Is anyone else overwhelmed by the number of curtains out there to choose from? Choices of patterns, textures, colors, and fabrics, and then the cost can be outrageous! Another issue is that most curtains are all the same length. In our house, the outside walls in the upstairs are shorter than most due to the roof peak and therefore the tops of the windows are at eye level. This presented a problem when it came time to look for curtains for the kids’ rooms.
So I decided I would just make some easy DIY curtains to fit the windows exactly how I wanted! I came up with an idea and went off to JoAnn’s to choose the fabric. Our son chose to have dark blue curtains to match his dark blue wall. Our daughter’s room has pink under the chair rail and pink and purple are her favorite colors. I went with an off-white linen fabric for the curtains with a ruffle detail on the bottom of the curtains. I didn’t use a specific pattern for the curtains but I have outlined the steps I took for each one below.
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Supplies Needed for Easy DIY Curtains
- A fabric of your choice
- Drapery rings
- Curtain rods
- Rotary cutter
- Fabric cutting mat
- Fabric Measuring Tape
I want to let you know that I am by no means a professional seamstress but I do know my way around a sewing machine. And I wanted these curtains to be as easy as possible to sew for anyone. I know the kids’ rooms will change as they grow and that was part of my thought process as I am sure the kids won’t want these curtains in their rooms in 10 years! And I figured that when they get tired of the curtains I can re-purpose the fabric easily for another project.
JoAnn’s was having a great deal on their home decor fabrics on the day I went. If you have a JoAnn’s nearby keep an eye on their ads as their home decor fabrics seem to go on sale frequently and if you join their mailing list you will get coupons in the mail. I chose to use home decor fabrics because they are more durable than regular cotton. I also wanted something that was going to block out some of the outside light. Although I wasn’t concerned about having these be blackout curtains since I didn’t think it was necessary at this time for their rooms.
So the windows in both of the kids’ rooms are the same and measure 36″ x 36″ and 36″ x 60″. Normally most curtains are floor length but I didn’t want the curtains to go to the floor as I was concerned they would get ripped down while the kids’ played.
I worked on the small window first and I measured the fabric to be 70″ x 46″ and then cut this in half to 35″ width wise to create the two panels
I then sewed a 2″ seam on the top and bottom of each panel, making sure to use pins to hold it in place before sewing.
After sewing the top and bottom I folded the fabric on the sides over to create a 1.5″ seam and then sewed this in place. Make sure to iron each panel after you are done sewing as this will help it hang better
Almost done! Now time to hang them up! Because I didn’t want to go through the hassle of creating loops or a rod pocket I used drapery rings to hang the curtains and figured this would make it easier to re-purpose in the future.
I clipped the rings to the curtains starting 2″ from the end by folding 2 pleats and then clipping the other rings about 5″ apart. The nice part is that they easily clip on and off so you can adjust the clips as needed to fit your curtain and window.
So I followed the same instructions above for the larger window except that my dimensions were bigger.
ADDING RUFFLES TO CURTAINS
Because I chose a plain linen fabric for my daughter’s room I wanted to add a more feminine and colorful element to them. I followed this simple tutorial from Crazy Little Projects to create ruffles for my daughter’s curtains.
One tip I have is to make sure your thread tightness on your sewing machine is low otherwise it will be hard to pull the thread to create your ruffle. I created two ruffles for each curtain panel and lined them up before sewing them onto the panel.
And now the kids have finished curtains to keep out the sun in the morning and afternoon and make their rooms a little more homey and personalized!
