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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

DIY No-Sew Curtains

Living in an apartment is hard. Especially in a college town. Here, the apartments don't have much character because they're geared more towards student living. And they're tiny. We're talking there's no room in the bedroom for much more than bed so whoever was large and in charge decided to throw the only storage closet in the place in the bathroom... without a door. Finally I got a little tired of brushing my teeth and staring at the deep abyss of clothing mixed among craft supplies and decided I had to come up with a solution that not only looked classy but was also affordable. Each time I moseyed down the aisles of Target or the purgatory named Walmart, I was met with curtain panels that either didn't fit the dimensions I had or that were $40 or more a pop for a set. No. Thank. You.

One coupon search later, I found myself knee deep in fabric at JoAnn's trying to decide on what pattern I wanted. I'd have to take the longer yet more fulfilling route of making my own curtains. Twenty bucks and less than an hour later, boom, my place looked a little bit more like an adult lived there. Plus, they're pretty much foolproof.

Here's what you'll need:

  • Your choice of fabric (I chose a thicker one so it felt more "solid" )
  • Heavy-duty iron on hemming tape
  • An iron
  • Some towels to put under the section you're ironing (don't make the same mistake I did and melt a nice new rug)
  • Tape measure
  • Tension rod
  • Curtain Clips



Do you have a tiny window to cover? A big ol' space to section off? Measure your fabric so it fits the area you need and cut to fit giving about two to four inches of "give" on either end. And on the sides too. I was lucky enough that the width of the fabric they gave me just about fit, it just needed some finishing up on the edges.


Next, decide how wide you need it to be. Do Not cut off the excess yet. You'll want to fold over the fabric evenly on each side so that the main curtain measures the width you need, then use a few pins to hold it in place while you iron the edge. this will be your outer hem. 

You will then want to fold the raw edge to meet the crease and iron that edge as well. If you have a lot of excess fabric, this is where you can trim it up. After you've got things in order, follow the directions for the hemming tape and iron that sucker on. 

Peel of the backing nice and slow, like a John Legend song, and then fold the fabric over at the crease and iron again to seal the hem and create a nice finished edge. I preferred to do the longer sides first and then the top and bottom. Pick an end to add the curtain ring clips to and space them out evenly. I wasn't picky about them being exact, but my boyfriend was. He kept going on about how he's going to be an engineer and things had to be done right so that they preformed correctly and then I just kind of stopped listening and let him do it. Talk about making a crafter's life hard. 
Then, hang up your new masterpiece and enjoy! Voila you've just created your own curtain!
Good work, guys.

7 comments:

  1. I've done similar in a rental house I lived in briefly. It was pretty small and I lived in that college town for 15 years. Thankfully, I eventually purchased my own home! I was always thankful I didn't live in NYC where folks live in a 150 sq. ft. apartment and call that roomy! lol

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    1. Thank goodness for Websites like Apartment therapy- my place (It's about 575 sq ft) didn't feel quite as small as all the places that are 300 sq ft and stylish as heck!

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  2. UGH!!! Where were you 6 years ago??? I taught my self to sew because I thought I had to in order to make my own curtains =0/

    Thanks for linking up on Blogger Brags!!

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  3. I hate hemming things on my sewing machine, so I am really glad to have found your tutorial! (Through Say Not Sweet Anne.) I have a curtain project that's been waiting for me for over a year... maybe now I will finally finish it! Thanks!

    Nancy at Hungry Enough To Eat Six

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  4. You're a genius!!! I've got the fabric for my new curtains since last summer but have just cut them!!! I was tired before starting to baste them (shame on me) ;) Now I know what I'll do! Thanks a lot for the brilliant idea :)

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  5. You all are just so sweet! thanks for the blog love!

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  6. A very pretty fabric, and a lovely color. An apartment can be hard to reflect yourself but with this shower curtain you certainly are on your way. Very creative.
    Thanks for sharing at Sunday's best, hope to see your creativeness at Sunday's Best tomorrow.

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