How to Make CHEAP Curtains Without Sewing

3 Materials
$105
1 Hour
Easy

Ok. So this project was so simple and inexpensive that I can’t even really call it a full-on project. But I LOVE how well these curtains work in our living room, and this is certainly another “anyone can do it” kind of room update. Since I last posted on a living room project, now is a good time to share this project with you, since it’s really the only other thing I’ve done to our living room…so far.


I don’t know about you, but I hate the idea of paying tons of money for curtains. Those things are NOT cheap, especially if you have essentially one giant window like we do in our living room. I needed window dressings at least 59 x 112 inches. Pricing out normal curtains led to a total of… $yikes. Spending tons of money on something that would be grabbed by jelly/sauce/cheese-covered little fingers was REALLY unappealing.


So, as soon as we moved into our house, I knew I had to find some kind of curtains or blinds that would work without spending too much on them.

The “before” windows. Not a lot of privacy.

While I do like blinds, I wanted something a little more “flowy” for window dressings to soften up the room. The biggest problem with the idea of making my own curtains, however, is that I do not sew. Like, at all. This is not a skill my family’s women have possessed to pass down. My husband fixes buttons in our family.


So, I needed a way to make curtains that did not involve sewing. That’s when I found a solution on – you guessed it – Pinterest. I read about this option and thought, “Ok, I’ll give that a go. Sounds kinda weird, but we’ll see.” Now, over a year later – No Regrets!


The total price tag for these curtains, including the rod, was around $100. If the rod you need is shorter than the one I needed, you’re looking at even less. Or, if you’ve already got a rod, you’ll only pay around $43. Awesome and worth a try, right?!


(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. But it doesn’t cost you anything extra and helps me keep up my site!)


Here’s what you need:

Twin top sheets, pack of 6

Curtain clip rings, pack of 20

Curtain rod with brackets, 72-144 inches (see my blog post for that link if you need to buy a rod)


First comes the rod. If you’ve already got one up, you’ve got the hardest part done. I measured out how long my rod needed to be (at least 112 inches), then spaced the brackets about 12 inches wider on either side of the windows, purely subjectively because that looked nice and dramatic.

As for how high up the wall to place your rod, be sure to take into account how long your sheets/curtains are going to hang. These sheets are 96 inches long. It looks really good to let curtains drape on the floor a little bit, so I wanted about 1-2 inches extra at the bottom. So, I measured up from the floor and marked at 95 inches from the floor. Again, this is totally subjective. Just do whatever looks good for spacing above your windows, taking into account how much curtain you’ll have draping along the floor.

Sidenote: I thought letting white curtains touch the floor would lead to them getting really dirty. But this hasn’t been an issue, and we have a LOT of dust and dog hair around here. So don’t worry about that too much.


Since my windows run so wide (112 inches), I needed to also install the center bracket for the rod, which I did again 95 inches from the floor, centered along my windows. Then, crossing my fingers that my measurements were right, I inserted the rod through all 3 brackets. And it was level! Huzzah. (Hold off on tightening the screws that secure the rod in place for now.)


Another sidenote: This hefty rod was maybe a little overkill in terms of thickness and the weight that it would support, but it looks really modern and cool. Plus if I ever DO want real curtains (once those jelly/sauce/cheese-covered fingers grow up), this rod will be strong enough to support any I purchase.


Now for the sheets and curtain clips. Lay out your twin sheets. They will be wrinkly, but I solved this by steaming them once they were hung. You could also probably throw them in the dryer for a short time. Or wet them down a bit. I can’t remember why (probably because I was impatient and/or didn’t have time to do anything else), but I hung them and later did the steaming method. (…This is like a sewing skill, isn’t it? Maybe I’m just not good at knowing what to do with fabric, period.)


Anyway, smooth out the “bottom” end of the sheets, i..e not the end you would put at the head of the bed. Along this “bottom” end, lay your clips along the edge to figure out how you want them spaced and how many you’ll need to use. I ended up using 4 sheets/curtains total to cover the whole width of my windows, and I used 5 clips on each sheet/curtain. I didn’t measure exactly, but I put the clips on every 15 inches or so.


These clips are so simple but cool! You can get them in gold, bronze, nickel, white, or a few other options. I went with gold because it matched what I was doing elsewhere against the black finishes.

Once you’ve got all your clips clipped onto the sheets, it’s time to hang them!


All I had to do was pull out one end of the rod and slide the clips onto the rod. I did this for two of the curtains from one end of the rod. Then I did the other end of the rod with the other two curtains. I could have done all the clips/curtains at once, but I had that middle bracket to deal with. If your curtain rod is short enough that you don’t need a center bracket, go ahead and put them all on at once.


Then I tightened the rod in place at the brackets, and that was it!

“After” windows! So nice.

I love how elegant these sheets look! Who knew? LOL. They do indeed soften up the room. They give us privacy. And I’m not worried if little fingers cover them in goop because I can easily take them down to wash or replace with the other two curtains I have left from the pack of 6. Or, if I have to, I can replace them cheaply with new sheets. They also let in a nice, subdued degree of sunlight when closed, keeping out the heat of the sun but letting light through simultaneously. Don’t expect them to be anything like blackout curtains, but I imagine buying a darker color like the blue, grey, or black options might keep out light a little better.


Let me know if you make these curtains yourself!


Stay tuned for next week’s DIY project, when I move on to another room’s projects. See more over on my blog!

Suggested materials:
  • Twin top sheets   (Amazon)
  • Curtain clips   (Amazon)
  • Curtain rod   (Amazon)
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2 of 5 comments
  • Sunny Sunny on Feb 04, 2022

    Cute idea!

  • Terri Terri on Nov 27, 2023

    Sorry but you would be better off finding actual curtains on clearance. Recently I bought 4 pairs of velvet panels online @ Wayfair for less than $30! They put stuff on clearance if the original package has been opened. They are beautiful & there was absolutely nothing wrong with them and it saved me $100 plus some.:)

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