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Make This: Tab Top Curtains Tutorial

DIY Tab Top Curtain Tutorial

We just love the look of custom home decor, and curtains are no exception.  Especially since we love quilting, it’s fun to tie the curtains into the color scheme of the quilts and decor in a room.    Since Audrey’s house has nine-foot ceilings on the main floor, it’s hard to find ready-made curtains that are long enough to go floor to ceiling, which is a look we love.  It’s easy to make your own curtains, and today we’ll show you how!

To start, you’ll need a bit of yardage.  For our curtains, we cut two lengths of regular quilting cotton at 3 yards each, or the height of the ceiling.  This will give you a bit of extra for hems and such.  We used a print from Joel Dewberry’s Birch Farm line.  We’ll have this and other prints available on our website soon!  You can also use upholstery fabric, or heavier linen/cotton blends.Tab Top Curtains 1Next, cut two 4″ strips for the facings on the back of the tab tops.Tab Top Curtains 2For the tabs, cut two 6″ (or wider if you want longer tabs) strips, then cut each strip into 5″ rectangles.  Each of our curtain panels used 8 tabs, but you can do more or less, depending on how tightly you want the curtains to close.  We don’t recommend having tabs more than 6″ apart. Tab Top Curtains 3Now, make each tab by folding the rectangles in half with right sides together, sewing along the long edge with a 1/4″ seam.  Turn inside out and press flat.Tab Top Curtains 4Repeat for all tabs.
Tab Top Curtains 5Next, hem the sides of each panel.  We just turned the selvage over twice.  Iron the folds to make them easier to sew, or if you’re a hem wizard like Diane, just fold it as you go!  You can also use a walking foot to keep things from shifting around.Tab Top Curtains 6Once the sides are hemmed and pressed, fold the tabs in half and space them out evenly along the top edge of the panel, with the tabs folded and the raw edges at the top of the panel.Tab Top Curtains 7Sew each tab in place with a 1/4″ seam.Tab Top Curtains 8Once the tabs are sewn on, grab the facing piece.  Fold in the side seams twice and the bottom edge up about 1/2″.  Press these in place, but don’t sew them just yet.  Lay it right sides together with the curtain panel.  The tabs are sandwiched in there between the panel and the facing.  Sew these three layers together across the top with a 3/8″ seam.Tab Top Curtains 9Press the seam open.  Once you press it as shown below, you can also fold the facing onto the back of the curtain panel and press along the top again.
Tab Top Curtains 10On the back of the curtain panel, sew the facing down close to the folded edge.  You can sew up the side of the facing, or just leave it open.Tab Top Curtains 11Now, hang the curtain on the rod and mark the bottom hem with a pin.  I like my curtains to brush the carpet, so they go just past the bottom.  It ended up being a 3.75″ hem.Tab Top Curtains 12Press the hem along the bottom of the curtain panel.  Fold the raw edge under about 1/2″ and press, then sew into place, just like we did with the facing.
Tab Top Curtains 13That’s it!  Press the curtains with steam right before you hang them on the rod, and they will look amazing!DIY Tab Top Curtains 2 DIY Tab Top Curtains 3 DIY Tab Top Curtains

Love!  We wish you could all see these in person, since they are quite hard to photograph with all the light coming in the window.  They make a bold color statement, and they couldn’t be more perfect for this room.  We love that lighter weight quilting cotton lets the sun glow through.  We’ve got a few more pairs of curtains to get done now!signature

 

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9 Comments

  1. Hi Audrey and Diane, Well done – the tab top curtains look great and your instructions are very clear! Thanks for sharing the directions! Blessings, Janet

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  3. Love the tutorial! To get a good feel for how wide/bulky to make my fabric, can you please post a photo of the curtains when they are closed? Thanks!

  4. Hi! I’m a very new to sewing and this was clear enough that I used it to make my first project! I’m following your IG now but I wanted to thank you for this pattern!

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