Easy Tricks for Sewing Lined Drapes Like a Pro

I honestly cannot remember the last time I bought drapes, but it's probably been at least 25 years ago.  Every time I want a new pair, I head over to Bed Bath & Beyond because they're very affordable, but inevitably I don't find a fabric that I love and end up making my own.  I made another pair recently and thought you might find my little tricks easy, time-saving and inexpensive ~ here's how:

Start by measuring the height of your windows, from where your curtain rod is to the bottom of where you want your curtains to hang, then add about 12" to that number; this will be the length of the fabric you will need for each curtain panel.

Trick #1.  By ironing the tops and sides of your panels, you quickly prep your fabric for the lining!  Simply take your curtain panels and all along the two long sides and the top side, iron down about 1".  Then fold over these hems another 1" and iron again so that you will have a finished hem on all three sides of your panels.



Next, take your hemmed/ironed panels and lay them, face down, on your floor.

Now, grab your fabric for your lining.

Trick #2.  Use a bed sheet as your lining!  Flat bed sheets (even twin sized) are nice and long and perfect for this project.  They're almost always less expensive that buying new fabric too.  And if you can't find a flat sheet, a fitted sheet will work just as well if you just cut out the elastic around the corners.

Lay your bed sheet (in my case, I wanted narrow panels just to frame our window and used a twin-sized, coordinating green bed sheet on sale for $6 at Target) out on top of your fabric like this:



Tuck the edge of the sheet into the hemmed top and one long side of your curtain and pin it all across the top and all along the one long side:



If you have extra lining (wider than your drape fabric), cut it, making sure it's wide enough to tuck into the other long side of your hemmed drape panels.



Now pin all along this second long side.





Now you're ready to sew all along the two long sides and across the top of your panels:



I hung my drapes using clips...



...But if you want, now is the time to sew a pocket at the top of your panels for rods.  Do this by measuring your rods and adding an inch.  For example, if you have a 1" rod, measure down from the very top of your panels 1" then add an additional 1" and stitch all across the top of your panels 2" down from the top; this is the pocket where you'll insert your rods.

To easily hem the bottoms of your panels, it's best if you hang them first.  Once hung, you can crouch down on the floor and pin where you want them to hang.  Then you take them down, iron the bottoms where you've pinned them and then stitch in the hems.






 

  Now you're ready to hang your newly-lined drapes.



And admire them.  And celebrate how easily and inexpensively you made them!