Easy No Sew Valences

I love to create custom curtains and valances for our home. We have been renovating our camper/cottage and wanted something new for the windows there – we already had great plantation style blinds, yet wanted to add a unique pop of color with something that wouldn’t obstruct the lake view. I have a wonderful sewing machine, however, I always seem to end up with a birds nest of thread, run out of thread on the bobbin, or break the thread (yes, I know it’s a “tension” thing – trust me – it’s a tension thing on the sewing machine and in my head….and same thing happens with the fishing line when I go fishing!). My go-to solution for creating curtains, pillows, etc. is Beacon® Adhesive’s Fabri-Tac™!  It makes crafting with fabric easier than ever, and I can do it anywhere without having to bring my sewing machine.  I’ve got curtains I created for the house using it and they’ve been up for over a year in the bright hot sun, etc. and still look as good as the day I made them – not coming apart at the seams, etc.   

 

For these valences I was lucky enough to find enough fabric in the local discount fabric source to make them all at very little cost – this green nubby upholstery style fabric was only $1 a yard!   I love the combination of textures in the finished valances!    

 

Materials: 

• Fabric 
• Beacon Fabric-Tac Adhesive (www.beaconadhesives.com) 
• Burlap (www.burlapfabric.com) 
• Decorative Trimmings trim (www.decorativetrimmings.com) 
• KellyCraft™ Get-it-Straight™ Laser Square (www.kellycraftinnovations.com) 
• Scissors 

 

Instructions: 

I began by measuring and cutting 5 pieces of fabric 46” x 18”.   I folded over a half inch seam on each edge, and used the Fabri-Tac to glue them in place.   Then I folded one long edge down 2”. Before glueing in place, I folded it back upward, and added a line of Fabri-Tac approximately 1/2” down from the fold line. I then added a line of Fabric-Tac along the top edge of the piece to be folded down, and folded it down to glue it in place. This created a 1/2” “topper” along the valance, and then created the pocket for the curtain rod.   

Because I am a burlap addict, I had to have a touch on these valances too. I cut 5 pieces of BurlapFabric.com burlap to 45” x 2”, added a line of Fabri-Tac, then used my KellyCraft Get-it-Straight Laser Square to quickly be sure I was mounting the burlap straight on the edge of each valance.  Because the laser line extends beyond the square itself, I was able to place it on the table and then lay out my valance and be sure the burlap was straight the entire length. 

The finishing touch was this fabulous trim from Decorative Trimmings!  They have an amazing assortment of trims, from sparkly and colorful to fabulous naturals like this trim.  Again, I used my Get-it-Straight Laser Square to align the trim between the burlap edge and the green fabric and mounted it with Fabri-Tac.  

These valances came together in almost no time at all  and we really like how they add a bit of color, yet still have a rustic, casual feel.

We also needed curtains for the camper windows.  The sizes were all different – but I followed the same basic steps with this colorful “Sunbrella” fabric (which was also $1 a yard!) and created two full curtains for each window so I could push them to the sides when we are there, yet close them when we are not. I used my Fabri-Tac, Get-it-Straight Laser Square, and this white decorative trim from Decorative Trimmings to finish off these curtains. I also made matching decorative pillows for the beds in the camper.