DIY Drapery Panels

My penchant for for DIY projects always has a consistent consequence. One project always breeds another! We had taken down the near 30-year-old mirror closet doors when we go the new floors. Since then, I let the open space “sit” for a while and see how we functioned here. 

Pro-tip: when you are stuck with a design dilemma, let things sit and marinate for awhile. Come back to it and pretend to see it for the first time and re-assess. Don’t give into the need to rush into anything. Thoughtfully think about what you want to get out of it. Your WHY for your DIY!

To my surprise, having this open space really felt good! The girls could access their side without bumping doors into each other. Worse yet, quibble over who got to slide the door open first. When I asked the girls what they thought, both girls gave a positive thumbs up!

To be transparent, there was a small part of me that felt like DIY-ing a closet door felt un-refined. But this isn’t our forever home. The beauty of that fact? We can experiment and try new things without feeling too bad.

Taking creative risks is always a good thing!

Using a ceiling track was a definite YES. With many client bathrooms and my girls’ shared bedroom, it has proven to be a modern, minimalistic and convenient way to hang shower curtains. It is especially helpful in secondary bathrooms where glass enclosures aren’t always needed.

First, you need to use a tape measure and find out how tall your panels will be from the floor to the curtain track.

Do you see the Parachute shower curtain peeking through with the ceiling track? So ingenious right?

Here is the shower curtain in the girls’ shared bedroom.

Due to standard shower curtains being 72″, you will need extenders like these.

Or you can sew custom length like me!

You will need the following for drapery panels:

Two panels of fabric with width of 54” each (I got the Sunbrella Fusion collection because it is cozy to feel and touch yet highly wear and stain resistant!) 

Sewing machine

Buttonhole foot

Thread

*Make sure your needle is strong enough to sew thicker fabrics. You don’t want to break your needle!

Next cut the drapery to the length one inch from the bottom of the hook to the floor. The length for us was 80″. The width of the girls’ share closet opening is 69 inches.

And yes, that’s Trav prepping the closet for painting the black trim.

Once the two panels are cut, you need to hem the edges lengthwise. I always like to iron first so it doesn’t unravel.

Then you are ready to hem the bottom! See how fast this project can go!

Hemming the bottom of the panels is important because they must act as weights to keep the panels from being too flimsy.

I sewed 4-inch bottom and 2-inch hem for the top. Some tutorials instructed to sew 8″ hems for the bottom. I didn’t find that necessary because our Sunbrella fabric was sturdy enough. I felt 8″ would be too bulky.

For the top, I was a bit intimidated! Want to know why?

I never thought I would dare to sew buttonholes!

 

 

Fortunately, it wasn’t hard at all. Mind over matter is the key to successful projects!

After measuring about one hole per 6 inches, the easiest part was watching the sewing machine move by itself and automatically sew the square buttonhole.

Next, it was time to cut the fabric within the hole where the curtain hook latch into.

I have the best hack for you!

Place a pin on the top of the buttonhole so that your seam ripper won’t go right through! Which unfortunately happened to me!

Once you finish placing slits in the holes, you are ready to hang the drapery!

Yes, it’s that easy!

The white drapery is such a lovely contrast to the black trim! Gah, I can’t wait to add more black trim somewhere in my home. Maybe even a wall!

The best part of using the drapery as closet doors is the easy double access for the girls. They can grab clothes on their side of the closet at the SAME TIME!!

No more quibbling or smushed fingers!

PS Do your kids love drawing on furniture as well?

And the swinging chair won’t bang into the mirror doors either. Win, win, win!!

And I know what you’re thinking, how in the world are their closets so empty?! Welp, the girls have outgrown a lot of their clothes. So I took this opportunity to slowly go through and edit.

Bonus: I can take pretty pictures and pretend their closet is this clean all the time. Escapism is alive and well over here.

Ok, here are some more gratuitous shots for all you organizational fans!

 

And here’s my two cuties enjoying the drapery! Well worth all the frustration of threading a needle!

So, what’s your opinon now about a) using drapery as closet doors and b) sewing your own!

Share with me and I’d love to see your take on it!