Transform Your Space: How to Create Custom Curtains. When it comes to home decor, curtains play a pivotal role in tying a room together. Custom curtains not only elevate the aesthetic appeal of your space, but also offer a unique touch that reflects your personal style. I want to help you! So here is a step by step guide to transform your space by creating custom curtains yourself that are tailored to your taste and space requirements!
Before taking on the task of custom curtains, take some time to assess your space. In a room it’s important to figure the rooms size, lighting, and the overall style. This way you will be able to determine the type/design of fabric you want to use as well as the length they need to be.
For my bedroom space, I knew I wanted to have black out curtains, I wanted them to just touch the floor, and to match the wallpaper that I had on the opposite wall. This wallpaper from Serena and Lily is by far my favorite, and I have yet to tire of it!
Here you can see how plan and boring the room felt without the wallpaper. Its amazing what a simple print can do for a space!
Choosing the right fabric can be daunting, considering there are SO many different prints and types out there! Here is a list of different places that are my go to when looking for fabric.
I felt so fortunate to have been able to purchase the same print as the wallpaper I had in my bedroom room. I love the wallpaper so much, and to be able to bring the print to the opposite wall was awesome.
When you’re choosing a fabric make sure to choose one that complements your existing decor for the color/print and the needs of the space. I am one who loves having the curtains be blackout, as I hate when the light filters through and you can see the actual print on the fabric.
I would also suggest a heavy cotton or linen fabric, even a velvet would be a beautiful addition. Most of the time it would be labeled as Home Decor fabric.
When measuring your windows in your space, you will want to determine how you want the curtains to fall. For my space, I wanted full length curtains, from almost the ceiling to just touching the floor. So I measured from the rod to the floor, making sure to adjust for the curtain rings. In the end I wanted my finished curtain to be 92″ long.
Knowing I have to accommodate from a hem on either end I calculated that I would need roughly 5.5 – 6 yds of fabric to make 2 full length curtains.
It can be so nerve-racking to actually commit to a size and cut your fabric, especially when it’s pricey! For my space, I wanted floor to ceiling (well almost) curtains. In order to get the finished curtain at that length, you have to cut a bit longer. You do this to accommodate a top and bottom hem.
I ultimately cut my fabric at 95″ long. I made this choice, because I know the top hem is very small, and the bottom hem will be about 2′ in length. That is just the choice that I made for my space.
As I mentioned earlier in the post, I really love having my curtains blackout lined. Not only does this provide a real purpose in terms of thermal reasons, whether keeping out the bright sun in the summer, or the heat in the house during the cold winter months.
For these curtains, I wanted to add the lining so that the stunning print was not filtered out when there was any form of light coming through the window. Again, truly a personal choice!
The blackout liner I chose to use was this one from Joann fabrics.
Now that the fabric was cut to the lengths I figured for each curtain, I needed to start putting it all together.
For me, I always start at the top and work my way around the whole piece.
The very first step in this process, is to sew the very top hem. This is a very simple hem, as it’s just to remove the raw edge. Ultimately the blackout liner as well as the curtain hook tape will be sewn in overtop.
You do not need the top hem to be anything fancy, simply fold over the very top and stitch it in place as you see in the photo.
With the top hem done, you can place the blackout liner in place. I simply placed it just beneath the top hem. The curtain ring tape will then be place right over this, as you can see below.
Once these two pieces are in place, you need to really pin it down. That way when you take it to the sewing machine it does not shift and become all askew. When you go to stitch it in place, you will need to stitch it in two places.
The first arrow on the left is the top of the curtain tape, make sure to stitch just below the dotted line. Once this is done, then start again, but sticking on the bottom of the tape, below where the hooks are inserted.
Here is how mine looked once done. I am not a professional seamstress, as you can see hahaha. So go easy on yourself!
For the bottom hem of the curtain, I very simply just rolled the fabric over onto itself to make a 2″ hem. As you can see in the photo, I just rolled it over, pinned it and then stitched toward the top of the hem itself.
I completed the fabric hem prior to making the hem for the blackout liner. This way you know exactly where the blackout liner should fall in reference to the bottom of the curtain itself.
For the blackout liner, I chose to have it fall about 1/2″ above the top of the bottom hem. Here is a picture of it completed so you can see how I finished it. This was very simple. I just folded it over and stitched it in place. You won’t see this as it the back of the curtains.
This is the final step in making the curtains. This step does take a bit of time, as there is quite a bit of folding and pinning involved.
I start at the top of the curtain and slowly work my way down. You will want to be sure the curtain is laid out on a flat surface, as you want the blackout liner to be perfectly lined up with the front fabric panel.
To do this, you simply want to fold the sides over twice, you do this to ensure the blackout liner is incorporated with the fabric. You can easily see how I did this in the video below.
Here you can see how much I pinned it down, as there is a lot of fabric and when you are sewing it can get all shifted around. So be sure to over pin, it won’t hurt you and you’ll be happy you did!
Here is how the edge of the curtain looks, this is an image of the top front. Once you have completed both sides the curtain is 99% done!
The final step to the curtains is adding in the curtain hooks. The ones I have are three prong, but you can add in any different types!
Here they are in my bedroom space. I have plans to build a cornice board to go over the top of these curtains as well as a bench with a custom cover in the blue check print! And possibly paint the whole room a blue gray color! So stay tuned for more projects!
Let me know what you think below, or if you have any questions! I really hope this was a helpful step by step guide to creating custom curtains for your home!
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Thanks for the tutorial! I have never attempted drapes/curtains believing the project would be too complicated, but now I might give it a try with your easy to follow basic instruction. You whipped them up quickly and they look fabulous!