Kitchen Curtains

I bought some curtains from Ikea.  I wanted to update the curtains that we had, but when I hung the new ones up they covered too much of the window.  We don’t really need them for the privacy.  I just wanted to add some warmth to the windows with fabric.

Before:

Kitchen Curtains

The Ikea curtains came in a package of two panels and each panel was 57 inches wide, so I decided to cut the panels in half.  I’ve used this trick before and I thought I’d share how I did it.  The good news is that this is a no-sew project.

You’ll need scissors, an iron and fusible hem tape.  The curtains come with some fusible tape which I cut in half length wise and had enough for this project.

Step 1:  Find the center of the curtain and cut the gathering strings on the gathering tape and re-tie them (see photo).  Then cut down the center of the curtain through the lining. Now there is one raw edge on each half panel that needs to be finished.

Step 2:  Pull the gathering tape back about an inch and then press both the lining and curtain edges in a 1/4″.

Step 3: Lay the fusible hem tape down between the two layers and press according to hem tape directions  being careful not to put the fusible tape between the rod pocket section otherwise the curtain rod won’t be able to slide in and out.

Step 4: Hem the bottom according to curtain package directions.

After: