Make one of these easy curtains, valances or drapes with little or no sewing required.
Bare windows make a room look unfinished, but choosing window treatments can be time-consuming and expensive. However, this should not prevent you from searching.
In addition to accenting a room, window treatments also offer light control, privacy and, depending on the material, temperature regulation. With these ideas for do-it-yourself window treatments, creating the perfect pair is easy, resourceful and budget-friendly.
Convert Tea Towels to Pretty No-Sew Café Curtains
Tea towels are also known as decorative kitchen or dish towels. While they can certainly serve the utilitarian purpose of drying dishes or cleaning spills, they are also just the right size for making café curtains, which are simple panels made to cover half of a window. Many tea towels are handmade from various fabrics with printed, embroidered or appliquéd designs. They are often found in thrift stores and vintage shops, as well.
Since tea towels come with four hemmed sides, there really is no sewing required to create café curtains from them. Hang the tea towel curtains from clip-on rings on a simple curtain rod. Use a spring tension rod to avoid drilling holes. Place the rod at the mid-point of the window. This quick window treatment looks great above a kitchen window or in the bay windows of a breakfast nook.
Related: Parts of a window
Make Easy Valances from Favorite Fabric
A simple draped valance has the look of a Roman shade without the functionality. It works great on windows that already have blinds or sheer curtains to provide privacy and light control. With a few easy sewing techniques, it is easy to create a valance such as this using a favorite fabric that coordinates with the room. Determine the size of the valance by measuring the window width and deciding how long it should hang down before starting to sew.
The only sewing needed is to hem all four sides of cut-to-size fabric. Create at least a one-inch hem on top, and make sure to leave openings in each end for a curtain rod to run through. (Use a larger hem, if needed, for the specific rod.) Once all hems are in place, pull the bottom corners up halfway to the top. Attach to the back of the fabric using a few hand stitches, and straighten the bottom border to achieve the right draping.
Related: Do thermal curtains work?
Create Simple Drapes from Drop Cloth
A valuable, quickly emerging resource hides in the paint department of most home improvement stores – the canvas drop cloth. The fabric is substantial offering adequate privacy and light control, but it also has a similar appearance of linen at a true fraction of the cost. With four hemmed sides, no sewing is required to create dramatic drapes unless the length needs adjusting to fit a specific window.
Te create the drapes from drop cloths, hardware is the biggest factor. Use clip-on style rings with a matching rod for the easiest solution, or try a grommet kit, which creates holes in the top of the cloths for any decorative rod to slide through. While hanging plain drop cloths is good enough, consider embellishing them with paint or ribbon trim to give a personalized look.
Windows deserve nice curtains to dress them up and provide needed function. Choose from curtains, valances or drapes with these three quick inexpensive ideas for simple window treatments.
#1. Mini blinds makeover
#2. DIY Roman Shades
#3. DIY Ruffled Burlap Curtain
#4. DIY Window Shade for Bathroom
#5. DIY No Sew Rolled Window Valance
#6. Napkins for curtain valances
#7. DIY Roman Blinds
