Attention DIY addicts and lush curtain lovers! I have found an awesome way to make expensive looking curtains with a tiny price tag! I followed THIS tutorial over at Shanty 2 Chic. I followed it pretty closely, but I made a few changes along the way. This is seriously the easiest and cheapest way to create custom curtains that are the perfect fit for any room in your house, and BONUS: no sewing necessary! Lets get started!
Supplies that you will need for this project:
- A canvas drop cloth that you can purchase in the painting department at Lowes or Home Depot. It needs to be 4ft x 15 ft and I bought the 8 oz which is probably about medium weight. The color of this brand below is very similar to the look of linen or burlap; it almost has an oatmeal color. I got mine at Home Depot and it cost me $15; this will be cut into 2 panels so that equals $7.50 for each panel!
- 1-2 yards of fabric of your choice. I would recommend a medium weight fabric. This is where you can customize your look to match any room perfectly! The amount of fabric that you need will depend on 1. How long your panel will need to be from your curtain rod to the floor 2. how much of your panel you want to be fabric vs the drop cloth. I wanted my panels to be a little longer and bunch at the floor a little and I wanted a fair amount of my panel to be fabric so I used a little under 2 yards.
- Stitch Witchery- this is found at sewing stores and make sure to get the extra strength or the most durable. This is cheap too; a whole roll is under $4.
- Iron, ironing board, measuring tape, and scissors
Alright lets get started on the steps!
1. You will need to cut your canvas in half lengthwise. Lay your canvas out on the floor and fold it in half. You will notice that the canvas is hemmed already for you on all sides. Well, now that you will be cutting it in half that each panel has one side that is no longer hemmed. This is the side that you will adhere your fabric to.
2. Now you will need to decide how much fabric you will need and cut your 2 panels. After cutting the canvas in half it was actually longer than I needed for each of my panels. Each of my panels were 85 inches after cutting in half, and this was longer than I needed for my curtain. I ended up cutting my panels to each be 64 inches long and needed 21 inches of fabric for them to be the perfect length. When you cut your 2 fabric panels make sure to cut an extra 2 inches to the length and width. So for example I needed my panels to be 48 inches wide by 21 inches long so I actually cut it 50 inches wide by 23 inches long. Once you have your 4 pieces cut to the measurements you want go ahead and iron all of them. This will be the most time consuming part of this project!
Here is the fabric that I chose!!! When I bought it I actually bought enough to make full curtains with just his fabric, but I decided I wanted something a little more neutral and toned down so I decided to use it for the bottom of my new curtains!
- Okay so now we get into the steps of creating hems and attaching your fabric to the canvas using stitch witchery.
- You will need to hem the 2 sides of your fabric and the bottom. Starting with one of the sides cut a piece of stitch witchery the same length and place it on the back side of your fabric.
- make sure that when you fold your end towards the middle it is 1 inch. Remember how you cut your fabric two inches wider and longer than you really need? This is why; each hem needs to be 1 inch.
- Iron the hem making sure that the fabric is adequately adhered to itself.
- Admire at your pretty hem without using a sewing machine!!!
5. After ironing your hem for each side now you have to hem the bottom of your fabric. You will do this the same as you did the sides; simply cut a piece of stitch witchery the same width as the bottom of your fabric.
6. Fold over your fabric ensuring that you keep a 1 inch hem on the bottom as well.
7. This is what your hems look like when finished!
So now you have your fabric panel and it is time for the last step; attaching your fabric panel to he bottom of your canvas panel!
7. Okay so this is the step that can get a little complicated. Just make sure you take your time and don't iron a hem you shouldn't have made! Okay, so to attach your fabric to the canvas you will need to put a piece of stitch witchery between the good side of the fabric and the good side of the drop cloth and iron it down.
8. Last, use your iron to flatten the back down which gives it a nice finished look!
Another way to make these curtains super easy is to attach your curtains to your curtain rod with drapery rings that you can get at Target, Lowes, Walmart, and many other places. They simply slide on your curtain rod and then you attach the panel on the clasp! Doesn't get much easier than that!
I love the way that they turned out!!! I don't know what I love more; that you can customize them however you want or that hey are super cheap!!
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