DIY Closet Curtains: You Can Do This

We recently moved into a new house that had those terrible accordion closet doors. They don't stay on the tracks, and I live in fear that one of my children will lose a finger. We took them off the first night we moved in. Since then, my daughter has had an open closet in all its messy glory.

It was time to hide that mess.

Caroline is with her grandparents for the week, so I set to work on making some curtains for her closet. Y'ALL. It was so easy. So, so easy. If you have ever looked at a sewing machine, you can do this. I even timed it: 4.5 minutes total on the sewing machine. You will spend the majority of the time folding and ironing. This is what you have been training for!

Here's what you need:

• Sewing machine (or access to one)
• Fabric of your choice, any material will do
• Iron
• Tension shower rod

Shopping
Curtains are so simple and low maintenance that you can choose any fabric from any store. Don't worry about quality. They're curtains. Find a pattern that you love and go with it! I found this beautiful cotton fabric at Hobby Lobby: The Store of Dreams.

How much do you need?

You need to measure your closet's height and width. 

Add 10 inches to the height of your closet. That's the measurement you will give the fabric cutter. That will make one panel.

The width is important in deciding how many panels you need. My daughter's closet was 45" wide. Most fabric is also 45" inches wide. One piece of fabric would have filled the closet opening, but it would have been completely flat across. I like the ruffled look to my curtains, so I made two panels for the closet. 

Making the Curtains

Step 1

Step 1: Start with one of the long edges of your fabric. Flip your fabric over with the pattern-side down and fold the edge over about 1/2". Iron that down. Remember: it's curtains. They will drape and move so your seams don't have to be absolutely perfect. You won't notice once they're hanging.

Step 2

Step 2: Fold that same seam over one more time and iron it down again. This time, pin it down as you go.

Step 3

Step 3: Sewing machine time! Stitch a straight (or mostly straight-ish) line on the inside edge of the seam.

Step 4: Repeat on the other long edge of your fabric.

Step 5

Step 5: Now go to the bottom of your fabric. Just like with the other seams, flip your fabric over so the pattern is face down. Fold a 1/2" seam and iron. Fold again a 5" seam and iron. Starting to feel like your spending a lot of time folding and ironing?

Step 6: Stitch that seam just like the others. Remember to stitch at the top of seam, not the very bottom of the curtain. Not that I've ever done that..... Back-stitch at the beginning and end. Every sewing machine has the ability to do this, but if you've never used this function, HERE is a 1 minute video explaining how to do it. (We did not back-stitch the other seams because they got tucked into the top and bottom seams.)

Step 7

Step 7: You're almost done! Go to the top of your fabric. This is the piece that will hold the curtain rod. I bought a pretty thick shower rod, so this should definitely be enough room for anything you bought. Once again, fold a 1/2" seam and iron. Fold that over about 4"-4.5". I did 4.25". Iron and pin.

Step 8: Stitch that seam all the way across. Back-stitch at the beginning and end.

Optional but Probably Step 9: You just made one panel. Repeat the whole shebang for the other panel. It will probably take you half the time for the second one.

Two panels side-by-side on a 45" wide closet.

You're done!

Slide that curtain rod through the top opening and hang your masterpiece!

I can't wait for Caroline to see it. She may hate it...because she's 3. But it was so easy to whip these up, that I can always take her back to the store to pick out her own fabric. Now to work on little brother's! How many times do you think that curtain rod will have to fall on his head before he learns not to climb them?

Colin's Birth Story

Yikes.

When I last blogged, I had one child and sanity.

I'm now two years older, another kid deep, and several brain cells short. More on that to come.

Since I'm already a solid 15 months late, I want to make a written record of Colin's birth story. I love hearing the vastly different experiences every mother has during childbirth, and I don't want to forget mine. If you'd like to read Caroline's birth story, click here.

Pregnancy

Pregnancy and I are not friends, which is hugely disappointing to me. I, like many little girls, dreamed of one day growing a child in my belly. What would it be like? Would baby kicks feel weird? Just how big will my belly get? It all seemed so magical. And it is. I marvel at the idea from my non-pregnant state. But the actual 9 months of pregnancy are brutal for me. Nine months of morning sickness (both pregnancies), pre-eclampsia (first pregnancy), intense itching (second pregnancy), and host of other non-dangerous-but-really-annoying symptoms make me stand in awe/sort of hate gorgeous women who just glow straight through pregnancy. Y'all rock/suck.

37 weeks pregnant.

Colin's birth story really begins a few days before his birth. His due date was March 22. I went for my 37 week prenatal appointment on February 29 with no real complaints but lots of whining. I felt huge, and this baby felt huge. My doctor assured me multiple times that the baby was probably 6 pounds at that point, my belly was actually a week behind, and I had only gained 25 pounds. She also very casually declared that I was 3 cm dilated and would probably have the baby that week.

