Curtain Tutorial

Alright, this is going to be long. Sorry for that but I have a LOT to say about these "clothes" for our windows. We still have about 2 months until I make my move out to California, but if there is one thing I know about moving...it is that you can't over plan or organize. So I am working on some of my proposed projects before I make the trek so when I get out there I can focus on the things I can't work on now (ex. counter tops and tiling my bathroom).

Here we go. We'll start by a couple things you should know/think about when deciding on your curtains.

First, the reason. I like my curtains to dress up a window, not cover the window. If you are trying to block out sun or block a view that the neighbors may have, this will vastly change your application of my tutorial, materials used and width.

Second, the length. I like my curtains to start at the top of the windows and go to the floor, regardless of the window length. This make the ceilings appear taller. This could also be a problem with small children or cats getting tangled/destroying the part of the curtains that they can reach.

Also. I must put in here that making your own curtains isn't always the cheapest way. Much to Brian's chagrin, I really like to be cheap (not frugal, I literally just want to pay nothing for things...I have no reason) so I do a LOT of shopping before I decide on my plan of action. To be fair, I have a lot more windows and rooms to deal with this time around so I can't just be spending all our funds on one thing or only part of the house will be done. That said, you may be able to find really nice curtains in colors/style you like for what it would cost to buy fabric.

For instance these curtains

cost me less than $14 for both!!! "How?", you ask. Well, I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and in their clearance looked to see if I could find ANY matching curtain panels in ANY of my color schemes. I found one that had never been opened for $9.99 (originally $39.99). I liked it and was desperate to find a match. It was hard because the match was in different packaging, it had been used as a display. I took it out and it looked good enough to me so I took it, 6.99. Did you math that? Doesn't work does it? Wanna know a secret about Bed, Bath and Beyond? Those coupons they send you for 20% of any single item can be used on sale items and you can use as many as you have items for (ie you want to buy 5 things, you can use 5 coupons) and they don't expire! So NEVER  throw those out and when you receive them put them directly into that seat back pocket in your car, that way if you do happen to find a great deal on something they are there, ready to use.

Ok, so I only found one matching set. So I still needed to find another, to finish out bedrooms linens (I yet to make a plan for all the curtains I need for my living spaces...). Off to Hancock Fabrics we go. We had originally decided on navy blue satin for the curtains (I do let Brian pick out some things, this was one), but we found a nice white satin with tiny silver threads in it on sale for like $3.99 a yard, except when I took it to the counter for the nice lady to cut she said it was down to $1.97 a yard!!! (If you don't shop for fabrics a lot you should know one thing: be very nice to the ladies, they are chock full of good ideas/tips/hints/generosity.) When I told her I wanted 7 yards I asked if she thought there was enough. She thought there was and started to unroll the bolt. Upon unrolling the bolt we figured out why it was marked down, stains. I asked her if she thought they would come out (getting ready to take it with stains in case there wasn't enough) and she said she was going to give me the stained part but still counted out the 7 yards I needed after the stains, plus we were at the end of the bolt so she threw in the last extra yard or so and only charged me for 7 yards! $14 for the fabric for my curtains and if the stains come out (which they did!) extra material for a duvet and throw pillows (for another room, don't wanna be to matchy-matchy). Plus she also let me know that over Memorial weekend they would be having more crazy sales with coupons and to come back then...oh, I'll be back.

Ok, moral of that long story is shop around. Now to make these curtains. For most DIYers, this is a super easy task. I'm no different, this is easy as pie. I'll make the tutorial for those of you who have never done this. First, read the manual of your new sewing machine. (Seriously, because I don't know how yours works. You should also learn how to fill a bobbin. If you don't know what that is, curtains are still too hard for you. On some material, that you aren't going to miss when you jack it up, practice sewing a straight line. That is all you will need to know how to do this.)

First cut the material. I like to cut my material 8ft long. This makes it as long as the typical wall height until we factor in the hem lines, which I think make the curtains not so long that they are touching the floor, but still plenty long for the visual effects.I don't cut the material width wise (selvage edges)because I like the volume of that width and you can always move that part around on the rod until it looks the way you want.

Next, sew down the selvages (the widths, you can tell which sides are the selvages because they will be "scruffy" not smooth like where you just cut. They are made this way so the material doesn't unravel). You'll want to fold the material so that the wrong sides (the side of the material that isn't the pretty side) are touching. I should mention that some people will fold their material over twice so it looks super polished and the selvages are hidden away (think about when you roll your pants and fold them twice instead of once, it hides the edge) but I don't see the point, they are going to be up against a wall anyway. Sew all selvage edges at once. I typically use the guide lines on the sewing machine to know how much to hem. I should pin the hem down and iron it, but this is really time consuming and tedious. I have enough motor skills to eyeball it, so do you.

After that it is time to get out those pins and the curtain rod you plan to use.
One note on curtain rods, they can be expensive and also easy to make. Some ideas for curtain rods include tension (shower) rods, (they hang right up in the window sill so no hammers or screws, plus they can be cheaper.) PVC pipe (painted if you feel inclined and I think you do...) and dowel rods (I used one in the 1st picture above and cut it so that the rod was only the length of the tiny wall space, so easy and cheap!) You need the curtain rod now because you need to measure the size of the opening to slide the curtain onto. If you want you can go generic and leave an inch+ gap, that usually covers it but I feel that the closer to the correct size the opening is, the better they look.
Again, you are putting the material right side (pretty side) down and folding it so the wrong sides are touching. You will be sewing 2 straight lines on this side of the fabric. Look at how my pins are placed.

That's how you should measure the opening to fit your rod, if you don't have the rod yet leave a decent sized gap between the lines, (1-2 inches) just remember that size when you go to buy the rods. At this point you'll need to pin the other side. I just line up the first side next to the second side and get them as close as possible.

At this point you should put a couple more pins to keep the material from moving around too much and ruining your measurements. Again, you could just iron the fold and then it wouldn't move as much, but I really hate doing this...so no. Also, again with folding the material under to get that super polished look and again I don't see the point, plus I would need to do more measuring. Not bloody likely.

Now to keep you from feeling like you need to draw a line down the material to help sew a straight line, look at how the material lines up on the machine. I like to find a place that I feel the material should be near to for me "eyeball" the line and I use the presser foot as another indicator. I like to take out the pins and not sew over them. Up to you but I think go slow and take them out right before you sew over them...We have not yet talked about reinforcing the seams, it is where you go backwards and forwards over the same seam to make it stronger.You should do it at the beginning and each of these two lines. Putting on and taking off a curtain to/from the rod could loosen those seams and then you would need to redo them. Just reinforce now and feel free to move them as much as necessary.

After you have both lines sewn it is time to hem the bottom. Again I don't iron or double fold, but you can if you have the time/desire. I also reinforce the seams here. Just for funsies. Eyeball that hem using the guidelines provided to you by the presser foot and the machine.

Now they should be done. Hang them up. If something went wrong get out your seam ripper and fix it.

These are just hanging in my hallway for now.
When they go in the new place I'll take
another pic!

Questions? Comments? Did you try this and want to share? Do you want some guidance on a little more complicated curtain, with a lining perhaps? I can help, comment below!

Thanks for reading.