How To Make Kitchen Curtains 11 Simple Steps

The majority of home kitchens have a window just above the kitchen area. Whereas the window can reduce boredom as you do the dishes by giving you an external view, it sometimes needs to be barricaded with a curtain. A good kitchen window curtain can add to the feel inside the kitchen. Unfortunately, kitchen curtains are not just like any other curtain in the house. The kitchen is unusually humid, hot, and sometimes open flames can come into contact with the curtains. These curtains should be made with a fabric able to withstand those conditions. In this article, I’m going to teach you how to make kitchen curtains, even without professional qualifications in sewing.

What you need for the project

As we shall see, there are more than a couple of curtain designs you can use for your kitchen. Depending on your choice, you’ll find that different types of curtains have different requirements. I shall mention the requirements for each type of curtain along with the steps.

Steps to making a DIY kitchen curtain.

1. Decide what type of curtain to treat your kitchen with

Kitchen curtains serve a decorative purpose, unlike in the bedroom. We would thus expect greater flexibility in the range of patterns. Even though you can have sheers and lighter fabric, a budget kitchen wouldn’t be worth investing in premium curtains. There are three suitable types of kitchen treatments. These are budget-friendly, as well as space conscious. They are:

Curtains

Curtains are usually two gathered panels. The panels hang from top to bottom of the window and cover the window width.

Valances

Also known as a café curtain, a valance is a panel that spans halfway from the top of the window, leaving the lower part of the window uncovered.

Privacy tiers

A privacy tier, or simply a tier is a single panel that spans the width of the window but is hung halfway up the window. A privacy tier would typically cover ½ or 2/3 of the window. In most cases, tiers are used alongside a valance.

2.  Measure the window

Take the measurements of your window’s length and width. If you want to use the tiered style, also measure the center distance to either the top or bottom of the window.

3. Decide the fullness you want in curtains.

This is necessary to determine how much fabric material you need. To get more opulence from your curtains, trust me, you need to have a fuller curtain. The fullness generally ranges from 1½ to 3. A luxuriously gathered panel would rest at the fullness of about 3 while a fullness of 1½ would give flat panels.

4. Determine how much material you need

Multiply the width of the window by the fullness you want. If your window width was 3 feet, for example, and your desired fullness was 2, then you would need a 6-feet wide fabric. If you have a tiered style, you would need two panels of the same width. Your fabric would thus need to be 12-feet wide. The valance and the tier are both as wide as the window, thus the doubling of fabric width.

If you choose to sew the curtains, their total length should be equal to the length of the window. When cutting the up fabric, add 6” to the length, and 2” to the width. The extra length accounts for hems, seams, and rod pockets. This is adjustable though, depending on your style.

 In the case of privacy tiers where you combine a valance and a tier, you’ll have two panels, both as wide as the window but each measuring half the length of the window. You will thus sew two panels.

5. Choosing the fabric

The fabric you choose for your window can be what determines your satisfaction. You do not want to put in hours of planning and executing, only to end up with the same unsatisfying kitchen. So what fabric is best for you? To answer that, you need to take into account a few things.

Considerations in fabric choice

To get the best from your DI kitchen curtains, you certainly need to get the fabric right. Make the following considerations when choosing the fabric

• Generally, the practicality factor is the most important when choosing a kitchen curtain fabric. You don’t want a fabric that’ll shrink in weeks or months.
• A kitchen is usually more humid than other rooms. Go for a fabric that doesn’t spoil easily in humid environments.
• Go for a fabric that does not fade fast, given the heat conditions in the kitchen
• The kitchen is curtain may also be susceptible to catching fire if the cooktop is installed under the window space. you may want to go for a flame-retardant fabric.
• Truth be told, the kitchen becomes messy sometimes. This means that your precious curtains catch dirt every once in a while. To maintain the original sparkle of the fabric, choose one that is washable.
• You should also think of your general style preference to ensure the fabric blends well. There are tons of modern appeal fabrics but if you lean more towards casual fabrics, you could go for classic options like lace, check, plaid, voile, toile, or even flour sack.
• Do you want to add some other decorations to your curtains? Answering that will help you optimize the fabric appearance and yardage. Some decorations like adding a pom-pom trim at the base of the panels would require you to use a shorter fabric. If you already have the trims, choose a fabric that’ll match up to the trim without bias.

6.    Prepare the fabric

You need to cut the fabric to your dimensions as accurately as possible. To stretch the fabric properly, lay it on a flat surface, and iron it out.

7. Mark the dimensions

For accurate cuts, you need a measuring tape and straight edge to mark the outline. Use a fabric marker to make straight lines with a straight edge.

8. Cut the panels 

With a pair of scissors, cut out the panels from the outline.

9. Making the lower hem

Mark 1” from the fabric bottom line. Fold the lower edge, the wrong side in, up to this line (it’ll have risen by ½”) and press. Then fold the clean edge up to face the wrong side of the fabric to your preferred hem size. Press again. Stitch up the top folded hem edge to secure it.

10. Roughen the side edges

Just like at the hems, fold half an inch of each side edge with the wrong side in and press. You could choose to double the fold to hide the rough edge or leave it at that. Sew along the edges to have them secured.

11. Create the rod pocket

I strongly advise using a rod to hang your curtains instead of a line. A decorative rod gives more appeal to the curtain.

To make the rod pocket, fold the upper edge by half an inch with the wrong side in and press it. Fold the clean edge with the wrong side in depending on the diameter of the rod, and press. Stich close to the folded edge to secure the pocket. Your curtain is now complete.

If you have two panels or more windows, repeat the above steps as you iron out your skill.

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How to decorate DIY curtains

You probably have just made your first curtain. That’s quite a skill to pride in but I’m sure you’d love your curtains looking even better. One way to achieve that would be decorating your curtains. Although decorating should be put into consideration when making the outlines, you can make another curtain to change with. You will find the following methods great at pimping out your handcrafted curtains.

• A pom-pom trim
• Grosgrain ribbon
• Bows
• A lace
• Crotchet
• Embroidery

These trims not only make your curtains fun and flirty, but also and some class to your kitchen. You could even end up with a premium curtain, all for under $10.

FAQ

Video Tutorial For Beginners: How To Make A Simple Kitchen Curtain

Conclusion

Making a kitchen curtain doesn’t require a hell of skill in sewing. The above method doesn’t even need a sewing machine so long as you can stitch impressively. You can also make curtains for your bedroom and living room similarly, in just a few hours.

Congratulations on handcrafting a stunning kitchen curtain!