How to Make Curtains
If you can learn how to make curtains, you can change the look and feel of any room in your house using fabrics to compliment or contrast with the rest of the room.
As a professional custom window treatment fabricator,I know various methods of how to make curtains and draperies.
I'm going to show you some basic instructions to make stationary lined panels that will make you proud.
You’ll need a sewing machine, a stiff measuring tape, a sharp scissors, straight pins, face fabric, lining, matching thread and 4” wide buckram, oh, and a little bit of patience.
For this type of window treatment, you will only need the length measurement.
Measure from the top of the window (or frame) all the way to the floor for the length.You want to choose ahome decor fabrics
as the face or front fabric.
It is always 54” wide or wider and is displayed on a roll rather than folded. When you purchase it, be sure to ask that they put it back on a tube for you rather than fold it; creases can be difficult to iron out completely.
Take the length measurement (top of frame to floor) and add 17 inches and multiply that by 2. Divide that number by 36” and that is how many yards of fabric (and lining) you will need to buy.
If the fabric has a vertical repeat (check the fabric tag) of between 2” and 12”, buy an additional ½ yard. If the repeat is more than that, buy an additional yard of fabric. The original measurement is good enough for the lining yardage, however.
A good quality lining will add not only protection from the sun and occasional rain that blows in the window, but it also gives body to the drapery itself.
How to Make Curtains: Cutting
Unroll your fabric on a long table or carpeted floor.
With a sharp scissors, cut across the width of the fabric at the length of the window plus the 17+ inches. You want the right side (the side with the pattern) of the fabric facing down at this point. To keep the fabric from puckering while you sew, cut off the entire selvedge of the fabric along both edges. The selvedge is the ribbon of fused threads that runs lengthwise down either end of a width of fabric.
How to Make Curtains: The Hem
Measure up from what will be the bottom of your panel 4 inches and crease this line all the way across with your iron. Now place the raw (cut) edge of the fabric (where you just measured from) along this crease line and fold up making a double turned 4” hem. Crease this line all the way across with your iron and pin it in place.
Again, this lesson on how to make curtains is for the novice and to keep it uncomplicated, you will be stitching in hems that will be seen from the front of the curtain. Custom draperies are made so that no stitching lines are visible on the front side of the fabric. We’ll save that lesson for another day.
See our bathroom decorating page
Ok, take that fabric over to the machine now and using a thread color that closely resembles the color of your fabric, stitch in the hem all the way across no more than ¼” down from that crease line.
Repeat this process on your lining but rather than crease in a 4” line, crease in a 2” line, then put the raw edge on that line and fold up making a double turned 2” hem. That done, go back to your table (floor) and lay the fabric face down again. Place the lining on top of it with the right side of it facing up and the bottom of the lining hem 1-1/2” up from the face fabric hem. Smooth them out together.
Along each length of the face/lining “combo” iron in a 1-1/2” crease folding both the face and lining together.
Just like the hem, put the raw edge on that crease and fold making a double turned 3” side hem.
NOTE: if the lining isn’t quite as wide as the face fabric that’s ok. As long as the raw edge is enclosed in the side hem, you’re ok.
Do this along both sides of the fabric and add a few pins to hold it in place.
Take it over to the machine now and using the fold line as a guide, sew a seam all the way down no more than ¼” in from the crease. Repeat this on the other side. You have now stitched in the side hems.
How to Make Curtains : The Heading
Buckram is a 4” wide rather stiff fabric that is used in drapery headings to keep pleats crisp looking. For this project, you will need about 2-3/4 yards of it.
Lay your hemmed panel lining side up on your work surface. Run an iron over it getting both layers smooth. With a measuring tape, measure up from the bottom of the face fabric hem up to your “floor to top of frame” measurement plus 6 inches. Draw a line with chalk or an erasable fabric marker all the way across the panel at this measurement. Cut off any excess fabric and/or lining that is beyond this line.
Lay the buckram 1” below that line, the other long edge of the buckram will be 5” below that cut edge.
How to make curtains : Finishing
You can put in your drapery hooks now or add in some fullness with pleats.
Your panels should be installed 4” over your window or window frame and hang anywhere between ½” and 1” off your floor.
Be sure to keep fabric at least 3 feet away from any radiators.
Most draperies you find readymade in the stores are flat on top. There is no fullness. Instead, you have to “dress” them and create the folds with your hands each time you move them. Since these will be stationary panels, pleats can be optional.
Now when your friends ask you how to make curtains, you will be able to show them!
If you have traversing panels and want to hang them properly, find out on this link.
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