No-Sew Shower Curtain Curtains {Tutorial}

The bold grellow stripes and bubbly pattern on these curtains add immediate personality to the nursery.  As if the deep teal walls were not intriguing enough, I had to add a big pattern and pop of color.  Both curtain panels were made from one fabric shower curtain and a couple yards of my own fabric design.

I was inspired to make these curtains after seeing a post on Lay Baby Lay about shower curtain curtains.  Joni recommended splitting a shower curtain in half and attaching fabric to the bottom to make curtains.  I just happened to have a brand new fabric shower curtain perfect for the nursery.  I had the stripe shower curtain in Citron from West Elm.  I bought it thinking it was yellow enough to use in the boys bathroom (which will be grey and yellow), but I should have been tipped off by the color name Citron.  It was too green, but the color looked marvelous in the teal nursery.  The decorative fabric to add to the bottom was an easy re-order from Spoonflower of the same Mud Puddles fabric I designed for the crib skirt.  I ordered 2 yards for this project, but used less than 1 1/2 yards.

I opted for a no-sew project.  It required a few rolls of hem tape, but sometimes I prefer not to have stitching lines.  Also, since I often craft after the kids go to bed, the iron is a lot quieter than the sewing machine.

No-Sew Shower Curtain Curtains Tutorial

Preparation:

• I cut the shower curtain in half lengthwise.  I found the easiest way to do this was to fold it in half and cut down the fold line.  I noticed the bottom stripe on the shower curtain was wider than the rest.
• I cut the bottom hem off the shower curtain so the stripe would be the same width plus a 7/8″ seam allowance needed for the hem tape.
• I cut my two yards of fabric into two-1 yard pieces.  I cut each piece the same width as half the shower curtain plus a 7/8″ seam allowance needed for the hem tape on the already stitched side of the shower curtain.

1.  Apply iron-on hem tape (I like Heat N Bond UltraBond Iron-on Adhesive) to one side of each fabric panel with the 7/8″ seam allowance.

2.  Remove the paper backing from the hem tape, fold the hem over, and iron.  This hem will match up with the side of the shower curtain that has the original stitched hem.

3.  Apply hem tape to the bottom of the shower curtain panel and remove the paper backing.

4.  Lay the decorative fabric on top right side down on top of the shower curtain panel with edges aligned.  The hemmed side of the decorative fabric should be on same side of stitched shower curtain.  Iron to fuse the hem joining the two fabrics.

5.  Fold the decorative fabric back and iron flat.

6.  Apply hem tape to the entire unfinished curtain panel edge…the whole length of the shower curtain panel and attached decorative fabric.

7.  Remove the paper backing, fold over, and iron to hem the side.

Take a break from ironing and hang your curtains: Before hemming the bottom of the panels, hang the curtain panels from a curtain rod and curtain ring clips (I got mine at Target).  With the panels hanging from the curtain rod and opened flat, use straight pins to mark a line where the panels hit the floor.

8.  With the curtains still hanging, flip the bottom of the panel up onto the ironing board with wrong-side up.  Directly under the pin line, apply a strip of hem tape.

9.  Cut the excess fabric off below the hem tape.  Remove the paper backing, fold over the hem, and iron in place.  The curtains will dust the floor perfectly.

To hang my curtains, I chose a gun metal curtain rod from Target with clear acrylic ball finials.  I love the playful bubble look, which I repeated with the DIY sputnik mobile and the fabric on the curtains and crib skirt.  Since they did not have small gun metal curtain clips, I chose mocha colored clips to blend with the curtain rod.

I must confess these curtains are just for looks…we already have 2″ white blinds for light control.  The window is over 6 feet wide, so these panels are decorative (each only about 36″ wide).   The panels help soften the large window, as well as add another opportunity for color and pattern in the room.

These curtains reaffirm my love for the teal and lime color combination.  The nursery is now at once preppy and fun.

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