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Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Ta da! No-sew duvet cover curtains

Last month I mentioned that I have been searching for curtains with a fun print for very little money, which is easier said than done.  Everything I found was too expected, too cheap looking, or $89 per panel.  After much deliberation, I decided to get crafty and turn this duvet cover from West Elm into curtains for my office, and if I do say so myself, they turned out pretty great.  Here's how I did it:

First, I ordered a twin size duvet cover online from West Elm ($49 plus tax and shipping).  The dimensions of the twin bedding are almost the exact size of an 84" window panel, which is the size I need for my windows.  The stores don't carry twin size bedding but if you have a wider window, you could buy a full size in person.


Then, I went to Michael's and got two rolls of super weight Stitch Witchery for $2.99 each.  I used an entire roll and about 6 feet of the second one. 

At home, I used a pair of scissors to cut one of the duvet seams open, and then ripped it apart along each side.  I also cut off the inside ties and set them aside to use as tiebacks if I want them one day.  If you have sharp fabric scissors, you'd want to use them instead of ripping, but I was fine without.  Then, once I had to separate panels, I ironed each one to get the creases out (I was too impatient to wash the cover first)  and started at the top hem where the buttons are. 

I would cut about 6 inches of bonding tape and then fold over the existing hem and iron on top of it for about 10 seconds.  The instructions said to use a pressing cloth between the iron and fabric, but I found it unnecessary.  Then, I moved along each side and used the width of the bonding tape as a guide for the width of my "hem".  The end result isn't perfect, but whenever I got annoyed I'd remind myself that nobody is coming over to inspect the edges of my curtains.

A finished edge... just a tiny bit crooked

Then, once I'd worked all the way around each panel (this took about an hour from start to finish) I gave each panel another pass with the iron to get rid of wrinkles and then laid them out on top of each other on the living room floorI already had a set of curtain rings with clips on them, so I didn't need to create any kind of pole pocket or grommet rings but you could do that if you prefer those styles.  I laid the curtains on top of each other so that I could be sure that the rings were evenly spaced on each panel.

 
Once N and I hung them in the office behind my desk, I got to admire my handiwork and I must say I'm a little impressed.  They look as good as any other window panels I saw, and for a grand total of about $60.  I'll definitely be looking at duvet covers as I search for living room curtains.  


Whatcha think?  Have any of you completed a stylish DIY project lately?

7 comments:

  1. definitely a smart idea and i love that it's perfect for a non-sewer.

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  2. Looks great! I love Stitch Witchery!

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  3. Looks fabulous! Even easier is to use two twin sheets, use the top folded over as the hem to give it some weight at the bottom, use your iron on tape or sew to hem! Add your clip on rings and good to go!

    xx

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