I bought these curtains (pictured below)from Target. I loved the sheen, I loved the rich color.
They look great, right?
Once I hung them, I started to doubt my design choice. That is a lot of brown. 85 inches of brown faux silk panel times two, to be exact. It was too much and it looked too generic. Those curtains, that wall of brown could be anyone’s house. I wanted better. I wanted something that would better reflect our style.
Instead of admitting to my husband I made a mistake, I decided to alter the panels. I had some left over fabric from making a valance for our dining room and a bench pad from our sitting room. I decided to add that fabric as an accent insert fabric. This ended up being a twofer-I used extra fabric so I didn’t have to spend any more cash and I subtly tied all the rooms together by using the same fabric.
This is how I upgraded our $19 curtain panels from Target to custom made panels with a very custom look:
- buy 85 inch panel curtains
- cut just above the bottom hem of the curtain
- cut the insert fabric to 12 inches high and to the width of one curtain panel plus half an inch. (the extra in1/2 inch is needed for hemming in the next step)
- sew a 1/4 inch hem along side the vertical edge of the insert fabric
- sew the insert fabric to the top half of the curtain panel wrong sides together. Use lots of pins, especially when sewing with silk. The silk will slide and shift.
- sew the hem of the curtain to the insert fabric wrong sides together.
- Press so it lays flat.
- repeat all the steps again for the second panel then…
- Hang and enjoy!
A couple side notes.
I started with 85 inch panels. I wanted to have curtains that hung from floor to ceiling. To get that look all I needed to do were the steps listed above. If you want to have curtains that hang from just above the window trim of a standard height window (85 inches off the ground), you will have to cut 12 inches off the bottom of the panel after cutting off the hem. Then, proceed with the rest of the directions.
My other side note is more of a suggestion. When choosing your insert fabric, go bold. There isn’t a lot of it used in the panel so feel free to “make a statement” with it. I suggest using the type of fun patterns and colors one would use when choosing an accent piece or a throw pillow.
This is an easy – very easy! – project with a big reward. I get comments on these curtains all the time. A great custom look for only one nap time worth of work (my projects are always measured by how many nap times it takes!)
Good luck and Happy sewing!
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WOW I am in awe and in need of a sewing machine!
Love the look
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Meg Reply:
November 15th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
I think everyone should have at least one sewing machine in their house!
Holidays are just around the corner, add it to your wish list!
It is an easy project, even for a beginner.
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Meg-This is such a creative idea!! I love that you used the same fabric from the pillow. Great job!
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Oh, really nice! And I love the way you were able to extend from floor to ceiling. So elegant and NOT generic. Great job!
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Straight up awesome! We have had some (fairly) boring panels hanging in our living room for years. I’ve often wished I’d bought floor length, but couldn’t afford to replace them all. This just might be doable – even my very limited sewing skills can probably handle this project.
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Meg Reply:
November 15th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
You can do it Heather! It really is as easy as it looks.
If you shop sales and look for coupons at stores like JoAnns, you could get the insert fabric for really inexpensive.
Good Luck!
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Thanks for this. I have been trying to think how to add color to my plain curtains.
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Cool Blog. I like your posts.
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MeganS Reply:
December 6th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Well thank you very much Jessica!
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