Easy DIY Back-Tab Curtains

I never thought I'd be one of those curtain-making ladies. But, it happened.

I'm not going to lie, there were multiple injuries throughout this process between all the pinning and the ironing. After a few curse words and some spilled blood, I decided to stick it out and I'm really happy with the end result. Just don't look too close or you'll see my crooked stitching...

I've been working on our Master Bedroom redo for a long time. Like 7 months... yikes. I was having the hardest time finding curtains that I liked that didn't break the bank. Why are they so expensive?!

We have one big window in our bedroom, so I only needed 6 yards of fabric. For $30 total, I managed to get two customized curtain panels. Hallelujah.

You do need a sewing machine for this project though. If you're looking for a no-sew project, Stephanie from Newlyweds: North has a great tutorial on making curtains with hem tape and using curtain clips to hang them.

What you will need:
Sewing Machine = $0, owned
Thread = $0, owned
Clothing Iron = $0, owned
Pins = $0, owned
Curtain Rod = $0, previous renters left it behind so why bother?
Fabric = $30 ($4.99/per yard on sale. I used 6 yards for two panels of the Robert Allen Chic Fret fabric in Nickel. It is 45" wide, which just meant I couldn't hem the sides as much or I would lose some width. The 54" version is here)

Total Cost: $30 for two panels

Using our old back-tab Ikea curtains as a guide, I just started pinning, ironing, and sewing away. The first thing I did was cut my fabric in half so that I had two, 3-yard panels. Then, fold down the raw edges, pin, and iron them. This is the most boring part of the project, FYI. And painful, for me at least.

Once you stitch all of the sides, move on to the top and bottom hems. Measure both and pin, but do not sew the top hem yet. Only the bottom! We're going to sew the top after the tabs are pinned on.

4 inches at the top

6 inches at the bottom

(6 inches is probably a bit much, but since we're renters I don't know what our next place will be like... can you tell I'm hoping for high ceilings?)

Now, back to the slave labor. I made 12 tabs for the curtains, 6 per panel. You can use ribbon for this step, which would probably definitely be easier, but I didn't want to add to my costs.

I cut the fabric for my tabs to 5 inches by 3 inches. Fold the tabs in half with the right sides touching and stitch a hem along the longer, open side. Flip them right side out and iron.

Pin each tab on the top of your curtain panel with the top and bottom folded under (see below). Mine were a little over 6 inches apart.

Top panel in progress, using the bottom finished panel as a guide.

Sew along both the top and bottom edge of the tabs, all the way across your curtain panels. Iron the panels and hang!

It sounds like a lot but it's actually very easy. Just take your time... I made these over the course of a few days because I hated all of the pinning and ironing. The first panel is slow going because you need to figure out all of your measurements, but the second was so much easier and I think I finished that one in about 20 minutes!

I drove myself crazy trying to photograph this window. The lighting is terrible since its a huge room with only 1 window and lets be honest, I'm not so hot with my camera yet either.

I meant to get this up for y'all yesterday so it looks like you'll be getting an extra dose of me next week. Woo! Hope this inspires someone to DIY some curtains!