Making my own curtains

[Anonymous]

I made all the curtains for our house. So glad I did! I got to pick exactly what I wanted! I never would've been able to find that in stores! I'm not the greatest sewer, but making curtains, well, basic ones, isn't hard. You can do it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I paid 10k, you need to figure this in when you buy a house, duh.

You all are idiots. You wouldn't not buy the house you want because you can't immediately afford custom window treatments to be installed. That is incredibly unrealistic in this area.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the resource suggestions!

I suppose we COULD afford the blinds if we wanted to. But I'd rather use our decorating budget for things I can't make myself, like a new couch.

Plus I prefer a more vintage feel. I'm relatively crafty-- I like to knit, felt, quilt, bake, etc.-- and like teaching these skills to my girls. I like my house to reflect these hobbies.

I'm going to give it a shot! Thanks for all the words of encouragement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I paid 10k, you need to figure this in when you buy a house, duh.

You all are idiots. You wouldn't not buy the house you want because you can't immediately afford custom window treatments to be installed. That is incredibly unrealistic in this area.

It's so funny that people think like this....all the things in a house that are easily changed out---just because you don't like the paint color, the carpet, or window treatments is no reason not to buy a house. It's just short sighted.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the resource suggestions!

I suppose we COULD afford the blinds if we wanted to. But I'd rather use our decorating budget for things I can't make myself, like a new couch.

Plus I prefer a more vintage feel. I'm relatively crafty-- I like to knit, felt, quilt, bake, etc.-- and like teaching these skills to my girls. I like my house to reflect these hobbies.

I'm going to give it a shot! Thanks for all the words of encouragement.

Good for you OP! Spend your money wisely on the things you can't do. Have fun!

[Anonymous]

I also used the house of Hepworth tutorial

http://www.houseofhepworths.com/2011/10/12/how-to-make-professional-lined-curtain-panels/

Op, the key is making sure you line your curtains. For bedrooms, consider blackout liner but at least use some sort of liner for the other rooms as well. It will be the difference between looking like cheap fabric hanging from walls and well made curtains. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Pp here. Also, Joanns fabric is your best bet for liners. Get their mobile app and check it frequently for coupons. never go without a coupon. Watch till you get one for at least 30 percent off one item and maybe even 50 percent off and use it to get one large cut of tons of liner.

[Anonymous]

I just love this thread! The first house we had, I made all the curtains. It has been years and we have moved on, but we drive by there every now and then and my curtains are still on the windows!! I love that. I also love it that younger people (I'm older now!) are still being self reliant and doing these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pp here. Also, Joanns fabric is your best bet for liners. Get their mobile app and check it frequently for coupons. never go without a coupon. Watch till you get one for at least 30 percent off one item and maybe even 50 percent off and use it to get one large cut of tons of liner.

I got thermal liner for less than 3$ a yard at the Hancock fabrics in Gaithersburg!!. Sale plus a coupon. Yes, I'm bragging, but it was super exciting!. Not a fan of that location otherwise, but it was an awesome deal!

[Anonymous]

You really might want to reconsider blinds. You can get real wood cut to order blinds at Home Depot for a ridiculously low price:

http://t.homedepot.com/p/Home-Decorators-Collection-Golden-Oak-2-in-Basswood-Blind-47-in-W-x-64-in-L-Actual-Size-46-5-in-W-64-in-L-12272/202669243/

You can get additional wood options for a slightly higher price - and they look great. Get a handyman to install.

I applaud your desire to make you're own curtains, but you're going to burn out long before you get to that 20th window. It's really a lot of work. You can get pretty good to really nice curtains at lots of places (Kohls, Penny's, Country Curtains, even HD) for about $35-$50/panel. Well worth the money.

[Anonymous]

I made curtains for my son's room.

That fabric is pricy, IMO ($17/yard) -- I think you can cut some costs there if you want to. Lining with blackout increases the weight of the curtain so you can get away with a less heavyweight fabric. I used quilting fabric from equilter.com, which has an enormous range of patterns.

You can get grommets on amazon. Instructions on the package:
http://www.amazon.com/Dritz-16-Inch-Diameter-Curtain-Grommets/dp/B0016ZZS32/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430676119&sr=8-1&keywords=curtain+grommets

Those would be if you want to thread the grommets directly on to the curtain rod. Make sure to measure to ensure the rod will slide through the width. They come in a few different finishes (black, white, metallic ...).

Be sure that the blackout lining also lines the part where you insert the grommet (so the grommet should go through two layers of curtain fabric and one of blackout. That will help to strengthen where the grommets are inserted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you price the most expensive blinds on Earth and add in the cost of someone installing them because for $7000 you could have shutters. And not to be mean but didn't you figure window costs into your house bid ? Because the only home I bought blinds for was my new never lived in house. My other homes came with blinds and my sold homes we had to leave the blinds.

I bought from Wayfair. Grommet room darkening insulated drapes. After figuring out supplies and time it took to make, it came out cheaper just to buy.

I take it you haven't priced curtain rods ? That's more expensive than blinds.

Seriously? We were quoted $2k for one (large bay) window.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm going to make the hidden tab curtains, with a blackout lining or a regular lining depending on the window location. Hidden tabs seem easier and cheaper than dealing with grommets, tabs, or circular hooks.

I'm pretty sure I understand how to do everything. I found the View Along the Way post most helpful in laying the process out. I may do translucent blinds on our main level too. Thanks for all of the links and thoughts!

But here's my latest conundrum-- we have two windows facing the street in our living room, separated by about 5 feet of wall space. I'm thinking about doing one big curtain rod that runs between them, and having one panel on the outside of the windows. There are radiators at the floor level in front of each of the windows, so the panels would either have to be above the radiators, or floor length and primarily for looks to soften the room. Would this look odd to do? Would it be better to do blinds only or two separate rods?

[Anonymous]

OP here again. I made my first blackout lined curtain last night, following the instructions from the "View Along the Way" blog. It looks amazing! And my kids' room is much darker already. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

Only 20+ more to go!

(P.S. It took about 3 hours to sew and iron one panel, but I imagine it'll go faster as I get better. I'm only going to do one panel per window for now. It will probably cost $50-$70 per window on average in the end, including new hardware.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here again. I made my first blackout lined curtain last night, following the instructions from the "View Along the Way" blog. It looks amazing! And my kids' room is much darker already. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.

Only 20+ more to go!

(P.S. It took about 3 hours to sew and iron one panel, but I imagine it'll go faster as I get better. I'm only going to do one panel per window for now. It will probably cost $50-$70 per window on average in the end, including new hardware.)

Way to be crafty! Congrats and good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm going to make the hidden tab curtains, with a blackout lining or a regular lining depending on the window location. Hidden tabs seem easier and cheaper than dealing with grommets, tabs, or circular hooks.

I'm pretty sure I understand how to do everything. I found the View Along the Way post most helpful in laying the process out. I may do translucent blinds on our main level too. Thanks for all of the links and thoughts!

But here's my latest conundrum-- we have two windows facing the street in our living room, separated by about 5 feet of wall space. I'm thinking about doing one big curtain rod that runs between them, and having one panel on the outside of the windows. There are radiators at the floor level in front of each of the windows, so the panels would either have to be above the radiators, or floor length and primarily for looks to soften the room. Would this look odd to do? Would it be better to do blinds only or two separate rods?

Sounds awesome, OP. Just don't forget that for some of the curtains (especially the translucent ones), it might be easier to buy premade Ikea ones. You don't have to do ALL of them to still be able to pick out some nice fabric for special rooms or to accent a particular wall. We have a combo of homemade and sheer Ikea ones that we like in our living room.