Mostly seen as a mere piece of decoration, curtains have become a standard part of any household. They’re simply there to keep the sun and the rain out. They’ve also become an integral part of decoration. Because of their long-flowing nature, they do a pretty good job of accentuating your walls and your windows.
With so many fabrics and designs to choose from, it’s no wonder interior decorators can make a killing off curtain choices. You, however, won’t have to worry about hiring one because you’re going to learn tips and tricks that experts don’t want you to know.
In no time, you’ll be doing curtains for your envious neighbors as well. This guide will teach you how to make your own curtains and a few more things about drapery that you thought weren’t possible. It will also teach you how to make your own curtains without sewing and screen porch curtains!
DIY No Sew Curtains From Fabrics
Buying pre-made curtains can be a drag, especially if the only color available is beige. What makes this worse is the fact that creative and fancier designs cost astronomically more than making them yourself.
Front porch curtains shouldn’t be a big investment. With a few good ideas, you can make your own curtains without ever having to thread a needle. This blog teaches you how to create easy DIY curtains without sewing!
1. Pick a good fabric for porch curtains ideas from the department store or DIY boutique. Go crazy. Try to imagine the fabric going up against your wall and ask yourself if it looks good.
2. When buying fabrics, be sure to do your homework. Measure your window area before taking out a yard.
3. You could end up needing more if you have large windows.
PROTIP: Always make sure that the amount of fabric you buy is larger than your windows. You will always want to measure your window in yards so that things are easier when you’re at the check-out counter with your selected fabric.
4. Once you have your fabric, take one more measurement and split the fabric into two sheets of equal size.
PROTIP: Whenever you create curtains, be sure to prepare sheets that are about an inch to two inches larger than the whole area. This is because you’ll have to create seams for hooks and rods. The allowance will provide room for that.
5. When you’ve done that right, you will end up with two square panels. One for each half of your windows. What you need next are the seams. Fold each edge of these panels by about half an inch and iron in the fold.
6. Here’s where a little bit of creativity come in. Using Stitch Witchery, seal in the seam by ironing over the seam one more time with Stitch Witchery in between these folds.
PROTIP: Use a damp piece of cloth during this step so that you could leave the iron longer on the seam for it to stick.
7. Finalize the whole curtain by attaching it to some rods. This can be done with some clip rings usually found in department stores.
PROTIP: Space these clip rings about 4 inches apart. You don’t want them too close nor do you want them too far.
DIY Outdoor Curtains from PVC Pipes
Compared to indoor curtains, outdoor sheets are more exposed to the elements, making them harder to clean. The wind and the dirt from the outside will cause them to get dirtier faster. That makes them tough to clean and great DIY window curtains.
Because they’re sturdier, buying outdoor curtains for your patio can sometimes be a luxury. They’re expensive and require continuous maintenance. Good thing this blog has some great ideas for making drop cloth curtains that will keep you shaded during summer.
PROTIP: Drop Cloth is a great and inexpensive idea if you plan to create some outdoor curtains. This is because they’re cheap, easy to clean and durable. They also mimic the texture of linen pretty well. Your guests won’t be able to tell the difference.
1. Get a few sheets of drop cloth from your favorite department store. You can work with a ratio of one sheet per window.
PROTIP: You might want to consider throwing the sheets into a washing machine without detergent or fabric softener. This will loosen the weave of the fabric and make them easier to wash moving forward.
2. Once you have adequately-sized sheets for your windows, hem the edges if you’re looking for a neat finish. If you’re more into rustic approaches, you can skip the hemming part for an even quicker project.
PROTIP: If you go for a no-sew and no-gem approach, you’re running the risk of ruining the fabric because the edges of the waves are exposed. This could ruin the curtains on windy days.
3. When the cloth is ready, use some drapery clap rings and attach them to one of the edges. You want clap rings on both corners with even spacing among the rest.
