DIY Mondrian Door Hanging | How to Sew a Bojagi Curtain for Your Home

I came up with this project by first thinking how I could get a 'stained glass' effect using a door curtain, which made me think of using organza fabric, then I thought about the classic Mondrian pattern, which lends itself to patchwork techniques, and finally I stumbled on the traditional Korean patchwork technique of Bojagi...and this all led to the following project!

Flat felled seams or ssamsol seams are vital for this patchwork curtain because they enclose all of the raw edges, making a reversible seam that looks the same from either side. It also has the effect of creating much more opaque lines in the design, because much less light can get through the seams compared to the single-layer organza fabric - and this 'outlines' the blocks of colour.

I hope you like the Instructable :)

Supplies

• Sheer organza fabric: the organza I'm using is 100% polyester, 35 gsm. You could instead use ramie, silk or lightweight cotton, which would be easier to work with as well - organza is very thin but also 'bouncy' which makes seaming quite tricky. The colours I'm using are red, yellow, blue and white. In hindsight, I should have chosen a more vivid blue, as this turquoise looked very pale in the final curtain.
• White polyester all-purpose sewing thread
• Sharp hand sewing needle, if you intend to hand sew the seams.
• Ruler
• Post-its/temporary labels
• Disappearing fabric marker
• Tape measure
• Rotary cutter & cutting mat
• Scissors
• Sewing machine
• Adjustable curtain pole that fits your doorway
• Sewing pins (or preferably clips if sewing organza)
• Iron & ironing board
• Pressing cloth/piece of cotton fabric/clean teatowel

Step 1: Design the Curtain

The size of the curtain will depend on the size of your doorway. I would advise setting out to make a curtain a little bigger than the doorway, as it's easier to cut it down a little bit at the end when seaming around the outside edge.

I made a canvas in Photoshop the same proportions as my doorway, planned the design digitally, and then printed the design out. You can do this with coloured pencils and a ruler instead if you wish.

I split the curtain into blocks of 4 different colours and re-arranged them until it looked balanced. Keep in mind the patchwork process when doing this, as the more straight lines going fully across the curtain, the quicker & easier the project will be. Notice that I basically split the curtain into 3 main rectangles, and then split each of these rectangles into more blocks. More blocks = more seams = more time, so plan for your own patience levels!

I labelled each block with a letter of the alphabet and the colour that block will be, and you'll see I ticked these off as I cut them out. Work out the size of all of the blocks you are going to need. Build in about 1/2" around the outside of the curtain for the hems, and 1" in total for each inner seam (i.e. seam allowance).

Also, add extra at the bottom just in case, and extra at the top to wrap around the curtain pole.

Step 2: Cut Out the Fabric Pieces

If there are major creases or wrinkles in your fabric, now is the time to iron them (using appropriate heat settings for your fabric). Then measure and cut out all of the blocks of fabric that you need, according to your design.

Because the organza is very bouncy and difficult to keep still, I didn't mark the outline; instead, I just used the markings of the cutting mat underneath, tried to make the organza as flat as possible, placed the ruler along the cut line and used a rotary cutter to cut as straight as I could.

If you're using an easier fabric like a lightweight cotton, you might want to mark out the measurements with a disappearing fabric marker first, then use a rotary cutter or fabric scissors to cut along the lines.

Once I had cut them out, I labelled each block with a post-it note that stated the size and the corresponding letter of the alphabet... otherwise it would get very confusing, very fast!

Step 3: Press the Fabric

Press all of the blocks to make sure they're as flat and smooth as possible, as this will be helpful for seaming in the next steps.

Because organza is delicate & synthetic and can therefore melt, I used a piece of cotton in between the organza and the iron. Any pressing cloth will do. Just test the heat settings on a scrap of your fabric first as a test.

Step 4: Start Sewing the Seams

When joining the blocks together, I'm going to work on 1 large rectangle at a time - as mentioned previously, my design splits into 3 large rectangles which are each made up of at least 2 blocks. Once those 3 large rectangles are made, I'll join them together to finish. It just makes it easier to have a plan and work in smaller sections.

You can use flat felled seams for this (which I will be demonstrating), or hand-sewn ssamsol seams (which I demonstrate in the video above).

The size of the seam is really up to you but you should keep it consistent throughout. My sewn lines are going to be around 1/4" apart in each seam.

To begin, I'll join a white and a yellow block together. To do this, place the smaller block on top of the larger block and line up the edges you're going to join. Offset the fabric block on top by 1/4" i.e. move it 1/4" to the left, as shown in the photos.

Pin or clip the edges in place and sew 1/2" from the outer edge (1/2" from the edge of the larger block).

Because we're using a very thin fabric, it's best to use a fine sewing needle and a short stitch length.

Open out the fabric.

Step 5: Complete Your First Seam

Fold the wider fabric edge over the narrower edge and push it over onto the side of the smaller block (in this case, yellow).

Press this fold with an iron to help you with the sewing stage.

Pin the fold in place, then sew along the folded edge, as shown. Try and keep the line as straight as you can - you want it to be parallel to the previously sewn line.

You will end up with a reversible seam where the raw edges are completely enclosed.

Step 6: Just Keep Seaming

You then continue to use this seaming technique to join all of the blocks together.

In the photos above, you can see me joining rectangles together that are made up of multiple blocks. You do this in exactly the same way - the only difference is that you'll be incorporating the ends of previously-sewn seams into the new seams, so in some places you'll be sewing through double the layers... but since the fabric is so thin, it doesn't make too much difference.

Note: make sure that if the seams are supposed to line up, then they do :)

Step 7: Hem the Edges

Once all of the blocks are joined, you'll need to hem all of the way around. Before you do this, just check that the overall size of the curtain is what you want it to be - because if it isn't right, now is the time to trim it down to the correct dimensions.

I folded each edge over by 1/4"twice (i.e. made a double fold hem) and then sewed the hem in place.

Step 8: Sew a Channel

Lastly, get your curtain pole and place it across the top of you curtain. Fold the curtain over the pole and pin it in place to create a channel that the curtain pole can easily be slid into.

Sew across the curtain to secure the channel.

Step 9: Finish!

Hang your curtain up in a doorway and that's it, your organza tapestry is complete!

Because the fabric is sheer and shiny, it was very difficult to photograph so I hope you get the idea. It's very floaty and I really like the effect of the light coming through it. The only thing I'd change, as I said, is to make the blue more vivid....but other than that I'm very pleased with it! Maybe I'll make one in light woven cotton next :)