Many of these techniques can also be used for  embroidery curtains , make tab curtains and curtain patterns. Dress Curtains are often used at the side of a window to soften the effect of a roller blind or roman blind , they are generally a curtain that is non functional and doesn’t move. Learn how to make your own curtains personal by utilizing a specific design of material or shape , there are so many different diy window treatments available.

Many Curtain manufacturers now have such a large range of materials available that it is quite easy to make  diy heat blocking curtains or heat shield curtains using backcoated materials. These materials offer full protection from the sun during summer but also retain maximum heat within a room during the winter months. Simple panel curtains are also a way of covering a window without having to do too much sewing , they are generally a straight piece of material that is designed to just cover the area enough to provide privacy and protection. You can use panel when curtain designs permit.

Hemming the sides , sewing curtains or making curtains can provide you with an easy and inexpensive way of curtaining your new or existing home at a fraction of the cost , many people now realise that it is possible to make your own curtains free whilst also making them look as if they have been made by a professional workroom.

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When deciding what window you would like to cover always ensure that you have measure the area correctly, your first measurment in curtains is always the width of the window , followed by height or drop of the window. When measuring the width, put your tape from edge of architrave to the architrave, this is your width, to measure the height, put your tape on the top of the architrave or surround and measure down to where you want the curtain or drape to finish.

I have developed the easiest formulae that you can use when you want to learn how to make curtains, take the width of window , as an example we will use 2000mm and double this measurment , ie 4000mm, we now divide this measurement by the width of the material we are going to use, ie if the matieral is 1200mm wide – so our no-brainer formula looks like this   4000mm divided by 1200mm = 3.5 approx, this means we now need 4 lengths of materials or drops to cover the area we require. So we now multiply the amount of drops we require by overall height of the window, before we do this , if we have an overall height of 2100mm we always add 400mm to this measurement to allow for hems .

So our simple formula will look like this   4 widths of material / multiplied by 2500mm = 10000mm or 10 metres of material. Generally 10 metres of material will cover a window. For an exact amount of material for all windows refer to our fabric table page.  Ok so thats the hard part done , we know how to make curtains in fairly simplied matter. We now  have 4 lengths of material 2500mm in height, if you are having a centre opening curtain it means you will create what we call a 2 x 2w curtain at 2100mm drop. If you are going to have curtain going to one side only you will create a 1 x 4w curtain at 2100mm drop.

How to make curtains is simple process that can be completed within 2 hours for every curtain, now you will need to purchase  5 metres of pencil heading tape. In this example we are making a pencil pleat curtain, for pinch pleat please go to our full instructions on how to make a pinch pleat curtain in 10 easy steps.

The first thing we need to do is sew our 2 panels togeather for each curtain, so now have a 2 x 2w curtain, now we must sew the pencil pleat tape on the top of the curtain, fold down 10cm of the material and position your tape at the top of the curtain and sew to rows of stitching across the top of each curtain, firmly holding the tape in place. When putting your tape on always ensure that the little pockets are facing upwards when sewing, too many times i have seen people sew their curtains with the tape reversed, they then have to unpick and start all over again, this is one of the most important parts on how to make curtains.

After you have completed the top section, now turn each side of the curtain in 5cm doubled and stitch down the sides in a straight line, keep going we are nearly finished our first curtain. Generally the bottom hem is the last piece of the curtain to be completed, turn your hem up 10cm and double and sew along the bottom of curtain in a straight line. All thats required now is to hang your curtains.

Remember the following formula     window width , divided by material width, tells us how many widths we need, multiply this figure by our overal drop including an extra 40cm on each drop, this shows us how much material we require. This is the simplest way on how to make curtains.

An added update, with the advent of 240cm wide lining we can now make a curtain using less lining material, when working out the secret curtain formula, just base your meterage on using an 240cm wide lining

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One of the most difficult curtains or drape to attempt to make is obviously the pinch pleated curtain, most customers will send their curtains to a professional curtain workroom who will basically return the curtain fully finished ready to hang. Follow these steps to making a successful drape

1. Basically this is how we work out how much material we are going to require, the first thing we must do is measure the width of the window and multiple it by 2, this is the amount of fullness we will be using. Ie if your window measures 200cm we will use the measurement of 400cm, we then divide this measurement by the width of the material we are using

2. So basically what we will end up with is 400cm divided by 120cm being the width of the material this equals 3./…. We now know we will need 4 widths of material. We then measure the height of the window and multiply x 4 widths, ie if your window is 200cm width x 200cm height , use the following formula 4widths x 230cm = 920cm or 9.20metres. Whatever the finished height of your window is add 30cm to this measurement to allow for hems.

3. So now we cut 4 lengths at 230cm each, the next step is to stich 2 panels together along the salvage or edge of the material, we then repeat this step with the other 2 panels remaining, so we now have 2 curtains with 2 widths of material stiched together. , This is commonly referred to 2 x 2 widths.

4. Now proceed to side hem each curtain with a double 5cm hem, ie turn the side in 5cm and then another 5cm and sew to form a side seam, now working out the pleating size is the most critical part of any curtain. We know that our window is 200cm wide, we need to add on 40cm to this overall measurement to allow for returns and full crossover in the middle of the window.

5. What we want to end up with now is 2 curtains that will each have an overall heading size of 220cm, now basically remember that to form each pleat you will need approximately 10cm of the width of the material, so starting from left hand of the curtain make a mark 12cm in blue chalk, then make a mark 10cm in red from that mark and so one across the full width of the curtain.

6. Always remember the red mark is where the pleats starts forming and the blue mark indicates the spacing between each pleat. Now working from the left hand side go to your red mark and pull the curtain in to form a triple pleat this should finish at the blue mark. Tack the top of pleat to keep it in shape and then proceed along the width of the curtain and finish off. Repeat for the other 2 width curtain

7. A little trick with this is to always have a 12” or 30cm ruler beside you at all times so that if you need to make any adjustments in between the pleat then you can do this on a gradual basis rather than trying to make it all up at the end.

8. You should now to have 2 curtains each measuring 120cm in width, you now need to tack the bottom of the pleat with forms how the curtain will fall.

9. Now the very last and very important aspect of this is to hem the curtain to the correct height with double 10cm hem at the bottom

10. Well Done your finished

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