DIY Vintage Bedsheet Fabric Patchwork Curtain

Hi guys! I hope you all are having a lovely week so far! I am really excited because this weekend is the Liberty Antique Festival in Liberty, NC. It is one of the best shows close to me and my favorite I have been to thus far! Today I thought I would share a tutorial on how I made my vintage patchwork curtain with you all. I had originally made this curtain to be a shower curtain for my guest bathroom, but I may end up using it in the kitchen for my sliding glass door. It looks fantastic in both rooms, but as I rarely go in the guest bathroom(aka the cat’s bathroom) I think I would enjoy it more in the kitchen. This curtain I made the easy way, no topstitching, buttonholes, or lining. I am lazy when it comes to sewing, what can I say. Here’s how I made my fun patchwork curtain:

What You Need:

*Vintage Sheet Fat Quarters (I bought mine here)

*Linen Fabric (See instructions below for determining how much fabric you need)

*Quilting Ruler

*Scissors or a Rotary Cutter

*Sewing Machine and Thread

*Ribbon

Instructions:

The first thing you will want to do is determine how much fabric you need. You will need to measure the area where you will be putting your curtain, being sure to measure from where the rod is down to where you wish it to fall. Decide how large you wish your squares to be. I made my squares to be 9″ which is including the 1/2″ seam allowance for all sides. You can make your squares smaller if you wish. I was able to get four squares from each fat quarter I had. So I divided my measurements by nine to decide how many squares I would need( 64ishx82- /9=8 squares across and 10 down which would be a total of 80 squares) I decided to use linen on the bottom of my curtain to take the place of the bottom two rows of patchwork, so I ended up with a strip of linen to be 18×64, and 64 9″ squares of fabric. So I bought 16 fat quarters of vintage sheet fabric and 2 yards of linen. Once you have all of your fabric gathered, cut your 9″ squares and the bottom linen band with a rotary cutter or scissors. Making the patchwork is really pretty easy. Pin one square to another at the side with the right sides facing. Then pin another square to the second square at the side seam with right sides together. Repeat with the other squares until you have a row of eight squares pinned together in a row. Pin your other rows as the first. Once it is all pinned, you need to machine stitch the pieces together with a 1/2″ seam allowance. Start with the beginning of the row, and work your way across until you have a row of eight squares sewn together at the sides. Repeat with your other rows. Once you have your eight rows, you need to press open the seam allowances. Now, pin the two top rows together with right sides facing, and matching up your seams at each square. Stitch the two rows down with a 1/2″seam allowance. Pin the third row to the second row right sides facing and stitch down, making sure your seams match up. Continue with the other rows until you have them all sewn together. Press open your seams. Now, stitch the linen band to the bottom of the patchwork piece using a 1/2″ seam allowance. Press under the fabric 1/4″ and then over again 1/4″  on the left and right side of your curtain and stitch down. Then fold over the bottom to the back and stitch that down too. To create the top I chose to hang mine with ribbons. Decide how long you need your ribbons to be to tie your curtain. I made mine 7.5″ long. I wanted to have a ribbon at each end and then one at the side seams of the squares, so I cut two ribbons for each of my nine spots at 7.5″ each ribbon. I also cut a strip of fabric to use as a facing that is the width of the curtain plus seam allowance by a few inches tall. Hem the raw edges of this piece. Sandwich your ribbon ties in between the curtain and the facing with right sides together and the ribbons facing down towards the bottom of the curtain. Stitch all the way across with a 1/2″ seam allowance. Then press the seam allowance open and then press the facing down to the curtain. Top stitch 1/8″ from the top of the curtain and facing so it will hang nicely. Now hang your curtain and enjoy!

I just adore this little curtain! It gives so much vintage sweetness to a room! I love the linen band on the bottom too! Of course you can customize this little curtain with any type of fabric you like. I chose bedsheet fabric because I absolutely love the prints and the softness. Also a lot of vintage sheeting was made to be wrinkle resistant. Patchwork is a long process but it is so fun, especially when you get to the end product. The mishmash of vintage colors and patterns makes me all cheery! I hope some of you will give this one a go sometime. You’ll have a blast! I’ll be back Thursday with another fun DIY. Until then…

Happy Crafting!