One definition of insanity

To wit:  Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

I personify that definition of insanity, and the fabric I came home with yesterday for the headboard and roman shades is a case in point.  The colors are as close to perfect as I could hope to find....

The problem is in the type of fabric they are:  polyester satin.  It's particularly insane that I would go ahead and buy this fabric because I just fought like heck with a polyester dupioni in a client's room - also chosen because the color was perfect.  Finding the perfect color is, for me, like Indiana Jones' single-minded pursuit of the holy grail:  it gets me into a lot of fixes from which there is no graceful way out.  Shooting yourself in the foot is probably another definition of insanity, but I'm about to do just that by sharing What Went Wrong with a photo....

I'm sure you see the problem without me spelling it out, but I'll do so anyway.  See the puckering along the piping line?  That screams "amateur hour" to me.  It really makes me want to cry.  But I spent hours trying and trying to force that fabric to behave and it won.  The problem is that the fabric just isn't stable enough, and once I ironed it it lost even what little body it had to begin with.  Add to that that the corded trim I was using had quite a bit of stretch to it and you've got a recipe for disaster:  There was simply no way to get the two disparate materials joined with a nice clean seamline.   The issue could have been largely solved had I been using high-density foam to fill the cushions, but my client had a plethora of old pillows that she wanted me to cut open and use the stuffing from, and regular old poly stuffing just won't condense tightly enough to straighten out a seam line.  

I was certainly considering this problem as I gazed upon these p.e.r.f.e.c.t.l.y. colored fabrics (at Hobby Lobby), but I convinced myself that it won't be a problem because a) There will be no seams on the headboard; and b) I can use a fusible interfacing to give the fabric for the roman shades the body it needs to be tidily straight (believe me, I already have visions of doom with that process).   Oh, and 3) The fabrics were .... are you ready?....  $2.99/yd!  Lordy, that's cheap!   I spent under $35 and got enough fabric to recover a footstool, make two shades, the headboard, a bedskirt (more about that in a minute) and two large pillows to go between the patterned shams and the headboard.   Honestly, even if none of those things work out, I'm not going to spend a lot of time crying over wasting thirty bucks.  I really didn't find anything else in Fort Collins yesterday that was going to work, and my next move was to order this....

from Denver Fabrics, sight unseen,  at $27.75/yd.  I actually almost did order three yards, or enough to cover the footstool and headboard.  IF the color that shows on my computer monitor is accurate, it's also perfect, but that's a very big IF and I'd be out over $100 with shipping if the color turned out to be off.  I also found out that Denver Fabrics' online site isn't even run by Denver Fabrics, so driving down there to see it in person would probably be a waste of $20 gas and three or four hours.  So I'm happy I found what I did right here in town and I really do think I can make it work.  Because I'm insane and I expect a different result the umpteenth time I do the same thing.  

As for the bedskirt:  The more I look at the thing, the more I dislike it.  I just don't understand why on earth they chose the very, very deepest shade from the comforter when that very deepest shade only makes up about .05% of the colors in the whole.  

See what I mean?  Plus, having the headboard and bedskirt match is going to make the entire finished result so much more polished looking.  Bedskirts are such a snap to make.  I'll just use the one that came with the set and add my fabric right on top of it, but even if you're starting from scratch they're easy-peasy.  Here's one I made to go in the same room with the unfortunate cushions...

Using a real silk dupioni with a nice weight to it and a standard fitted sheet to sew it to.  If you want to try your hand at this, all you need to do is put the sheet on the box-springs, mark around the entire perimeter with a permanent marker and sew your pre-hemmed (and pleated or ruffled, if desired) fabric along the line.  Presto, done-o.  Oh - and yes, both of those toss pillows also have puckering seam issues. :(

I promise to have finally settled on a paint treatment when I return tomorrow.  Anything to put off the sewing portions of this re-do!  Until then, thanks for stopping by and please take a second to say "hi!"