Magnetic DIY Window Curtains
There’s something you don’t hear everyday. Instead of going for fabrics, why not go for something a little more creative? In the realm of patio door curtain ideas, the CharmingZebra had just the right thing for those who need patio door curtains. Compared to roll-up porch curtains, these are the next best thing.
1. Start with the fabric of your choice. The best idea is to use something bright that can brighten up ignored windows and glass panes on your doors. Since you won’t have to sew anything, cut the fabric into a size that perfectly cover the window or the section where you intend to place the curtain.
2. Get yourself some fabric glue and stick some magnets onto one of the edges. You may want to leave about half an inch from the edge of the fabric. This is because you want to fold them over the magnets and create a hem. You can use regular refrigerator magnets. Just make sure you remove whatever is attached to them before you glue them to the fabric.
3. Once you’ve glued the magnets and have folded them in, you can also choose to place a small metal rod inside that hem in order to stabilize the whole curtain.
4. Now that you have the top portion finished, find something to hold the bottom down. Some poms would be nice. You can also use yarn tassels. You can make these on your own or buy some from a DIY boutique. Line the bottom of your curtain with these weights and you’ll have a detachable curtain shade that you can place anywhere. They’re the perfect curtains for patio doors.
PROTIP: Is it cheaper to make your own curtains? The answer to that is yes. You don’t necessarily have to own a sewing machine to make one. Regular curtains that have been manufactured are almost twice or even thrice as expensive as the individual materials needed to make them at home.
DIY Blackout Curtains
Sometimes, all you need is a curtain that does exactly what you installed them for; keeping out sunlight. There are certain kinds of curtains that don’t just minimize the amount of light that goes into a room, it can also block them out. They’re called black-out curtains.
They’re great for bedrooms of people who work graveyard shifts and have a hard time sleeping when it’s still bright outside. This guide from creativechristianmama will teach you how to make your own blackout curtains.
1. Start with some black fleece. This is the best fabric to keep out light. Anything thick and dark-colored has a better chance of dimming out light when you still need to rest. That should be enough to tell you that sheer is a bad idea for a project like this. Make sure that the sheet is larger than the window you want to cover.
2. Remember, the goal is to keep out the light. The more area covered, the less light can shine through.
PROTIP: Make your sheets several inches larger than your window. If you only cover the exact area of your window, you’re going to wake up to afternoon solar eclipses in the room and these are the kinds you don’t want to see.
3. When you have the desired size, start sewing in hems for a suspension rod. You can use fabric glue as well, but sewing is a better option. You don’t want to create a hemline that is close to the edge.
4. You want one that leaves some extra material to go over the top of the window. This will lessen the amount of light that gets through. Remember, it’s not about how nice it looks. It’s about how you can’t see anything at all when it’s there.
5. When the curtain is ready, run a suspension rod through the hem and position your blackout curtain behind the curtain that you already have there. If there aren’t any curtains by that particular window, that’s fine.
6. You want to make sure to take down your blackout curtain when you don’t need it. This is because it’s a very effective tool for keeping out sunlight. You’d still think it was dark out in the middle of the afternoon.
Next Level Patio Curtains for Porch Hanging System
Curtain fabrics aren’t the only creative arena for the dedicated decorator. With just a few simple touches, you can change from standard suspension bars to new curtain hanging methods that will elevate your screened porch curtains to the next level. This guide from the shabbynest will do exactly that.
1. Start with some measurements. Plan out the area you want to cover using your curtains. You might have stands or posts that need to be connected for a full shade, measure these distances and write them down.
2. Get a stretch of rope that is slightly longer than your measurements. This rope will serve as your new suspension rod. Make sure that there you have enough length to run through your planned curtain path and a little more to tie the whole thing down.
3. Once you have your rope, start screwing some eye hooks along your curtain path. Be sure to screw them in at places where your rope can turn. These are at edges and corners. You want to make sure that your curtain path doesn’t go downward as well. This will cause your curtains to slide downward.
