How to Make Curtains

 
Today I'm going to show you how to make some simple curtains.

This is something I've wanted to do in the kitchen for a long time. About a month ago, I was at Joanns looking for fabric to make the girls some skirts. They had some fabric on clearance. It was $2.50 a yard. They had all different colors.  I bought some for the skirts, I bought some just because I liked it, and I ended up going back and buying some for these curtains. I made a curtain for two windows in my kitchen and it cost me $5. It cost more for the tension rods than it did for the fabric.

Want to make your own?

Let's get started...

First, let's talk windows. Mine are 47" wide. They are fairly large. To determine how much fabric you need for the width of the window, a good rule of thumb is 1 1/2 x the width of the window. In order to save fabric, we will be sewing two pieces together to make a longer piece. So the 36" is half of the width, adjust that number according to your needs.

Cut list:
Body of curtain - 2 pieces 8 1/2" X 36"
Bottom Trim - 2 pieces 4 1/2" X 36"
Tabs - 16 pieces 3 3/4" X 4 1/2"

 I used 1 yard of two coordinating fabrics. You may need more or less. Depending on the size of your curtain you may also need more or less tabs.

To begin, sew the two short ends of the body of the curtain together, so that you get one really long piece. Do the same with your two pieces of trim.

Now let's work on the tabs.  I did each step on all the tabs before moving on to the next step.

 With right sides together, fold in half lengthwise and sew.

Turn right side out and press.

Fold in half and sew the ends together. I serged them so they wouldn't unravel over time.

Now grab your trim piece and press in half lengthwise.

Place the unfinished edges at the bottom of the curtain  and sew or serge in place.

 Press flat.

Next we'll finish the edges. Fold over 1/2 inch and press.

Fold over one more time and press. Then sew in place. Repeat with the other side.

Now were going to do the top. Press over 1/4 -1/2 inch.

Fold over again and press.

Next place your tabs along the top. I started out placing them every four inches and that didn't quite work, so then I tried every 4 1/2" and it worked out perfectly. You just want them spaced evenly, so adjust as needed. Sew in place. Sew again about 1/8" away from your first seam.

That's it! Now just slide your tabs on a tension rod and hang it up. I love using tension rods. Since they're removable, adjustable and don't require nails, there's no pressure to make sure you hang it perfectly.

This ended up being a pretty quick project, especially the second curtain when I had figured it all out.

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