Sunday, January 6, 2013

My easy peasy no-sew DIY curtains

Okay, I am really excited about this post. I love, Love, LOVE when I have success with something I find on Pinterest.



For way too long now we have needed some curtains in our living room, but let's be honest...curtains are stinkin' expensive!  So, I hit Pinterest (of course!) for some ideas on how to make curtains.  And, oh yeah, I needed it to be something I didn't have to sew since my machine is on the fritz.  I found several different tutorials for no-sew curtains and  I meshed together a couple to come up with my own flavor of no-sew curtains.

When I say these curtains were easy, I mean they were easy.  Now, that doesn't mean quick; just easy.

Here's what you need:
  1. Fabric (Measure your windows to see what length and width you need.  My windows are about 84 inches long, but I like to hang my curtain rod high, so I decided to use pieces that were 2 1/2 yards long; I actually had the lady at the fabric counter pre-cut the fabric into 2 1/2 yard pieces for me instead of just buying one 5 yard piece.)
  2. Scissors
  3. Stitch Witchery (You can find this is the fabric section at Walmart for around $2.  It looks like a roll of mesh tape.)
  4. An iron
  5. Ironing board
  6. Measuring tape
Start out by making sure that your pieces of fabric are the same length.  I just laid them on top of each other and then trimmed them up.

Next, put your first panel on the ironing board.  Start on one side and fold about a half inch seam.  Cut a strip of the Stitch Witchery and place it under the seam.  I had to do this part in several section because my fabric was so long.  Then, iron the seam with the Stitch Witchery underneath.  This part will probably take a little longer than you expect.  It takes about 60-90 seconds for the Stitch Witchery to seal.

What your seem should look like after using the Stitch Witchery
 Just repeat this process on all four sides of your fabric.

To double check, lay your pieces of fabric on top of each other again to make sure they line up evenly.

Purchase a couple of sets of curtain clip rings (can also be found at Walmart), attach them to your curtain rod, and you're in business.

Your finished product should look a little something like this:


I lucked up and found some great upholstery fabric for $1.50/yard, so my fabulous new curtains cost me a whopping $9.50! ($7.50 for the fabric + $2.00 for the Stitch Witchery.  If you count the curtain clips, throw in another $7.00, for a grand total of $16.50, which is still significantly cheaper than even one panel of a nice set of curtains.)

Up next (in a few days hopefully), fun with super old windows!  I found this beauty that someone had just thrown out, and it now has a new happy home on my dining room wall.  I have some great ideas about how to dress her up and I'll be posting an update on her progress soon.



Until next time...