Mason's Grommet Valance

As Mason progressed into a toddler bed (where did my baby go?!?!), I have slowly transformed his room from a baby room to a toddler room.  The biggest project so far has been making him a window valance.  I had purchased material to match his bedding when he was born, and I sort of just strung it up over the window, not feeling the need to spend any more time on it.  A year and a half later, I am ready!  After throwing around a handful of ideas on what to do with the material, I decided to keep it as a valance but make it a more permanent fixture.  If you have been to my house, then you know I am a fan of grommet curtains: classy, modern, easy.

I took on the project with tons of motivation and, although it took a few weeks to finish (sometimes nap times are for mommy naps too), I am very pleased with the outcome.

First I lined the material to make it darker and more durable.  Then I had to sew two long pieces together for the width since Mason's window is 72 inches wide.  I hemmed the material and made a four inch header.  Using an extremely helpful video (click on video to view) and website (click on website to read) I measured and traced the grommet holes.  I then reinforced the grommet holes with some zigzag stitching (not as easy as it looks) so I could remove the grommets and wash.  Then I cut out the grommet holes.  Almost done!  To test my zigzag hem, I washed the valance.

Since I hadn't sewn perfect circles, and the circles were a little smaller than the actual grommets, this helped fray the edges up to the grommet hem.  It made snapping on the plastic grommets a piece of cake.  I purchased the grommets at JoAnn Fabrics, but after some research found them cheaper online and at Walmart.  I didn't return and buy online (click on online to see grommets) because I was in a hurry to see my project completed.   These grommets were super easy to install and did not require any other tools.


Craigslist had a cheap wooden rod with finials for sale, and I snatched it up.   I roughed them up with sand paper, sprayed white primer spray paint on them, and then painted them navy blue to match the rest of Mason's room.  I purchased one of the sample paint containers that are three bucks at Home Depot.

Bed, Bath and Beyond had some off-white sheers with branch cut-outs on them.  Perfect!!

Here is some artwork I made before Mason was born.

Now to find a nice reading chair for my little man since the only toys in his room are books.  It forces him to read, and it is working. ;)  He loves books.