DIY No Sew Curtains And How To Fake A Pinched Pleat

Is this fabric out of my comfort zone? Yes. Do I think I am crazy for taking down perfectly fine curtains and "making" my own with this crazy fabric? Yes. Have the kids told me 425 times how ugly they thought this fabric is? Yes. Has any of this stopped me? Nope.

I usually use fabric glue for my no sew projects but this time I used an old friend-his name is hem tape. I like using tape for curtains since it forces me to iron my hem which gives it a nice clean hem.

I also purchased new curtain rods. These curtain rods are so inexpensive I felt like I HAD to get them and so far so good with them...no complaints.

It would have cost me more to make my own curtain rods. I did make the original rods this past summer with dowels from Lowes that I spray painted black. For my new and improved dining room 2.0 I wanted one long rod as opposed to two short ones.

Making your own curtains is not difficult especially if you go the no sew option. It is a little time consuming but all you need is Netflix and an iron. These are not designer curtains or black out curtains. This is literally 3 yards of fabric hung from a curtain rod. And I have absolutely no problem with that.

If your fabric needs washed definitely do that step first just in case it shrinks. I skipped this step. I first started with 3 yards of fabric for each panel and ironed on my hem on each long side of the curtain panel. I did about a one inch hem on both sides.

I then did a one inch hem to what would be my top hem

And then folded it again and made a four inch hem. That one inch hem in the previous step was to make this four inch hem look a little cleaner.

I did things a little backwards here. I did not iron on my bottom hem right away. Since I had my rods hung already I figured I'd get the curtains hung and then mark where I needed to hem for the bottom. It just seemed easier to me than measuring from the rod down to the floor and then measuring the fabric. I really hate measuring. I'm a measure once and cut three times type of girl.

My trick to hang these bad boys to give them more of a polished look is pretty easy. Years ago I read this tip from Young House Love and I have been copying it ever since. Hanging your curtains this way gives them a pinched pleat look and makes them look a tad fancier. Instead of clipping your clips to the top of your curtains you want to gather a small section and clip your clip about 1 inch from the top of your curtain like this.

I did this every three inches

The ends of each of my drapes though I clipped like this so it would hang nicer

Have I lost you yet?

You might need to hang your curtains, step back and adjust your faux pleats standing on your ladder as you see fit. I did that multiple times and as out of shape as I am I was pathetically sore the next day from going up and down the ladder so many times. So you might get a workout too with this project. I really do love hanging my curtains this way. It does just gives them a fancier feel.

Head over to my blog to see more about my dining room!