Maker: Shereece Nicole
Skill Level: Advanced Beginner
Oftentimes us quilters get focused on a quilt top becoming a quilt. That can lead to a pile-up of quilt tops. Instead of quilts, consider taking your unfinished quilt tops and using them as decoration for your home. As much as I love my sewing space, my window seemed a prime target for just such a project.
In this tutorial, I’m going to walk you through taking your quilt top and turning them into custom curtains. Let’s get started!
What You’ll Need
- Unfinished Quilt Top (we’ll talk about size shortly)
- Backing Fabric
- Coordinating Thread
- Measuring Tape
- Pins
- Quilting Ruler
- Rotary Cutter
- Curtain Rod
Size it Up
First, decide how you want your curtains to look. You can go with two panels to open at the center or one panel to go the complete width, and whether you want them inside or outside of the trim. Also, you’ll need to determine how long you want them to hang, floor to ceiling, just outside the trim, the top or bottom half of the window. Finally, do you want the curtains to gather across the top or hang more flat? I chose two panels that didn’t gather (for a modern look) that would hang just above the trip to window sill.
Example: 2-panel curtains that gather.
Next, with your measuring tape, determine the measurements for the length and width. The length will vary by your preference on how you want the curtains to hang. For the total width of panels that will gather when hung, you will take the width of the window (whether the inside or the outside of any trim) or panel width preference and add approximately ⅓ more.
Example: 42” wide window
One-Panel 42” + 14” = 56”
Two-Panels 21” + 7” = 28” each
If you do not want the panel(s) to gather, do not add anything to the width.
Prepare Your Quilt Top
Once you have your finished dimensions, you can hunt through your stash of WIPs (works in progress) or choose a new quilt top to make. I decided on blocks from a Lighted Path quilt I had previously made. The fabrics matched my space and Meena (my Memory Craft 9410QC).
When choosing an already completed quilt top, keep in mind that you can take out a seam or two to make it work. Please hold on to the removed sections to possibly be used elsewhere in your space. In this case, I made two matching columns.
Once your top is ready, it’s time to add a sleeve for the curtain rod. Sew a 4 ½ inch by the width of your top piece of coordinating fabric to the top of your quilt top.
Back It Up
Cut backing fabric to the dimensions of your panel(s). Pin the backing and quilt top right sides together. Sew ¼” around all sides, leaving a 7”-8” opening at the top of the panel(s).
When you approach a corner, stop ¼” short of the end, lift the presser foot, turn the fabric and continue sewing the next side.
Also, back stitch at the beginning and end (where you’re leaving the opening) to secure your stitches.
Clip the four corners close to the stitches without cutting them. This reduces bulk in the corners for more defined points.
Turn your work right side out.
Use a blunt-point object, like a chopstick, to push out the corners.
Press your panel(s) flat, making sure to press your fabric down ¼” at the opening.
Fold the top over so the edge is approximately ¼” past the seam line of the front of the sleeve. Pin in place.
Starting at the bottom of the panel(s), topstitch ⅛” or closer on all four sides. The top seam will be to secure the sleeve into a loop for the curtain rod and close the opening you used to turn your work right side out.
Now, hang your work and enjoy! Don’t forget to check that WIP off your To-Do list.
I’d love to see what you create. Please share your creations with me on Instagram, Facebook, or by email!
Stitch on me hearties, 💕
