In our kitchen, there is a window over the sink. When we first moved in, I hung a tie-up white curtain. For the Winter, I loved it. The thick canvas fabric covered most of the window like a warm toasty blanket. I didn’t care because we had an overhang covering the back deck the window looked out to, so the view was obstructed anyway.
After the roof collapsed (see that story here), we realized that we got so much more light in the house without it. We decided to keep the overhang off and leave the deck open and airy. My toasty curtain had to go. I wanted more light in the kitchen, plus I had a new view of our woods!
I was inspired by a little something Dana over at House*Tweaking came up with. She made these fun curtains for the same place in her kitchen. It adds such personality to the space. She sewed up these babies….
Here’s what I was working with before…
Yesterday, my rainy day activities included a trip to the gym, Michael’s Craft Store, and Tar-jay (Target). I couldn’t find curtains that were short enough for this window except plain red or navy blue (neither of which flow with my kitchen decor). I refused to leave the store without curtains.
I bought this shower curtain because I loved the modern, playful pattern, as well as the black & white look that I am going for. Yes, you read that correctly. Shower curtain. It’s fabric, it’s a cute pattern, the holes are already neatly cut at the top, I was desperate.
I don’t have a sewing machine, so I snatched up some iron on hemming tape at the craft store for about $2.50. I bought the “super strength” just to be sure it would hold.
I cut the shower curtain in half because I need 2 for the window and had more than enough fabric.
Next, I measured the length I wanted them to be and drew a line in sharpie on the reverse side where I wanted the hem to be. I did the same for the raw edged side. I cut about an inch or two below that line to have enough room to fold the tape in.
I ironed a crease on the line that I marked first to make a nice and crisp hemline. Then, I opened it up and sandwiched the tape inside and ironed it.
I’m never one to follow directions entirely. This time, I should have. The directions said to keep the iron at medium heat. I cranked it up to high and ended up with this leftover on the ironing board!
I popped the new curtains through the existing rod. I was shocked at how easy it was. And I feel very Martha Stewart every time I look at them :).
Night-time shot.
Day! Right now there are no leaves on the trees, but Spring is right around the corner! I can’t wait to see how beautiful the trees look.
I moved the white tie-up curtain to our downstairs bathroom. It looked pretty sad before (I’m embarrassed to say, but hey – window treatments are tres $$, so it took a while).
I took the photos from the Valentine’s table and placed them on the ledge. I’m all about the swapping!
The curtain works better down here because it is more private (it’s a ground floor bathroom) and the window is directly across from the toilet. The thicker white fabric echoes the shower curtain to tie it together.
So that’s my How-To-Make-Curtains-For-Dummies tutorial 😉 Have you repurposed anything lately?
Mindy! NICE! It all looks beautiful!!!
Thanks 😉
xo
Madge
Wow-what a creative and beautiful idea. You always have such good ideas Mindy. When I start living on my own-I’m seriously going to be using every single one of them. Maybe my house will look as awesomesauce as yours?
Thanks Hollie! When you move out, send me pics & I’ll decorate your whole place!
xo
Mindy
This looks amazing I love the pattern on the shower …errr kitchen curtains! Seriously I think it’s awesome you DIYed with the shower curtain. Sometimes the prints in that area are more graphic, fun and have a better punch than the window treatment section. I have actually 3 different shower curtains I’ve used in the past that I’m holding on to for projects such as this. Well done! And way to reduce and reuse w/ the old curtains!
Thanks Kelly! The shower curtain section had such a more fun selection! I figured why not? Plus, I got 2 window curtains from 1 shower curtain with a bunch of fun fabric left over for a possible placemat project! Thanks for stopping by!
xo
Mindy
I call it Tar-jay too. They’re the best, you find cute things at a fabulous price. I don’t know if this counts, but I repurpose clothes and food. If I like the fabric, but let’s say I don’t want to give it away or use it as a whatever-it-was, I’ll save it to make decorations or use it as a wrapping for a gift. And of course if I have any leftovers I like to go in and reinvent it the next day. Fried chicken will become part of chicken salad the next day.
Nice!
They look great!!
I had that same trouble with the heat and bond. I’m a “more is better” person and it doesn’t always work out so well. 😛
THanks Michelle! I thought more would be better (and more sturdy). LOL! I guess sometimes less is more….
xo
Mindy
Using a shower curtain for a window above sink is a GRReat idea! Maybe I should get rid of my boh-ring blinds and do something like that… I feel a project coming up!
Lena
It was so easy. I used a shower curtain only because I couldn’t find window curtains that I liked. For some reason, the fun patterns are reserved for the bathroom, lol! Plus, the holes for the rod were already neatly cut (I’d make a frayed edge mess). I wish I had a sewing machine! Some day…
Ooh! I’m embarrassed to admit that before reading this post and the next one I never heard of — or took seriously — the idea of iron-on adhesive!! I’ll def recall this for future crafting needs!! I don’t have a sewing machine and my hand sewing is inconsistent, so iron-on adhesive would be a fab resource. I love the idea of making whatever you find into something totally original and beautiful.
It’s pretty great stuff! The pillowcases held up for a couple of years, but the seams became very stiff after a while. Great for curtains, not so great for pillows 😉
Really nice! I cannot for the life of me get ANY kind of iron on adhesive to work for me! lol I have no idea why it’s so impossible for me to do.
I’ve had to come up with other creative no sew ideas but I’m not giving up on the iron on stuff!