Falling for Four: How to Make Your Own Curtains

Hi Guys! I am very slowly but surely trying to decorate our master bedroom, and the next step is curtains! I had a bright yellow curtain with a traditional pattern in my mind, and I am glad for once I was patient! Not only did I find them, but the fabric was 40% off! It was a good day. :-) The room is yellow and gray, and I eventually want to paint the walls a pale gray so I wanted bright, sunny, happy curtains that would really pop against the duller color. So, here is how I did it! I hope this helps you to do curtains in your own home!

What you'll need:

5 yards of fabric that is 45" wide. Check at your fabric store, the bolts tell you how wide the fabric will be. You'll usually find this in Home Decor Fabrics or Upholstery Fabrics.
sewing machine
sewing ruler
fabric scissors
thread
yard stick
pins

These are instructions for standard 84" curtains.

1. Unfold/unroll your fabric and cut off the last 10 inches of the fabric. Set aside.

2. Fold the rest of your fabric width-wise then lengthwise (hamburger, then hotdog fold) very neatly.

3. Cut the fabric along the lengthwise fold. You now have two equal, straight edged pieces! Yay! Set one half aside.

4. Repeat with your remaining fabric. Fold width-wise, then lengthwise and cut along the lengthwise fold. These will be the two panels for your first window! Set one of the panels aside.

5. Cut off the each corner at a 45 degree angle about 1/2 inch into the corner.

6. Fold an edge of the fabric in a 1/2 inch, and pin it in place.

7. Now sew a 1/4 inch seam.

8. Repeat step 6 and 7 for all four sides of your panel.

Remember how you cut off the corners? This will make a nice, neat point at the corners of your finished panel.

9. Set your panel aside, and grab the 10 inch piece of fabric you first set aside. You are going to use this to make loops for the curtain rod. Cut nine 3x10 inch strips from the fabric.

10. Sew a 1/4" edge along each of the long sides of the strip.

11. Overlap the two ends of the strip to make a loop. Pin and sew together (about 1/2 inch of overlap).

12. Repeat for 3 loops.

13. Lay your loops on the wrong side (back) of the top of your finished panel. Loop 1 should be 2 inches in from the left edge. It should be centered under the 3 inch mark on your yard stick.

Loop 2 should be centered under the 13 inch mark.

Loop 3 should be centered under the 23 inch mark (about 2 inches from the right edge).

14. Sew the top and bottom of each loop to the back of your panel. Voila! You've just sewn your first panel!