Too Much Fabric

I got all worked up yesterday at Fabricville. I found some sheer cotton/silk fabric in the right colors for my kitchen/diningroom curtains. I've been hoping to find this kind of fabric for some time, sheer enough to see through but not made of organza, which in this country only comes in polyester, not silk.

The idea is to use my quilting skills and create a simple design: one white patch, one yellow patch, alternating. Checkerboard. In a soft fabric that lets in lots of light.

The first barrier to this notion was finding the right yellow. I hate scatological colors. (I.e., piss-yellow.) There is a plethora of scatological yellows out there, and I detest all of them. Finally yesterday, when I was browsing, I found exactly the right color of yellow and a matching texture of white. I had to act.

But how much to buy? I didn't have the window measurements with me.

I stood staring at the cutting table for about half an hour, picturing the windows. I estimated one window to be two meters wide and the other one meter. Remembering that French pleats take three times the width of the window in fabric, I estimated I needed nine meters of fabric - 4.5 in yellow and 4.5 in white. I bought ten meters in all.

On the way home I began to wonder if that was enough. I hadn't thought about how much fabric would be used up by the seam allowances, especially since I intended to do French seams, which take double the seam allowance.

When I got home the first thing I did was measure the windows. One was exactly two meters wide, and the other just under a meter. Yay! I had estimated correctly! I had enough fabric and the right amount of tape for French pleats.

The this morning it hit me - I wanted to tab curtains. Tab curtains, not French pleats, in the kitchen/diningroom!

So, anybody want six meters of yellow and white fabric?