Easy Peasy Porch Curtains.

Lauraleedaydreams
by Lauraleedaydreams
2 Materials
$3
2 Hours
Easy

One: Easy

Two: Cheap

Three: Ca-Ute!

I love making these because they turn out so CUTE and are perfect for my outdoor porch.. I bet the neighbors look forward to seeing new curtains about every other month.

I’m sure anybody can take this idea and resize it for your particular porch.

The before picture!
Vinyl tablecloth


Yeap.... The before picture is a vinyl tablecloth. I use a 52 by 90 inch felt backed vinyl tablecloth which is the perfect size to make curtains for my porch. I took a piece of poster board and made a scallop edge pattern that I use over and over again. Because this is such an easy project I made several plus one for each holiday.

The pattern
Trace the pattern


Fold the tablecloth so that the felt side is on the outside. The fold needs to end up being the exact width of the pattern but doubled. The idea is to have the folded edge be the top of the curtain. I trace the pattern with a marker. How easy is that!

Pinking shears
Cut them out using pinking shears


I use pinking shears to cut them out. It gives the curtain edges a nice look. Because of the sizes of my window screen openings I need to cut six full size but the last two need to be a little bit smaller. That’s because the screen window openings on the porch are smaller on either side. All of this is marked on the pattern so I don’t have to re-measure every time.

Folding them back


This is not two pieces! It is one piece that has the scallops cut out on each end. Fold it back to right side out and match up the scallops. Then very little sewing will be needed.

Sew ready!
Ready to sew.


I’m sure if you don’t have a sewing machine you can actually glue this together. I like to sew it on my machine because it’s really quick and easy.

Abigail
Abigail checks it out.


Abby is always close by. She’s checking to make sure I’m doing it correctly.

Add pins
Adding straight pins


I add about two or three straight pins anywhere on the curtain to keep everything in place. Because the vinyl tablecloth is felt backed, the insides kind of cling to each other. I could probably do it without the straight pens but better safe than sorry.

Amazing
Left over scraps


It’s pretty incredible how this particular size vinyl tablecloth works perfectly for me. After I cut out of all the curtains, this is all that is left! I take one of the straight pieces and use it to tie a bow on my pink flamingo that sits right by the gate to my yard. Matchy matchy!

Sew time!
Sew the rod pocket


I usually do the rod pocket first. I sew a straight line about 1 to 1 1/2 inches from the folded edge. Because this is one piece with a folded edge there is no need to sew the very top edge. One more reason this project is so easy.

Check out how cute the scallop edges are
Sew the scalloped edges


Now you can sew the edge around the entire curve. But I simply so the bottom of the edge straight across. Fast and easy. Trust me when I say everything stays right where it needs to be! But remember… You can glue the edge down if you prefer.

Something’s fishy here!
Fishy curtains


Since I live in a beach community one set of curtains just has to have fish! And let’s not forget Mr. pink flamingo with his matching bow. But it is time to switch them out. I use spring tension rods. (Not included in the project cost since I already had them). This makes it real simple to switch out to new curtains.

Wowzer!!!
Tip: Pick a small random design


The design on the tablecloth will work better if it’s a small random design. Remember the fish curtains? The fish go in all different directions so there’s no right side up you need to worry about. These red, white and blue curtains do have a stripe pattern but as you can see they worked out very nicely too.

Look how pretty
Look how pretty they are!


I only make a set to go on the road side of the porch. I think they add the perfect little touch!

Roadside view
Road side view


And here is how they look from the outside of the porch. Such a simple project with a big impact.

If you have any questions just let me know.

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Frequently asked questions
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  3 questions
  • Ticia Ticia on Aug 04, 2020

    I like the idea vey much and can see how it works with squared or rectangular windows but how can I do that with arched windows and still have them stay up?

  • Debi Debi on Aug 05, 2021

    Where's the flamingo? Wanted to see him with his bow. Lol

  • Carmela Carmela on Aug 07, 2021

    Do you think I could cover my outdoor couch cushions using these vinyl tablecloths? The squirrels and chipmunks here rip open my cushions and steal the stuffing for their nests. 😠 I wonder if it would feel "gross" to sit on with shorts.

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