Buffalo Check Panels

I have a friend with amazing taste.  She is obsessed with decorator blogs and probably could look at houzz.com and tell you who did what.  I was thrilled when she asked me to make something for her.  She brought me this:

Can you believe that is IKEA fabric?  It was pretty awesome for the price, $8.99 a yard.  In decorator fabric, that is almost unheard of.  Getting enough to make four panels was another story.  After countless trips to the Cincinnati IKEA, I finally called the IKEA in Pittsburgh and they sent me all I needed.  I tried to do this again, and they said that they never ship fabric.  Thank you IKEA Pittsburgh for bending the rules, or not knowing them.  Whatever.  It was much appreciated. 

This was my first dip into the world of pleats.  We did euro pleats.  They're a little more modern than your basic pinch pleat.  You sew them together at the top instead of the bottom of your pinch.  If you ever make these, use a really good buckram.  It'll make the top stiff and hold in that pleat.  Here's a pic of the finished room:

Pretty good for my first attempt.  Installing them was a different story.  Thank goodness she's a friend.  My husband does my installs now.  He is awesome.  I couldn't even get the screws all the way into the studs.  He has big muscles so he doesn't have a problem.

Anyway, this made me love a fabric that I thought was way too country for me.  I can't wait to find a place to use this in my house.

Got a naked window in your house? Email me at b.runkel@insightbb.com and I can definitely help you out.