How to Make Horizontal Stripe Curtains in 10 Easy Steps

Tools & Materials Required:

Scissors
Iron
Tape measure
Solid color curtains
Fabric for the stripes
Hemming tape
Pins

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1. Buy a set of solid-color curtains to use as the base, and fabric for the stripes. Teresa chose to buy a second set of the same type of curtain, so that the stripes would be made of the same type of fabric and would already be the right width. Teresa told us how she took this easy route and still stayed within her budget, I purchased 2 sets of curtains at IKEA, their curtains are so inexpensive and look great. I think I spent about 80 dollars for both sets. If your windows are the average 84 inches you can probably get 2 sets of curtains for 30 dollars at TJ Maxx.

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2. Wash and iron the curtains to avoid any shrinking of the finished product.

3. Hang the background curtains from your curtain rods and pin them to the length you want. Hem with hemming tape if necessary.

4. Measure the length of the background curtains, and divide the length by the number of stripes you want. For example, Teresa’s curtains were 118 inches long, and she wanted 8 stripes. She divided 118 by 8 to calculate the height of each stripe: 14.75 inches.

5. Cut the stripes out, allowing an additional 2 inches on the top and bottom of each stripe for hemming. For example, since Teresa’s stripes were 14.74 inches tall, she cut strips of fabric that were 18.75 inches tall. If you’re using plain fabric for the stripes instead of another set of curtains, you will need to measure the width of the background curtains and cut the stripes to that width, plus 2 additional inches on each end.

6. Once you have your stripes cut out, fold the top of each stripe down in a 1-inch strip, pin it to hold it in place, and then iron the edge. Now fold the top down 1 more inch, pin it in place, add the hemming tape, and iron to make a sharp, professional-looking edge with no sewing. Repeat on the bottom of each stripe. Repeat on each side if you are using unfinished fabric to make your stripes.

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7. Now you’re ready to attach the stripes to the curtains. Start at the top of each curtain, and let the background curtain be the top stripe. Moving down the curtain, pin each stripe in place.

8. After you’ve pinned all of the stripes on both curtains, hang them up to make sure that they all look even. Make any necessary adjustments to the stripes’ positions. Don’t skip this step–there are no more chances for adjustments once you’ve attached the stripes with the hemming tape!

9. Take the curtains down, and use the hemming tape to permanently attach the stripes. If the stripes end up a little wider than the curtain, you can always fold the edges of the stripes behind the background curtain and use hemming tape to fix the edges in place.

10. Hang your new curtains, and enjoy.