DIY Network

Curtain Panels Curtain Panels From "Material Girls" episode DMTG-101

The clean lines of Ron and Sara Hedstrom's contemporary living room, coupled with its plain furnishings, felt a bit cold. To warm things up, the Material Girls drew upon the couple's love of nature and the outdoors for their recommended palette of rich autumn tones. In this segment, the couple paints the walls green; then Sara and April make curtains to disguise a bank of closets in the room. The curtains consist of simple panels with a rod pocket sewn at the top of each to hold the rod that will secure the panel over each door (a rod pocket is a casing sewn at the top of a curtain panel to accommodate the curtain rod).

Room designed by Cat Wei.

Before

After

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Curtains

Unlined Rod-Pocket Curtains

Materials
Fabric
Thread
Sewing machine
Scissors
Curtain rod mounting kit
Mounting hardware
Measuring tape
Paper and pencil
Iron and ironing board
Straight pins
Power screwdriver

1. Following the instructions that come with the kit, install the hardware and mount the curtain rod.

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D

2. To determine the finished length of the curtain panels, measure from the top of the rod to the floor (in our case it's 78"). Add 6" for the rod pocket and 8" for the panel hem (known as the double four, this adds weight to the panels). To make the double four, you fold the fabric up 4" and press; fold it up 4" more and press; then pin.

3. If you're using fabric with a print (figure A), you'll need to find out how many repeats there are on the finished cut length. In our case, it's two, so our repeat is 53" and our cut length is 93-1/4" (78" + 8" + 6" + ¼" = 92 1/4 ") therefore, two pattern repeats will give us enough material. Make sure to cut using two full pattern repeats- each of our panels will be 106".

4. Cut the fabric and lay on the table. Fold up the bottom hem, press, pin and sew.

5. Now we will do the side hems, called a double one-and-a-half, measure 3" in on each side (figure B), fold and press (figure C). Then fold the 3" in half to make a 1-1/2" seam, pin and sew.

6. Lay fabric out on table and press flat. Measure from the bottom hem up 78", which is the finished length, and then another 6" for the rod pocket. Add 1/2" for seam allowance and 1/2 " for the take-up (the amount of fabric to go over the rod -- otherwise the rod takes up some of the length of the drapery). This should equal 86".

7. Measure up the middle of the fabric and each side, where the side hems are. Put a pin in each spot and use a pencil -- never use a pen! -- and a yardstick to measure from pin to pin (figure D). This will give you the cutting line.

8. Cut and fold down 6-1/2", turn under a 1/2 " seam allowance, pin and sew.

9. Now you're ready to hang the curtains.

RESOURCES :

Marimekko curtain fabric
Product #52918130 (Villi Ja Vappa Orange)
Textile Arts
P.O. Box 3151
Sag Harbor, NY 11963
Phone: 1-888-343-7285
Fax: 631-725-1714
E-mail: info@txtlart.com
Website: store.txtlart.com