Custom Curtain from a Flat Sheet

Today I'd like to show you all how to make simple custom curtains from flat sheets.  I have to tell you, I love re-purposing flat sheets into all sorts of projects.  When you do the math, it can be one of the least expensive ways to buy fabric.  And with so many options out there you can always find just the right color and/or pattern for the project.

This curtain is for my daughter's room, so I'm using very bright colors.  The green solid sheet is from Wal-Mart, and the pink striped sheet is from Goodwill.  They aren't very heavy (probably only 250 tc), but since this project isn't going to be touched a lot they will work perfectly.

First things first, measure your window. 

Remember: "Measure twice, cut once"! 

Since this curtain is designed to hang flat over the window I cut my fabric to be the exact width of the window plus 1" for seam allowance.  The length is up to you.  I didn't need this curtain to do much since we have blinds behind it to block light so I cut the fabric to be about 3/4 of the height of the window. 

For the main curtain I cut two huge squares to match my windows' measurements, one from each sheet.  Then I sewed them together like huge throw pillow, turned it right side out and closed up the gap. 

Super simple, right?

Next is the ties.  Since I knew that the striped fabric would be facing out I cut the ties out of the contrasting green fabric.  They were 2' wide and super long...about 24" longer than the curtain.  This was on purpose so I could trim them later if need be.

To get two bows on the final curtain you will need 4 ties, which means 8 strips of fabric.

Sew them together in pairs and turn right side out.  You'll want to iron them flat so they lay flat on the curtain.

Now it's time to assemble the curtain.  My goal was to have about a 4" strip of the green fabric showing at the top of the curtain, and the ties coming out of that.  So I laid the curtain on the floor and folded down the top about 4". 

I tucked all 4 of the ties under the fold and pinned everything in place.  This will mean that two of the ties will loop up over the curtain rod and come back down the back side of the curtain to create the ties.  If you don't like this look you can attach the back pair of ties to the back of the curtain when you sew them on. 

Once I had all the pins in place I ran one long straight seam across the entire width of the curtain, making sure to catch all 4 of the ties.

And that's pretty much it.  The loop at the top of the curtain that allows the green fabric to show also created the pocket I needed to hang up the curtain. 

Once the curtain is hung up you simply gather the fabric and use the ties to tie the curtain to the right length.  Of course, you can let out the ties at any time to fully cover the window, or raise them up to let in more light. 

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