Muslin Curtains – Cheapest and Easiest Curtains, EVER!

Alright people…lets talk about muslin curtains

See these drapes?

They are beautiful right? Flowy, light, long, and perfect.  Of course they had better be for the  $129.99 PER PANEL at Restoration Hardware.

I am going to let you in on a little secret,  you can make these same drapes for less than $15.00 for a SET of floor to ceiling drapes…

Ok, get your Joanns coupon,  and measure the height of your ceilings.

When shopping for material you will be looking for a material called “Muslin”.  This stuff is great!
They have several widths (starting at 36″  all the way up to 120″)   and traditionally, a bleached (white) and unbleached (linen).

DIY Muslin Curtains!

Pick the width  you would like your curtain to be.  I believe mine are 45″ but in retrospect I would have gone wider.  ( I think the next increment up is 90″)
I have 10′ ceilings so I needed  right around 3 1/2 yards per panel,  for a total of 7 yards.

So you have a better idea:

45″ Muslin  =  $2.99 x 7= $21.93 – (50% off coupon) = $10.46 !!!
or
90″ Muslin   = $5.99 x 7=  $41.93 – (50% off coupon) =$ 20.96 !!!  ( I should have done these…)

Ok,  so that was the cheap part, here is the easy part…

Since you bought the fabric in the width you needed ,  you do not need to cut it,  therefore you do not need to sew the edges!  Half of the reason I love muslin is it’s selvage edge (factory edge).

The only cuts you will need to make is the height.  This is a basic formula you can  use to calculate   your height:

Example:   ceiling to floor height  + 3″ for bottom hem + 4 ” (for a standard rod)= Total fabric length.

So layout your fabric and measure twice and cut (preferably with a rotary cutter),  this will ensure a nice straight cut.

( If you do not have one, and you want to become a more efficient seamstress or seamster,  I would definitely  invest in one!)

So lets start with the hem….

If you started having a panic attack,   there is a tutorial here…  ( I swear basic sewing tutorials will be up eventually).

You just completed the bottom hem, flip it over and do the exact same thing only leave 3.5″ and the .5″ folded under.   Deep breaths you can do this without a picture.

FYI make sure your hems are both facing back,  I have several times gone to hang up a panel and realized I have sewn the hem on the opposite side and had to take it out and re-do it…

Once both ends are hemmed you can either  use a rod, or attach clips to hang.
I have used both rod version and clip versions in my home…  It all depends on the look you want!

Stay tuned for second way to use Muslin curtains with a twist!