How a Pattern and a Ribbon Saved My Old Bedroom Curtains
by
Gabi Ralea
5 Materials
$15
4 Hours
Medium
Here’s a simple story of an old pair of curtains and a red ribbon that updated my bedroom and turned into my favorite window treatment from all time.
Keep reading to get inspired, and develop your own makeover project based on this awesome DIY idea!!
The blackout curtains from my bedroom are almost ten years old, but I still love them very much. When the upper part of the curtains got loose, I didn’t want to buy another but I was very determined to find a way to save them.
While looking for ideas, I just saw this printed fabric in one of the DIY stores in my area for less than $15. I had an “aha!” moment, a spark of sudden inspiration that triggered the solution.
My plan was to keep the upper part of the curtain colored and edge it with burgundy satin ribbon. In the end, I have decided to add the insert between two pieces of beige fabric, and also replace the pleater tape since the old one got loose.
If you want to follow the same steps as I did for this project, prepare your supplies, meaning the curtain, the patterned fabric and the ribbon. If you have to cut the fabric, iron it first then bend it and iron the edge, so you would have a straight trace to follow for a clean cut.
My curtains were 8.2-ft, and I cut it in two to add the insert, so I had to work with three parts of fabric.
- The first part was the cream blackout fabric, which I cut at 6,7-ft.
- The second part was the patterned fabric that was 15-in.
- The third part was in solid color too, 3.5-in, and it had the pleater tape sewn on its back.
Another seam was needed on the upper end of the colored fabric, to make it look neat. The lower end of the same fabric got a pop of color, as I’ve covered it with the red ribbon.
Pleating was the hardest part for me, but I finally did it, so my curtains were ready to install!
Most probably, these draperies will be in my bedroom for another ten years or so. The soft light, the sweet colors and the silky reflections of these window treatment gave me the most profound feeling of comfort.
Check the article on my blog for more pictures and tricks about this wonderful project!
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2 of 34 comments
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Lovely!
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Oh I lobe making drapes and curtains. I find it fun and my stress level and blood pressure does down. Yours are gorgeous.
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