Weekend Warrior: IKEA Curtain Hack

I bought two packages of these LONG IKEA curtains two years ago... yes, 2 years ago! My plans were to use three panels to cover my closet which is a floor to ceiling opening and use the final panel for our bedroom window. I knew they would need a little fabric added to the bottom to make them long enough which is why I put it off and off and off. So, this project was a long time coming! I got some awesome gray fabric that I figured was neutral enough to go with my winter and summer duvets and anything in between.

Adding designer fabric to cheap IKEA curtains is such an economical way to get the custom look. These curtains started out as tab tops which was not the look I was going for. I needed something to hug the curtain rod so no piles in my closet peeked out.

I cut all the tabs right off and then pinned the top over to sew a pocket for the curtain rod.

For the curtain for the window, I added the little ruffle thing on top. This is my cheat way of getting an even hem when doing a deeper hem. I just stick on a piece of painters tape to use as a guide. So easy!

The window curtain, finished! Not the best photos but I am loving the gray fabric on the bottom. It matches the pillow I made here for our bed!

 

Here are the closet curtains finished!

Tab tops no more! These curtains were much wider than my old Pottery Barn set so it only took two to span the opening. I was planning on using three but this made it much easier. I am afraid if I had 3 panels, it would have been hard to slide them out of the way to access my wardrobe.

AND, I do realize these desperately need to be steamed... soon, I promise. I did press them but that obviously did not do a good enough job.

One thing I learned BIG time was to pay attention to the fabric repeat dimension... I did not even think about that before I cut my strips of fabric. I was trying to piece it out after the fact so that they strips matched up. They are all off a bit but it's not too noticeable when hanging... this one was the absolute worst! Oh, well. At least it's in my own house and not for someone else!