4. Once the eye hooks are in place, run your rope through your curtain path. You can choose to run the rope or loop it through the eye hooks to give it more stability.
5. Finally, attach some spokes to the wall or a handlebar on which you fasten both ends of your rope. This will complete the hanging system.
6. From that point, you can use your regular screen curtains for porch and run them through the rope or you can try other curtain ideas on this list and attach them to this hanging system. This project is great for houses and patios with uneven walls and surfaces.
Country Porch Curtains
Among the many styles of outdoor patio curtains available in the market, it’s the country approach that hits closest to home. The combination of rustic and natural elements makes this style a personal favorite of the homesick urban warrior.
Luckily, front-porch-ideas has outdoor patio curtain ideas to bring a little bit of the country into your city home in the form of outdoor curtains for patio.
1. Start with a few sheets of drop cloth. You should know by now that this is the best DIY outdoor curtain material that you can get for less. Instead of placing these against windows, you’ll be hanging these patio curtain panel sheets against patio posts.
2. Sew in some hems on the edges to prevent the fabric from ripping apart. Depending on where you get your drop cloth, you can already buy sheets with hems to make the job easier for your patio curtains.
3. Obtain some metal poles to use as suspension rods for your outdoor porch curtains. You can get them for under ten dollars if you buy them from boutique shops.
PROTIP: Since these metal rods are going to be exposed to the elements, you might want to spray on some paint primer. This will keep them water proof just in case it rains on the patio.
4. When the outdoor curtains for porch and the rod are ready, screw in some hooks onto your patio posts. Make sure you also spray some primer on them for waterproofing. Make sure the hooks are aligned so that they all share the weight of the rod when you install your outside patio curtains.
5. To connect the curtains to the rod, clamp on some ring clips to the curtain and run the metal rod through the rings. Once that is done, simply rest the rod on the installed hooks.
PROTIP: In order to complete the country look of your patio curtain panels, avoid spreading out the curtain once installed. Instead, tie down the mid section of the curtain length with some rope.
6. A good way to add flavor to the design would be to use yarn tassels to decorate the rope. Fasten the rope to your patio post and you’ll be feeling like home in no time.
Mosquito Curtains for Porch
Besides design, there’s also function to worry about. Having outdoor curtains for screened porch your garden is one good way to introduce mosquitoes to your guests.
Conventional wisdom would have you buy electric repellants and lamps to keep the pests at bay, but mosquitocurtains has a few tricks that might be cheaper than just zapping or fuming them; while still retaining the classiness of your country porch curtains.
Using their specialized curtain sheets, you can create your own screen to block out mosquitoes. Their mosquito curtains are initially designed for indoor use, but what about your patio? Some PVC piping will take care of that.
1. Start by taking measurements of the entire space you want to cover. This has to include the deck and your outside curtains for porch. You want to make sure that your PVC frame will encompass that whole area and provide a little more space to make for easy transfer.
2. Once you have your measurements for either these mosquito curtains or roll up porch curtains, begin drawing a diagram of how you want the frame to look. Consider this the blueprint of your mosquito net. You want to make sure that there are no pipes blocking pathways or obstructing views.
3. When you have an ideal frame in mind (along with the measurements), you can send your measurements (and drawings) to the website linked earlier. They’ll send you a custom-fit mosquito net that will fit your frame. You’ll be able to enjoy a long book at your patio once again.
PROTIP: It’s understandable to think that PVC pipes are a little advanced, especially for beginner DIY practitioners. There are pipe lengths, connectors and even diameters to worry about. If in case you’re a bit lost without to set up the PVC frame for you patio, you can actually just take measurements and send them to the site. They’ll come up with the right frame and show you how to install it.
DIY Porch Curtains: Sewn
If there are people who prefer manual transmissions over automatic, there are also people who prefer sewing the hems on their curtains as opposed to other porch curtain ideas. There’s something therapeutic about stitching things together that makes you appreciate your work more.
