QUICK DIY CURTAINS
Fast and easy, for people with little time!
A while ago, I needed curtains for the space we are renovating. The renovation work took much longer than expected. And of course, when the renovation phase came to an end, the curtains weren’t ready. The living room is a very bright open space with a lot of windows and neighbors on three sides. In order to have some privacy at night, I really needed a quick fix. I like to be creative, but I must admit, I prefer projects that are relatively simple and fast.
Making curtains can be cumbersome, but it doesn't have to be hard. I will show you how it can be both cost-effective and easy.
If you are a professional sewist, please stop reading. This is not a professional way of making curtains, but sometimes you don't have the time or energy. This is the “working mom, short on time, getting a lot of things done” kind of DIY curtain tutorial 🙂. It involves a lot of ironing and hemming. That's all there is to it, really. And, there is even a way of hemming without a sewing machine, so then it is just ironing!
One way of getting curtains ready to hang quickly, is buying standard curtains (from IKEA, for example). They are reasonably priced. These curtains have heading tape on the upper section while the long sides are hemmed. The bottom is hemmed too, but you will probably have to cut them to the size of your windows and add a hem at the bottom.
Another option is to buy any kind of fabric you like and start from scratch. I did a combo of the two for our apartment, based on the size of the window. For the larger windows, I hemmed some ready-made IKEA curtains.
To hang the curtains, I'm using a simple bar and the Curtain and Quilt Hangers from Madam Sew. I really love these, both the look and how easy they are to use.
Before you start, clean up your sewing table and free your ironing board from clutter. Curtains take up a lot of space!
Scenario 1: Hemming the Ready-Made Curtains
In this scenario, you have two options. You can choose to get out your iron and sewing machine, or just your iron and hem tape.
Cut to Size
Measure the length you want for your curtains and add 2 to 8 inches, depending on how big you want your hems. Have you heard of puddling, breaking, hovering, and brushing when it comes to the length of curtains? Look it up if you don't know what style fits your space best.
Measuring and cutting large panels of fabric for curtains is not easy. I have two tips for you. You can fold your fabric a couple of times so it fits on your cutting mat and use your rotary cutter. Use a 60 mm rotary cutter that can handle a lot of layers!
But there is also a little hack that makes cutting straight with scissors easier. Just make a little cut at the start and grab one of the threads that goes in the direction that you will be cutting. Pull that thread a little or pull it out completely, if that is possible. The little ruffled thread or the missing thread is your mark to cut in a straight line all the way to the other edge.
Sew the Hem
Iron a double-folded hem using a Hot Hem Ruler or your preferred hemming technique.
Pin or clip the fold down.
Sew this hem down at 1/4 inch from the top of the folded edge.
Not Sewing = Using Fusible Hem Tape
If you don’t want to sew the hems, you can use Fusible Hem Tape to hem curtains. It is a tape that has glue on both sides that is activated with the heat of your iron. It has backing tape on one side, which makes it easy to work with.
Position your Fusible Hemming Tape on the right side of that first fold, close to the fold. Press to fuse it onto your fabric. If you want, you can use a Non-Stick Pressing Sheet to protect your iron sole, but the backing tape should protect it sufficiently. I haven’t had any problems with this tape and my iron’s sole.
Remove the backing tape. Make a second fold of the hem and iron the hem to glue it in place. Turn the curtain to the right side and iron again.
Scenario 2: Easy Curtains from Scratch
Cut the fabric to the size you want. Read the cutting tips in scenario 1 above.
1. Hem the two sides: a double-folded hem of about 1/2 inch
2. Hem the top: a double-folded hem of about 1 inch
3. Hem the bottom: a double-folded hem of about 2 inches
The Hot Hem Ruler is getting a lot of use!
For both scenarios, grab curtain hangers, clip them onto the top edge, evenly spaced over the full length. If you have pleated curtains, clip a ring at every pleat. Otherwise, I clip a hanger every 5 to 7 inches.
And that’s it. A minor effort and I’m very pleased with the result. I just need to grab my iron again but I didn’t have the time yesterday. You know… working mom, short on time, getting a lot of things done… ;-)
Happy Sewing!
An