No Sew Café Curtains

I’ve been wanting to add some café curtains to our recently renovated (and very blue) kitchen but I couldn’t decide on a fabric. At first I searched everywhere and couldn’t find anything I liked, but a recent trip to the fabric store had me spending 45mins deciding between 3 patterns. I finally decided on a beautiful Robert Kaufman design with great colors and at 25% off it became an easy decision. I decided on a vintage inspired bird pattern. I thought the birds were appropriate for a kitchen window overlooking our backyard and I have a soft spot for birds, specifically hummingbirds as my sister and I would spend our summers with my grandmother watching the families of hummingbirds at our camp each summer. Anyway, here is the pattern cut into the 2 panels:

Two cafe curtain panels

Making them was pretty easy. All that was required for my little friday night project was:

-Hemming tape (I used ”Heat and Bond” brand)

-Scissors

-Iron and ironing board

-Fabric of choice

-Measuring tape (or tape measure)

-Curtain rod and rings

………………………….

Total Time: 1hr

Total cost: Depends on fabric choice, what you have at home etc. For me I spent $15.00 on fabric (and ended up with way more than I needed but will probably use in another project), $15.00 on curtain hooks (sale) and had the tension rod and hemming tape at home, for a grand total of approximately $30.00.

Step 1:

Cut fabric to desired size. The inside edge of my window measured 37” wide and I wanted the curtains to sit approximately half way down the window which was  approx 37” in length so I cut my panels approx 19”x19” giving an little more than an inch on each side for the hem (I wanted a little room for error).

Step 2:

Measure and iron your 1” hem on each side of the cut panels. If needed, also iron your entire panel to get rid of wrinkles because once you place the hemming tape in your seams you have to be careful not to apply too much heat to the seam as you can burn the hem or actually ”un-glue” the hem. I also trimmed the corners on a 45 degree diagonal so the corners weren’t so bulky.

1'' hem on each side.

Step 3:

Once your hem is ironed and you confirm that both panels are the same size and fairly straight, place the hemming tape in the crease and iron as per the directions. My ”Heat and Bond” required me working in sections of 10” or less and pressing for 3-5 seconds on a silk setting.

Step 4:

Once the hems are all sealed you’re ready to add your rings and hang on the rod of choice giving you a finished product! Stand back and enjoy

And yes, we have yet to patch the wall underneath the outlet. It’s character right?

Linking up with:

http://www.houseofhepworths.com/

http://www.elements-interiors.net/2011/04/whassup-whassup-17.html