Easy no-sew burlap curtains

Easy no-sew burlap curtains

This is one of those projects that is so easy it’s almost embarrassing. You know the ones? But we’ve gotten so many compliments on our new kitchen curtains that I just have to show you how I made them in a few easy steps — and no sewing necessary! Phew.

I always knew I wanted burlap curtains in our kitchen. The room is so white, black and grey that I thought burlap would go a long way toward adding some warmer tones and textures and keeping the room from being too cold and sterile feeling. It’s also the perfect material for an “urban farmhouse” kitchen. I really love all the light that comes in our tall kitchen window, but we needed some privacy. Burlap is nice because it lets some light in, and doing a half-curtain allows all that unfiltered light to still come in the top half of the window.

I started with some plain brown burlap that I ordered from Joann.com, which was just over $2/yard with a coupon. Originally I was hoping to be able to use some of the many, many, many yards of burlap we have left over from our wedding, but unfortunately the strips weren’t wide enough (table runner size) and they looked silly on our window. Boo. At least 2 bucks per yard is still super cheap. (I tried to convince Andy to go for gold polka dot burlap but he wasn’t interested. Ugh, boys.)

Step one: I measured the window and cut the burlap using the same technique that I’ve shared before of pulling out one string and then cutting along the line it creates to make a straight cut. Burlap can be kind of a pain to work with, but knowing this trick makes it way easier. My fabric had finished edges, so I used those as the sides of the curtain panels and used the cut, frayed edges for the top and bottom. Also, I purposefully left the curtains a little long at first so I could hem them once they were hanging. Better too long that too short!

Helpful hint #1: don’t use your nice scissors to cut burlap. It will dull your scissors like crazy.

Step two: starting in the middle of my panel, I pinched together some of the fabric to make a sort of tri-fold and then attached a curtain clip about an inch down from the top. I thought the pleats kick up the sophistication level a notch, while the burlap lets the curtains stay informal. The best part about burlap is that it’s so casual you really don’t need to worry about everything being perfect.

Step three: I used my cell phone to space out my folds/clips, following the same pattern all the way across.

Step four: once all of my clips were in place, I eyeballed them and adjusted some of the spacing to make sure everything looked pretty symmetrical. Then I repeated the whole thing for the second panel and then threaded my curtain rod through all the rings.

Once the curtains were up on the window, I decided they needed to be shortened about an inch, so, again, I just selected the proper string, pulled it out, and then trimmed along the bottom edge. I purposefully left the edges a little frayed because I think it looks better.

Helpful hint #2: to prevent further fraying, run a thin line of hot glue across the inside bottom edge of your curtain.

I love our new curtains! I made some for the pantry, as well, but they cover the whole window. These burlap curtains definitely warm up the space, make me feel less exposed to our neighbors, and let in a great amount of light. The pleats make them seem more professional. Plus, I love any project that involves not sewing. I’m so good at not sewing!

What do you think? Have you made any curtains lately?

— Kerry