DIY Curtains With Tablecloths
Make DIY curtains for your living room without a sewing machine! All you need is a tablecloth and curtain rings to easily add beautiful, affordable curtains to your windows creating a perfectly cozy, relaxing living room.
Are you like me and have the hardest time finding curtains you love and want hanging on the windows in your home? I’ve found that curtains are one of the toughest things to shop for. There are so many variables that go into finding the ideal curtain. They need to be the right length & width, fabric, pattern, and of course they have to fit within the budget.
Last fall, I took the plunge of adding curtains back onto our living room windows after a couple of years of not having curtains. (You can read more on those curtains here.) I loved the texture and coziness the curtains added to our living room. However, I recently felt our living room was lacking patterns and specifically the window treatments I added last fall.
When I saw my favorite blogger/influencer Liz Marie share DIY curtains with a block print tablecloth over the winter, I was inspired to do something similar in our living room. I went on a search to find a tablecloth to create my own DIY curtains! The search continued for weeks. I looked high & low across the internet, but could not find a tablecloth (or curtain for that matter) I loved as much as the one Liz Marie shared in her home.
So, I decided to purchase the same exact block print tablecloth to make DIY curtains in our home! I love how easy these were to make and the beautiful pattern & texture they added to our living room.
DIY Curtains Using a Tablecloth
These curtains are extremely easy to make and require no sewing (which is a must for this girl who knows nothing about sewing). Here is what you will need and how to make your own DIY curtains using a tablecloth.
Supplies
- Block Print Tablecloths: The amount of tablecloths you need will depend on the amount of windows you have and how many “panels” you will be adding to each window. I have one “panel” or tablecloth for each of the 2 windows in our living room.
- Curtain Rings: You will want to purchase curtain ring clips to hang the curtains. This will allow you to clip the ring onto the top of the curtain (which means no sewing). I used 11 rings per tablecloth or panel.
- Curtain Rod: This is what you will hang your curtains from.
- Fabric Fuse Tape: This can be used to hem the bottom of the tablecloths if the length of the curtain is too long.
- Iron
How to Make DIY Curtains With Tablecloths
The first step before hanging the DIY curtains is ironing the fabric. You don’t want wrinkly curtains hanging on your windows! Iron the tablecloth on the highest setting, with steam (the steam will help release the wrinkles) to remove all wrinkles.
Next, you will need to determine the length of the curtain. The tablecloth I used was 120″ long, which is much longer than I needed for our windows. Measure from the curtain rod to the floor (factor in if you want your curtains to puddle or not), then you will know how much you will need to “hem” the curtains.
You can hem the curtains one of two ways without breaking out the sewing the machine or a needle. The first, is by folding over the extra fabric at the top of the curtain, and then adding the curtain clips. The second way, is using fabric fuse tape to hem the bottom of the curtain to your desired length. I chose the 2nd option, but if I were to make DIY curtains again, I think the 1st option would be the easiest!
After determining which end will be the top of the curtain, begin adding your curtain rings. I used 11 curtain rings placed about 6″ apart. Placing the curtain rings closer together will give your curtains more structure (if you like a floppier curtain place the curtain rings farther apart). For more details on how to use curtain ring clips, check out this blog post.
Pro Tip: For even more structure when using curtain rings, pinch the fabric together on the backside of the curtain (where you’re adding the curtain rings), then place the clip on the curtain. This will create a structured fold, and your curtains will hang beautifully.
How Much do DIY Curtains Cost?
DIY curtains with tablecloths are relatively inexpensive to make. The tablecloth I used was $70/tablecloth. Which is well below other block print curtain panels I was looking at which ranged in price from $100-$200 per panel. The cost will ultimately depend on the tablecloth you choose to make your curtains and how many windows you will need to cover.
What other materials can I use to make DIY curtains?
Always remember to think outside the box! Just because something isn’t labeled as a curtain doesn’t mean it can’t be used as one. Drop cloths, flat bedsheets, tablecloths, or fabric from your craft store are great curtain options and can be made without little to no sewing experience. Trust me, if this girl can do it, so can you!
More Curtain Tips & Tricks
For more tips & tricks on the proper way to hang curtains and how to elevate the curtains in your home, check out this blog post.
View my google web story, No Sew DIY Curtains With Tablecloths.
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xoxo, heidi
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Hi Sandi! You could certainly do that, you would however have to sew the side that you cut because that would eventually fray. Also, if you are wanting the curtains to close, you would want to make sure you could still do that with the curtains cut in half.
I have been wanting to do this since I saw Liz Marie’s room and now yours. My question is this…I have bay windows in my dining room. Would I cut the curtain lengthwise and just use the fabric on the two smaller windows?
I would love that Renae! Thank you so much my friend!
You are so creative! I love thinking outside the box and using pieces that were intended for something else. Thank you for your lovely comment!
I had a lovely white skirt with beautiful cutwork embroidery on it that was too short for me to be comfortable wearing in public. It was so very pretty though that I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it so it hung around in my sewing room as I contemplated how to add some length to it. Well, nothing seemed to work as anything I thought about adding took away from the beautiful cutwork designs. Then one day my brain kicked into gear and I realized it would make a perfect cafe curtain for the window behind my tub. I cut it up the back seam eliminating the zipper, hemmed the raw sides and added a rod pocket out of an old sheet and….voila! Beautiful curtain! It tickles me when guests ask where I got such a lovely and unique curtain from! I recently made cafe/half curtains for the eight windows in my kitchen/dining/den area out of tablecloths that I bought after Christmas at Hobby Lobby when they went to 90% off…black and white buffalo check. $16 for eight windows and a couple of hours of my time. And just the other day, I picked up a 50” by 102” curtain…white with black embroidery…that I’m going to make a tablecloth with and napkins with the leftover after I cut it to size for the table. Maybe a couple of pillow covers for the den as well. Curtains and tablecloths, most of the time, offer more yardage at a better price than buying fabric off the bolt. I check thrift stores about once a month to see if there are curtains, sheets, tablecloths than I might use for quilt backs or other projects. Generally even cheaper than clearance sales at department stores! Btw, I love the pattern of your tablecloths turned curtains!
This is such a great idea. I would love to share this on my newsletter this week. Hugs to you.