Easy $4 Bathroom Curtain

Let me begin by saying that I have my camera back!!!  Woo Hoo!!  :0)  I made this curtain earlier this week, before we got the camera back, so I did my best to recreate the process with another piece of fabric.  

I am so pleased with how this turned out, and it was SO easy!  But I also have to confess that I am a total novice when it comes to sewing.  So, if you are new to sewing, this would be a wonderful project to try!  

Supplies:
curtain rod
sewing machine
thread
fabric (I used two yards of white muslin that was on sale for 99 cents a yard!)
ribbon (I used two spools of ribbon that were a dollar each)
fabric glue


Step one:
Measure your window and figure out how much fabric you will need.  To calculate the length of fabric you need, multiply the length of your window by 2.5.  To calculate the width of fabric you will need, multiply the width of your window by 1.5.  

Step two:
Choose a fabric for your curtain.  Be sure not to pick anything with a pattern that has to face a specific direction--it won't work with this design.  I wanted a basic white curtain, so choosing my fabric was really easy!

Step three:
Hem the sides of your fabric so that the fabric is the correct width for your window.  You should have enough fabric to make a curtain that is about 1.5 times the size of your window.  I didn't want t lot of ruffles in my curtain, so I actually hemmed my fabric so that it was 1.3 times width of my window.  These seams are easy to do, just do one long straight seam along each side of your fabric.  My seams were about an inch wide.

    

Step four:
Fold your fabric in half crosswise.  You should have the two seams you just sewed on either side of the fabric.  The top of the fabric should be the fold, and the bottom of the fabric should be the open ends. 

Step five:
Create the tiered look of the curtain by folding the top of your fabric down to a length that you like.  Make sure that you are NOT folding the un-hemmed ends of your fabric down, but are folding the folded top edge down to create the tier.  Your un-hemmed edges should be at the bottom of your curtain panel.   

Step six:
Sew a pocket for your curtain rod at the top of the curtain.  This is easily done by sewing one seam  across the top of the curtain.  To determine how much room your curtain rod needs, measure around the widest point of the rod and add about half an inch.  Then divide that total by two.  This will tell you how far from the top edge of your curtain to place your seam.  I used a little tension rod, so I didn't have to have a very large pocket.  I think my seam was about an inch and a half from the top.

 
Step seven:
Hem the bottom edges of your curtain.  To figure out what length I needed to hem my edges to, I actually hung the curtain in my window, and pinned it in place.  Then I just hemmed each of the two pieces of fabric.

Step eight:
Glue on your ribbon.  Yep, that's right...glue it on.  I am sure that you could sew it on too, but that was just way more than I wanted to tackle at the moment.  :0)

Here's one more look at my finished curtain:

So there you have it, my $4 curtain.  It'll do in a pinch, and I love that if I ever when I get the urge to redecorate my bathroom I can easily sew up another curtain with whatever fabric is currently speaking to my soul!  Ha ha and yes...fabric does speak to my soul.