DIY Cottage Style Panel Curtains

Window treatments can be costly and those that are inexpensive often look cheap and nasty. (I speak of those eyelet curtains with the massive silver rings along the top. I’m sorry if you have them and are offended, but no!) Over the years I’ve made curtains and blinds. I have also had custom ones made and bought cute curtains from eBay. For this house, however, I decided to go with simple DIY curtains. They can be made in an afternoon and hung in many ways to create an individual and custom look in your home.

With a small amount of sewing experience or even some iron-on hemming tape and a pair of scissors, you can create your own DIY panel curtains.

What You Need to Make these DIY Curtains.

Firstly, you need to choose a fabric. If cost is a factor, linen is most likely out of the equation. However, if you are only making a cafe-style panel, totally go with that. I made three linen curtains for our home. Two have tie tops and one has a ruffle to add a little feminity and softness. Because the windows are small, I only needed a metre, so the cost of those particular curtains was around $30.

You will need enough fabric to cover the length of your window twice at the desired length of the curtain. Our windows are 2.75m from the floor. So I bought 6 metres of fabric. Most fabric is around 120-140cm wide so if you have traditional sash windows like us, this will give you volume. If your windows are wider you will need to add extra drops to cover them.

TIP: UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO, do not make your curtains the size of your window. Make them reach the floor. It looks more luxurious. Of course, I broke this rule in the attic and bathrooms, but that’s because a full length curtain would look ridiculous in that space.

You will also need cotton to coordinate with your fabric or hemming tape. Even hot glue could work.

Your choice of rod is last on the list. I use adjustable rods and curtain clips from Spotlight for my DIY curtains. You can buy extra clips from Amazon. I would recommend this as there are never enough in a pack.

To Make the Curtains

Cut your fabric to the desired length. (If you are only making two panels, cut it in half.)

Turn the fabric selvedges (the sides of the fabric in about 2cm and sew a hem along the length of each side. If you are using drop cloth (painter’s drop sheets made of heavy cotton) from the hardware you may choose not to do this step. I didn’t.

Next, measure your desired length and fold a hem over double on the top and bottom so that the raw edges do not show. Your finished curtain should end up being the length you want once you’ve folded it. Sew or neaten the folded edges with hemming tape.

Clip the curtain clips on and you are ready to hang. For a 1.5m curtain, I used 9 clips. An odd number is better as you can start clipping in the middle and work out an even distance from there.