Come again?

Clearly Colin knows that this is a bad week because his sister's 2nd birthday is on March 4, and I have many important things to do to ensure her birthday is awesome. I skeptically packed a bag and continued preparing for Caroline's birthday.

March 2 was a Mother's Day Out day for Caroline (holla!) so I spent the day driving from store to store and walking, walking, walking everywhere to find chalkboard sign supplies, canvases, wrapping paper, and the like. I felt pretty tired but you know--37 weeks pregnant, mom of toddler--normal. That evening I sat at the kitchen table to begin painting Caroline's birthday chalkboard. As the evening wore on, I became increasingly uncomfortable. Contractions were every 3-5 minutes, but not terribly painful so I didn't panic. I asked Chris for the first time in either pregnancy to bring home a milkshake. He said yes, but then forgot. I cried. I hope he still feels bad about it. The contractions were still regular but not awful, so I took the world's most uncomfortable bath and went to bed.

The chalkboard that started it all.

The contractions continued all night but never got worse, so I still chalked it up to Braxton Hicks. The next morning, I told Chris to go in to work because this baby was not coming today, but shortly after he left (of course) my contractions shortened to every 2-3 minutes and became more and more painful. After frantic discussions between my mom and Chris, we decided to head to the hospital.

They never believe you're actually in labor, but my doctor was all "I told you so" and "My prediction was right" so they let me stay.

I screen shot my phone when they said today was the day.

It was then that I realized Caroline's birthday is TOMORROW. I can't have a baby today! Their birthdays will be too close. Oh snap- they broke my water. It's too late. Since this was happening, it became my utmost goal that this baby was born on March 3. We have to get this baby out before midnight! I told every nurse that would listen that Colin has to be born today, March 3. He and his sister cannot have the same birthday. They laughed and shrugged, which makes sense now, but was infuriating to this mama in labor.

Labor progressed steadily but slowly. I was in labor with Caroline for 8 hours. Everyone says that second babies come faster, so I was expecting things to speed up. They didn't. Of course. At some point, Chris and I had "the talk" about how this baby was 3 weeks early. His lungs *should* be developed, but he may be very small and need a little help at first. But mostly I was just concerned with having this baby before midnight. Mom of the Year!

Quick poll: does anyone else feel extremely uncomfortable with showing people how much pain you're in? Like almost embarrassed? This has happened to me during childbirth both times. I know childbirth is one of those times that it's cool to scream your head off, but I felt very insecure about showing pain on my face. After 6 hours of trying to pretend like everything was fine, I got the Sacred Epidural. I fell asleep almost immediately and woke up to my doctor saying that it was time to push. At 7:00 pm! Yay! March 3 will be the day!

The room slowly filled with a lot of people. Way more than I remembered at Caroline's birth. We would find out later that it was the NICU team, because Colin was early. I pushed a grand total of 3 times, which was a welcome gift from God after 3 hours of pushing with Caroline. Colin Robert O'Brien was born at 7:39 pm.

9 pounds.

He was 9 pounds. 3 weeks early. The NICU nurses laughed as they quietly left the room. The first words Colin heard were, "Touchdown! He's a linebacker!" because he threw his arms straight up in the air the moment he was born. My doctor was in disbelief as they had NO IDEA he was that big. I was very eager to remind her that I told her at my 3 previous appointments that I felt like he was very big.

He was also very bruised. I mean I'm a small lady so... His little face and left arm were so blue. It was gone by the next day, but a little alarming at first.

I am often asked:
"Were the dates right?" -Yes. We had several early ultrasounds.
"Did you have diabetes?" -No. They checked. Twice.

He just cooked fast.

I am now a firm believer that God gives us the babies He gives us. I did nothing differently during Colin's pregnancy than I did in Caroline's. I ate relatively healthy in both pregnancies. Afterward, I breastfed both of my children for over a year. Colin has remained in the 80-90th percentile, while Caroline has always been in the bottom 10th.

The birth days of my children are my two favorite days of my life. I would relive them over and over again if I could. Colin's birth was so easy and his birthday and size were such a delightful surprise. He and his sister have birthdays one day apart, which I hope will be a bond they share forever.

I have so many stories to share from the past few years. So many lessons I've learned. Some really hard things and some really beautiful things. My blog has been dark for over 2 years, which is a concrete token of the journey we've been on. I can't wait to share some of our journey and more with you! Every day is like a thousand years, but the years feel like a day. They make me a better person. I don't want to forget anything.