Making dining room drapes is a great way to add style, flair and warmth to the room where you entertain guests and eat your meals. Depending on the style of your dining room, you will have several options when deciding what kinds of drapes to make and what they will look like. Generally speaking, dining rooms have a bit of a formal air, so you will probably want to select a heavyweight fabric in a color that matches or complements your existing décor. Regardless of the fabric you select, spending time and money to make dining room drapes is an investment that will pay off for years to come.
Instructions
1. Decide where you want to place your drapery rod. For formal drapes, you will want to hang the rod close to the ceiling. For more casual drapes, you will want to hang the rod on or just above your window frame.
2. Measure from the location of the drapery rod to where you wish the drapes to hang. Measure up to 1/2 an inch before the floor for formal drapes. For more casual drapes, you may wish to measure to the window sill or just below.
3. Add 4.5 inches to the measurement you have just taken, 3 inches for the top seam allowance and 1 1/2 inches for the bottom hem.
4. Measure the width of the curtain rod you will be using. In order to create the illusion of a longer window, extend the rod so that it hangs a few inches beyond the window frame on either side. Measure the width of the rod from left to right and add 3 inches for the side hem.
5. Multiply the measurement you arrived at in Step 4 by 1.5 to 3, depending on the desired fullness of your drapes. Multiplying the width measurement by 3 will yield very full and luxurious drapes, whereas multiplying it by a smaller number will yield a flatter drape.
6. Take the measurements to a fabric store and have them cut fabric panels for you in the correct dimensions. If you are getting lining for your curtains, have it cut 3 inches narrower and 3 inches shorter than your curtain fabric.
7. Lay the curtain fabric on the table, "wrong side" up. If you are using lining, lay it on the table, right side up, so both "wrong sides" of the fabric are pressed together.
8. Fold the curtain fabric over a 1 1/2-inch seam on the sides and bottom onto either the lining or the "wrong side" of the curtain fabric.
9. Secure the seam with straight pins, and then sew along all three sides.
10. Fold the top part of the curtain panel down 1/2 an inch either onto the lining or onto the "wrong" side of the fabric.
11. Secure this first seam with straight pins and then sew.
12. Fold the seam down an additional 3 inches and sew a straight line along that first hem, in order to make the pocket for the rod.
13. Repeat Steps 7 through 12 to make the rest of the fabric panels.
14. Slip the panels onto the rods when you are ready to hang them.
Tags: curtain fabric, , casual drapes, dining room, dining room drapes