Insulated or Thermal Curtains

Winter came and came hard to New England this year. As with any first winter in a new place there’s an bit of a “getting to know you” period. In getting to know the heating circuit of this old house we have come to the sad realization that the bedrooms, and especially the kidlings room, are the coldest in the house. The beautiful trees that stand at corner of the house shade their room from the little bit of sunlight it might receive. As it is we have taken a few measures to make their room a bit more cozy. One little one is snuggled up between deliciously cozy fleece sheet as we speak and a bundle of fleece is sitting on the cutting table ready to be turned into crib sized fleecy goodness. I’ll share more on how to do this very very soon. But today I bring you insulated curtains. I’m not a curtain girl…I like the wide open feel, the light, and the connection with the outdoors you get with nothing obstructing the view. Thankfully we live in a secluded spot where some privacy exists even without curtains! But for these winter months we needed an extra shield to ward off the winter blasts.

Our first stop was the fabric store to find the perfect fabric to satisfy a very particular girl with a flair for style and decorating and still suit a room that also belongs to a little man cub that spends his days with a rock in his hands, and more often than not wearing rain boots and a fireman’s hat. It was a fun challenge. One that made me realize that the three of us can do some serious damage in a fabric store if left unchecked!! Oh boy did we have fun!

I made a simple curtain panel that would cover the entire window without any gathering.

I laid this out on the floor and layered a lined quilt batting on top of it. I cut the quilt batting approximately 4” from the top of the panel and 2” from the bottom. This was to allow for less bulk in the hem and the sleeve for the curtain rod.

I sewed up the side seams, turned the “tube” right sides out, top stitched the sides, and turned under the bottom edge to make a hem. The top edge I made turned under twice to make a simple sleeve for the curtain rod.

Lined batting is not the only way to make insulated or thermal curtains. Look through your linen closet and fabric stash and use what you have on hand. You are basically looking for anything thick to hold out winter’s frozen fingers. Old blankets, wool, fleece…most likely there is something just right already inside your hopefully not too chilly house!

Here’s to a warm and cozy house friends!

Oh, and what is outside those beautifully fortressed windows? Well…a whole lot of this…!! We’ve bunkered down and have no plans of heading out of here for a few days. Such is winter in New England!