Sew a Cafe Curtain for Your Home
Posted by Deirdre Quirk on Nov 27th 2017
This fantastic project is taken from Sew Home by Erin Schlosser.
Café curtains are great for a little privacy in a breakfast nook or kitchen window. Use a fun kitschy print or a classic geometric pattern and get sewing! Café curtains also work well to cover open shelves and vanity openings when you want to hide a bit of clutter.
Techniques Learned/Practiced: Sewing a blind hem
Materials and Supplies
• Light/medium-weight home decor fabric
• Blind hem presser foot for your sewing machine
• Tension rod to fit window, 5/8" or smaller diameter
Measuring and Cutting
STEP 1
Measure the window width inside the frame and determine how long you want the finished café curtain to be. Typically, these curtains cover 1/2 to 1/3 of the window height.
Now for the math to determine the piece that will need to be cut:
(Window width × 1.5) + 2 ̋ = curtain cut width
Desired curtain length + 3 1/4 ̋ = curtain cut length
For example, if I had a 36 ̋-wide window and I wanted my café curtain to be 15 ̋ long, I’d use these 2 measurements to place in the equation above.
(36 ̋ × 1.5) + 2 = 56 ̋ and 15 ̋ + 3 1/4 ̋ = 18 1/4 ̋
In this example, the piece I would need to cut would be 56 ̋ × 18 1/4 ̋. Enter the measurements you took and determine the final size of your cut piece.
STEP 2
Cut out the curtain from the measurements above, making sure you’ve trimmed off the selvages first.
Construction
STEP 1
Carefully press each side in 1/2 ̋ and make a double fold to fully enclose the raw edge.
Finish the side seams.
Tip: Always test the iron setting on a small scrap to make sure that the fabric won’t burn, melt, or distort with heat.
STEP 2
Press the bottom edge under 1/2 ̋, then fold 1 ̋ to enclose the raw edge. Finish with a blind hem. Press well.
STEP 3
To make the rod pocket, fold the top edge 1/4 ̋ and press well. Fold again 1 1/2 ̋ and press. Finish the folded edge with an edge stitch.
Complete the rod pocket.
STEP 4
Slide the tension rod into the curtain and hang.
Tip: Add some pom-poms or other decorative trim for a bit of fun. If the curtain will be near a dining table or kitchen sink, consider using a water repellent like Scotchguard to keep it in pristine condition.
