Curtains for Beckham

My perfect sleeper went through an unwelcome phase a month or so ago, when the sun would beat through his many bedroom windows (2 of which face east) and wake him promptly at 6am. This does not work for me. Nor for him- he would be ultra cranky all morning and need an earlier nap, which made for a longer and crankier afternoon... not a good schedule for us. 

So I decided to sew some curtains to help darken his room in the mornings. Also for bedtime, since it's still light out at 7 when he goes to bed. 

I found this adorable owl fabric quite a while ago and bought a yard of it, knowing it would be perfect in Becks' owl room but without a plan in mind. One yard isn't enough to cover his three windows but I thought this owl fabric would make a great accent for curtains. So I headed to my local fabric store in search of something sort of neutral to complement it, and also match his room. I wanted something heavy to block the light, but not too expensive... tough criteria!

My husband stumbled upon this celery green fabric on the clearance rack... it was home deco weight and width, and lined- just what I needed! Plus it has this great velvety texture, almost chenille-like. And the best part? There were exactly 4 yards, clearance priced at around $3 a yard!

So here is what I put together with my fabrics: 

This is his single window, and I could've used a bit more than the 4 yards of fabric to make the curtains more ruffly when closed, but I think it looks great as is. Beckham loves these owls. He points at them whenever I change his diaper and makes hooting sounds. 

Here they are opened. 

This is the double, east-facing window wall. This heavy fabric really does block the light- completely solved the 6am problem.

Aren't they cute?! Most owl fabrics I find are super girly. I was thrilled when I saw this one in neutral, woodsy colors. It's a pretty heavy, canvas-like texture. 

Lined! You can see the texture of the green fabric pretty well in this pic. It almost looks like some kind of upholstery fabric to me. I could see a fab vintage love seat recovered in this. 

I had a couple small pieces of the owl fabric left over so I sewed up a simple little pillow for Beckham's chair...

...and backed it in green with a little appliqued owl.

My baby loves it. I love when I can sew things for my boys; it's so much harder to find cute handmade ideas for boys.