Curtain Face Lift-Tutorial

The curtains in my master bedroom were an IKEA purchase never intended for my master bedroom. They were a cheap fix for our unfinished basement windows because I was sick of seeing the mess down there when I would walk out on my back lawn. I ended up getting one more set than I needed and realized that their goldish color matched a goldish accent in my bedding...

You can see the goldish there, on the pillow, do you see it?

So, I hung them up, again, as a quick fix...

And there they have stayed for months and months. Enter this little find...

I loved this fabric and had a 40% off coupon so I got several yards of it, not having a clue what I would do with it. And there it stayed, in the bag, for weeks and weeks. Then one night as I was trying to fall asleep (I say trying because my brain does not seem to have come equipped with an on/off switch) I had a thought. Dress up those boring 'ol IKEA curtains with that fabric I love. This made it really hard to go to sleep. I had to fight not to get out of bed, turn on all the lights and get 'er done! When I found the right moments (not in the middle of the night) this is what I did:

First, I cut two 10 inch strips out of the fabric and laid it across the curtain that I had taken down and laid out on the floor. I decided I liked how it looked so I started cutting the curtain apart, to sew it all back together again, of course!

I measured 13 inches from the top of the curtain (not including the tab top) and cut clear across the curtain.

Then I sewed one of my 10 inch fabric strips to it, right sides together and used a 1/4 inch seam.

 

I measured another 10 inches on the curtain, cut it clear across the curtain and sewed it to the bottom of the strip of fabric. I then added another 10 inch strip of fabric and then sewed the bottom of the curtain back on.

I pressed all my seams open with an iron.

 

I had to hem the curtains at the bottom, since this made them longer, but that just took a few minutes.

I love the color and also the design of the fabric that adds so much to the room. If you can sew a straight line on a sewing machine you can do the same with your curtains. NEVER hesitate to pick up a fabric you love even if (especially if) you don't have a clue what you will do with it. It will come to you...if not when you are trying to fall asleep, then surely when you are in the shower.

Another favorite way to make curtains that takes very little sewing ability: GROMMETS. These kits are available at fabric and craft stores and are so, so simple to do. Store bought grommet curtains are very expensive and while buying raw fabric is not cheap, use your 40 and 50% off coupons and you will be able to get them for much less than you would pay for store bought curtains. Plus, you can turn any fabric you love into the curtains you love!

I have linked up to a few link parties.