Add some Fun To Store Bought Curtains

I bought two packages of these plain white curtain panels for like $10 a package. My original plan was to use them in our spare bedroom...

But when I found my inspiration fabric for our living room, I decided to go another route with them.  I added about 15 inches of fabric to the bottom of them, and now they really are a fun addition to our living room!  And I am a big fan of the fact that when I decide to change up our living room, I can easily take the current fabric off of them and switch it to something else!  Fun huh!?

Anywho, here is how I did it:

Figure out how many inches of fabric you want to add to your curtains.  In my case, I wanted to add 15 inches.  My curtains were 80 inches wide.  So I cut my fabric into approximately 19x84 inch sections--I like to leave myself a lot of extra room because I am still SO new to sewing.  

My curtains were tab top curtains, but I wanted a solid top...so I just flipped them over.  The bottom hem was large enough for my curtain rod, so it was really easy to do.  But when you look at these pictures, you will see the curtain tabs sticking out here and there...just ignore them!  :0)  

Pin the wrong side of your fabric to the wrong side of the bottom of your store bought curtain.  I used two rows of pins in mine just to be on the safe side.  Then sew a straight seam across your fabric.  This will attatch your fabric to your original curtain.      

On the back side of your fabric, measure from the seam you just sewed, down your fabric, to the length you need to add to your curtains and make a mark.  You are measuring to what will be the bottom of your new curtain.  Do this every few inches all the way across your fabric. 

Fold over the bottom of your fabric and iron a crisp line where you want the bottom of your curtain to be.  I am sure you could pin it too...but this way works better for me.  :0)  Then just sew a seam all the way across the folded up section that you just made.  This will be the bottom of your curtain. 

For the sides of your curtain, fold your fabric over the edge of the original curtain fabric.  Iron the fabric to create an edge that matches up to the original curtain fabric.  This will ensure that the transition from your store bought curtain to the fabric you add is seamless. 

Sew a straight seam, starting at the bottom of your fabric addition and ending where the fabric meets the original curtain:

Iron your new curtain panels and you are good to go:

I love the way mine turned out!  I think I might use this same idea, with different fabric, in our sunroom!  Ha ha that is if I ever manage to get our living room completed...  

   

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.