I cut 10 strips 120" long and 12" wide. Then I used every last scrap to piece together a back. I hemed the bottom of each strip, so that when I dyed it, the thread would match.
Then I mixed each of the colors in 2 buckets with a third bucket to use for combining the colors and soaking the fabric. I started at the top by adding some yellow dye and some water to get a really light cream and then continued to add blue down to the bottom teal strip which was dyed in the teal bucket with no yellow added. After rinsing really well, washing, drying, and ironing each strip I started sewing the strips to the back piece. I pleated as I sewed to get the ruffled look and underlapped each piece by about an inch or so (I would do a little more if I did it again because when it is hanging you can see under the pieces a little bit.) I worked my way down to the bottom and the length turned out just like I wanted it.
It turned out a little more yellow than the original and I wish I would have left a couple of the bottom blues in the dye a little longer. However, I finished the project for only $28, 2 trips to the store (I had to go back for more thread since all those ruffles used a lot more than I thought), and a few hours on my sewing machine. So, it was totally worth it. Plus I think this kind of stuff it fun!
Another bonus, I finally hung (scratch that) made Tyler hang, the cute towel hooks that his dad made us for Christmas a few years ago. I have been waiting to hang it until I painted, which I tend to put off. This curtain gave me the nudge I needed to finally get it done.
