to the curtain as possible - and the problem is solved. It remains only to cut off excess sections of cords and proceed to the next stage of work - the installation of the product. Back to contents</a>
Sew decorations on the "eyes of the house" in the French style
Classic French curtains impossibleTo present without a curtain covered with a dense cloth, the more qualitatively used materials for this operation, the more expensive the thing. To tighten the cornice is perfect and the same tape, with which you carried out the installation of the cloth, only from it you need to pull the cords. On the tape, tightening the cornice, hooks are sewn, then French curtains are attached to them. To tape to assemble after that, you need to attach another tape. Then the curtain is leveled and it is mounted on the cornice. In the curtain rail screw hooks attached to the canvas. From the bottom to the top, the cords are simultaneously pulled out and the edges of the cords that are fixed at the top of the blade are passed through the rings. All the ends of the cords lead to one side and are pulled together so that the folds, which are the most important part of the French curtains, are uniform. Back to contents</a>
A few finishing touches
And now the finishing touches remain: the cornice is installed above the window. If you remove the ribbons that hold the French curtains, the fabric will fall. But first you need to adjust the tension so that the thing was comfortable to use and it lasted a long time. The cords are connected in a knot. There is an important nuance: the knot is tied so that it falls on the last hook. Cords pass through the lift handle, retreat 46 cm from the first node and tie another key knot of curtains. The fastener is necessary in order to fix the desired position of the blade. To accomplish this task, the cord is wrapped around it. Only after that the curtain is considered fully fixed. Curtains, sewn on French technology, in themselves are a great decoration, but they can be given an even more elegant look, if you take care of decorating the product. One of the options for decorating curtains are light rhinestones attached to their edge, they will create a play of light in the room. Not less interesting course is lambrequin, made of contrasting or monophonic fabric. This combination of objects of decor will look particularly stylish in the living room. If after fabrication of curtains there is some fabric left - it's a great option to transform the usual interior items. For a sofa, for example, you can make a pillow decorated with festoons, for a coffee table - a decorative napkin. Even the usual plaid will change if its edging is executed in the same color solution as the curtains. </ ul>
