{"title":"How to Make Curtains","canonicalUrl":"https://www.craftingstepbystep.com/sewing/how-to-make-curtains","category":{"slug":"sewing","name":"Sewing"},"creator":{"name":"Cozy DIY Home","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbnY-O1Pse1lekxYWqVJwgg","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPvP4Wofg0g"},"tldr":"Make curtains that hang like store-bought ones. Measure, cut, hem and sew pleater tape on top so the pleats fall into place. Straight seams only.","totalDurationSeconds":745,"difficulty":"easy","tools":["sewing machine","steam iron","ironing board","fabric scissors","quilting ruler","carpenter's square","measuring tape","fabric marking pen"],"materials":["decor weight drapery fabric","pleater tape","pin-on pleater hooks","curtain rings with clips","cotton sewing thread","stick pins","curtain rod"],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Lay Out the Drapery Fabric, Pleater Tape and Hooks","text":"Get everything in one place before you cut anything. You need the fabric, a roll of pleater tape, pin-on hooks, rings with clips, and a long ruler. The tape is the piece most people have never bought before - it looks like a wide white woven band with rows of pockets running along it. Buy enough to run the full width of every panel plus a couple of inches."},{"number":2,"title":"Mark the Cut Line on the Curtain Fabric","text":"Spread the fabric out flat on the floor. Measure your finished height plus seven inches, then mark that point at three places across the width. Join the marks with a long quilting ruler or a carpenter's square and check the line sits square to the selvedge. Eight feet of fabric magnifies a small error, so square it properly here."},{"number":3,"title":"Cut the Curtain Panel Along the Marked Line","text":"Cut along the line with sharp fabric scissors, keeping the blades tight against the ruler edge. Long steady cuts beat lots of short snips, which leave a jagged edge that is harder to fold under later. If you need a wider panel than one width of fabric gives you, cut two lengths now and join them down the middle before hemming."},{"number":4,"title":"Press the Side Hems of the Curtain Panel","text":"Turn one long edge under half an inch and press. Turn it under another half inch and press again. That double fold hides the raw edge so nothing frays. Do the same on the other side. Use the cotton setting with steam and work in sections down the length of the panel, holding the fold flat ahead of the iron as you go."},{"number":5,"title":"Fold and Press the Top and Bottom Hems","text":"Find the top of the panel first. Decor fabric often prints an UP arrow on the selvedge; if yours does not, check which way the pattern should hang. Fold the top under half an inch, press, then fold under a full four inches and press again. That deep fold is where the pleater tape gets stitched. At the bottom, fold half an inch and then one inch."},{"number":6,"title":"Sew the Curtain Hems on the Sewing Machine","text":"Stitch down both side hems, then the top hem, sewing about a quarter inch in from the folded edge. Use a longer stitch than you would on clothing, number four on most dials. Backstitch at the beginning and end of every seam. Line the fold up with a marking on the throat plate and feed the fabric through at a steady pace rather than pulling it."},{"number":7,"title":"Pin the Pleater Tape to the Back of the Top Hem","text":"Roll the pleater tape out along the back of the top hem. Fold the raw end under about half an inch, or to wherever the first open pocket sits, and centre the tape inside the hem so it does not peek over the top edge. Pin as you go. At the far end, trim half an inch past the panel edge, fold under and pin."},{"number":8,"title":"Sew the Pleater Tape Onto the Curtain","text":"Stitch the tape down following the guide lines printed along it, usually one row near the top edge and one near the bottom. Keep the pockets clear of your stitching or the hooks will not slide in. Backstitch at both ends. Take the pins out as you reach them rather than sewing over them."},{"number":9,"title":"Push the Pleater Hooks In and Clip On the Rings","text":"Slide one leg of a four-prong hook into the first pocket, count five pockets along, and slide the other leg in. Leave one pocket empty, then repeat with the next hook. The fabric gathers into a pinch pleat as each hook goes in. Work along the whole panel, then clip a ring onto every hook."},{"number":10,"title":"Hang the Curtains and Train the Pleats","text":"Lift the rod out of its brackets, thread the rings on, and set the rod back in place. Check where the hem lands. If you left the bottom unsewn, mark it now, take the panel down, press and stitch. Run your hand down each pleat to train the fold, working from the top of the panel to the bottom."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-09-16T19:26:08.351Z","published":"2026-09-16T19:26:01.684Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}