DIY Curtain Panels

Just popping in with a quick tutorial today!

The other day Months and months ago, I spotted this b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. fabric in a bin at our local thrift shop...

It was actually a shower curtain, the nice heavy fabric kind. We were looking for panels to put in a new washroom at church, and this was just screaming out at me! The walls are blue, so I wasn't looking for more blue in the space, but I just couldn't pass up this huge, good-quality fabric for less than $5. So, we brought it home.

We already had a sheer curtain hanging in the window for privacy, but wanted some color in the space to frame out the window. The two panels will never be drawn together, so I didn't have to worry about how full these were. I just cut this big piece in half to create the two panels.

I pinned the curtain in half to keep things from sliding around:

And then just ran my scissors up the fold to cut in in half. This is easy to do with a sharp pair of scissors!

The exciting thing about using an already existing curtain is that half the hemming is done for me. :) I just had to hem the one side that I cut. I do that by serging the edges, then pressing a 5/8" hem, and sewing!

Pardon the fact that it looks like I'm cramming tons of fabric under the foot...I really wasn't!

If you don't have a serger, a hem is still pretty easy to do. Just fold over a small hem and press {about 1/4 to 1/2 inch} and then fold over another 5/8" and press again. Then sew!

See? Now the raw edge is exposed.

Here are the settings on my sewing machine when I do hems. My stitch length is an 8 on my machine. Since the hem isn't going to take any kind of pressure {not like seams on clothing or anything} the stitches don't need to be too small.

Final step in this easy DIY: making the rod casing and heading!

This is totally a step that depends on your own preference, the size/height of the room, and the size of the rod. I did a 3" heading because the window is quite big, and a 1 1/2" rod casing because that is a comfortable width for a normal rod. High-tech, thats me.

The after pictures were hard to capture because of the widow glare, but the finished product is GORGEOUS in person!

To balance out the height of a built-in on the opposite side of the room, I made these panels as long as I could...but I couldn't get too close to the heat register underneath. I would have loved to go floor length! They also ended up covering a good part of the handrail {which wasn't there when I originally measured} so I might have to shorten them a bit more. #sadface

They are lovely, nonetheless. :) It was an easy project, which is always way more fun with such pretty fabric!

Have you made curtains recently? You know I'm a huge fan...and these are some of the easiest panels to make. What are you DIYing these days?


Linking up with: Pin Me Party, Show and Tell, Friday Frugal Finds, Spotlight Saturday, Threading Your Way,   From Dream to Reality