If you’re more of the sewing type but don’t know where to begin, this guide from thecountrychiccottage will give you some nice insights on the whole sewing business. This will teach you how to create curtains for patio or inside with some basic sewing techniques. You’ll be proud of your curtains on porch.
1. Begin with your favorite fabric. This will be the main sheet of your curtain to-be. Make sure to measure your window area to match the amount of fabric that you’ll need for the curtain.
2. Remember, you always want to have an excess to be able to cover the whole area of your window.
3. The next thing you need is a lining fabric. This will be used behind your main fabric to give the whole curtain some body. This could be of any material, particularly in white. That way, the color of the lining fabric does not interfere with the main design of your main fabric.
PROTIP: When creating curtains from scratch, a good idea would be to imagine that the width of your fabric as the width of the very curtain that you’re using. It’ll be easier to imagine the curtain in such a way, plus it will save you time from cutting and making minor adjustments later on before you finish.
4. When you have both fabrics, size them up. Your white lining fabric should be just about the same size of your window, with your main fabric coming it 2 inches wider and larger than your lining fabric. You can use simple straight stitches to connect these fabrics to each other.
5. Align the right sides of both fabrics and sew them together. Sew along the top and then the bottom. Make sure that you leave about half an inch from edge of the main fabric. You don’t want some of the lining fabric peeking out from your curtain.
6. The next thing you want to do is to iron over that extra fourth-inch allowance you have. The blog site hosts a video showing how that is done. You can check it out by following the hyperlink in this section. Once you’re done, you’ll have finished the bottom portion of your curtain.
7. Now to work on the sides. Fold about half an inch from the edges and hold them down using pins. With those in place, straight sewing becomes easier. Remember that you don’t want to completely close the sides of your curtain. That is because you need some space for the curtain rod.
8. Plot out about four or three inches on the sides of your curtain and avoid sewing there. When done, you will end up with a pocket for your rod. Do the same thing to the other side.
9. The rod pockets will look a bit awkward when you open them up. That is because the lining fabric is going to be peeking out of those unsown folds. Stitch up those folds to make it look neat.
10. Now that you have the rod openings on the sides of your curtain, you need to work on sewing a pathway from both ends of the curtain. You might need a sewing machine for this one. Run a straight stitch from the top of one opening to the top of the other opening.
11. Do the same with the bottom openings. It doesn’t really matter if they aren’t perfectly straight, as long as your curtain rod can run through this pathway.
PROTIP: Once done with these steps, you’ll have finished one panel of your curtain. Depending on how many curtains you want, you can make more. Just be careful to mind your measurements.
12. Divide areas of your windows and cut your fabrics accordingly. You can even make short curtains for door windows and slots if you measure them right!
Instant effects, long-term learning
The great thing about curtains is that they can instantly create or influence the mood that you want to set for your porch or patio. They can also be the centerpiece of your whole design, which lets you add neutral and cheaper pieces to the rest of your porch.
You have to keep in mind, though, that getting the right design or drape may take time. Unless you’re blessed with a great selection and the taste of a hotelier, you may have to sit through some hits and misses with the fabric you buy.
But don’t worry–you can always make your mistakes in private: use these curtains inside the house and no one will see!
Additional Research:
http://www.thoughtsfromalice.com/2014/08/5-minute-no-sew-drop-cloth-curtains.htmlhttp://www.charmingzebra.com/2013/06/ridiculously-easy-no-sew-blind.htmlhttp://creativechristianmama.com/fun-things-friday-diy-blackout-curtain/http://shabbynest.blogspot.com/2013/02/an-ingenious-way-to-hang-curtains.htmlhttp://www.front-porch-ideas-and-more.com/outdoor-curtain-panels.htmlhttps://www.mosquitocurtains.com/1-porch-screening-situations/8A-open-deck-screen-patio.htmlhttp://www.thecountrychiccottage.net/2013/06/how-to-make-curtains-super-simple.html