DIY Curtains with Grommets!

A little bit ago, I had refinished some cute chairs we got from a family friend. As scary as they were when we got them, they turned out super cute and now we use them in our kitchen. I used a really awesome blue geometric upholstery fabric for the cushions and I wanted to tie that in with the rest of the kitchen. So, what better way to do that than to make curtains?

It always seems the hardest part of actually doing a project is going out and getting all the materials, or gathering them up if you have some at home.

For this project, you will need:
• 2- 2 ½ yards of your fabric
• 2 – 2 ½ yards of fabric for the backing (I used a plain cotton fabric for about $5 a yard, but you can really use essentially anything you would like)
• Grommets (from a grommet kit. You can get one at Joann’s for about $6 with a 50% off coupon.
• A ruler/measuring tape
• Sewing machine and thread
• Scissors
• Ppencil

First, just measure out the window the curtains will be going on to see how long and wide you want them. To ensure proper measuring to add the grommets, add an extra inch to the measurement for the length of the curtain. Next, do the same for the backing fabric. You should have a total of four cut pieces; two for the front of the curtain, and two for the backing of the curtain.

Once you have cut the fabric to the correct size, place the right side of the fabric down on the backing, and pin your pieces together – the wrong side of the fabric should be facing up. On your machine, sew 3¾ sides together. I used the bottom of the curtain to have the side that wasn’t completely sewn so that it was less noticeable. Pull the fabric right side out and then hand sew the last ¼ of the fabric.

At this point, you should have two pieces of fabric that are completely sewn together. From what will be the tops of your curtains, measure out about four inches and use your sewing machine to sew a line straight across. This will help ensure that when you go to put in your grommets, the fabric doesn’t shift or ripple. A fun tip: to help sew a straight line, it is always helpful to use painters or masking tape. It comes clean right off the fabric and is a great guide to use on the machine.

Viola! The sewing portion is complete, you did it! Now it is on to the fun stuff, the grommets!

Remember that extra inch I had you add on to your measurements? That’s where this part comes in.   Using the little tool you receive with the grommet kit, place it within the four-inch seam between the top of the curtain and where you had sewn the line for the grommets.  Draw the circles on the curtain with a pen or pencil.  Make sure your grommet circles are evenly spaced and that on each curtain you have an even number of grommet drawings.  Once all the circles are drawn, you may cut the centers of the circles out with your fabric scissors.  Tip: Cut just slightly inside the lines.  If you make your holes too big, your grommets won’t be able to clip in.

After you have drawn and cut all the holes, its time to clip in your grommets.  I have to say, for me, this was the most exciting part.  Not only because I knew I was done with the project, but because they were so easy to snap together! (Can you tell I’m excited?) This seriously will just take a few of minutes.  They click together really easy and its a lot of fun. Now, you are DONE with your curtains!

This particular pattern is so fun and trendy! I’m really happy with the way the curtains turned out for our kitchen and now they match our chairs. Happy girl here. : )

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