We made simple closet curtains from bed sheets for my kids’ closet so they can easily get into their closet and easily close it up again. Either way, it looks nice.
My daughters’ closet used to have large sliding doors. They were ugly. They also only let you see one side of the closet at a time. That was a huge conflict since each sister had one side of the closet. So we took them off.
For a while, the closet was just open. It was easy to get into, and there was no fighting, but the mess of stuff spilled out and filled the whole room. We reorganized the closet, which helped a lot.
But, the open closet still made the room look cluttered and full. We needed a way to close off the closet without causing problems. Something cheap and easy too. Simple curtains were the perfect solution.
We made the curtain hardware from PVC pipes spray-painted silver. You can read how we made the PVC curtain hardware here.
How to Determine Curtain Size
A good curtain has fabric that is at least 1 1/2 times the width of the window (or the closet opening). The wider the fabric, the fuller the curtains will be. The opening to this closet is 6 feet or 72 inches. Add another foot to for the return (extra space around the closet that the curtain needs to cover). That’s 84 inches total. There will be two curtains, so each curtain needs to be at least 1 1/2 times 42 inches, of half the total closet. Each curtain needs to be at least 63 inches.
A twin sheet is about 66 inches wide. The perfect width for the closet curtains. We bought two of the cheapest white twin sheets we could find. Curtains, especially these, don’t need to be made from nice fabric. No one is going to be wearing them, or even touching them much. We found some microfiber sheets from Walmart for about $15 each. (They came in a set with a fitted sheet that will go on the bed, when I get to that project).
Making Curtains from Bed Sheets
Do you ever try to take a short-cut that ends up taking 10 times as long? I do, and this project was one of those times. I should have hung the sheets on the PVC hardware through the wide hem of the sheet. Then hemmed the sheets/curtains to the exact correct length while they were hanging up. That would have been smart and easy. Below is the video I made on how to hem curtains, so you can do it right and save time.
Do as I say, not as I do. Instead of hanging and hemming the curtains, I tried to skip hemming. I sewed the lace trimming on the sheet, and then tried to hang the curtains at the right height. I had to put up, take down, and adjust each curtain at least 10 times. I even took a picture. Bad idea.
Once you have hung and hemmed the curtains correctly, take them down and add trim. Curtains made from sheets need trim, or some other added detail, to disguise that fact that it’s a bed sheet. You can sew it on by hand or with a sewing machine. Whatever works best for your trim. This eyelet lace matched the balloon shades on the window, and I sewed it around the inside and bottom of each curtain with a sewing machine.
Add Curtain Tie Backs
These curtains need to be able to open and stay open so there is access to the closet (and my girls can clean their room). Curtain tiebacks hold the curtain open. You can buy J-shaped curtain tie backs in many different styles. Or you can think outside of the box and use something else. I used two coat hooks that we already had.
I spray-painted the hooks silver to match the PVC hardware.
The hook can hold the curtain back on either of its two hooks. It’s easiest just to push the curtain behind the back hook, but when I take time to push it behind just the first hook, the hook itself is all but hidden.
Either way, these hooks hold the curtains back very nicely.
Finished Closet Curtains
I am really happy with how the curtains look in my daughters’ room, and so are they. Opened, they allow easy access to both sides of the closet, while still hiding some of the clutter.
Closed, the curtains add a nice texture to the room, and since they are white, they make the room look a little bigger. That’s important in this very tiny bedroom.
And now one wall of the room is finished!! You can read about how we made those cute framed flower pictures here. And read about how we reorganized the closet for my tweens here. Or see how to make those balloon shades here. You can see in the pictures that we used some of our tissue paper flowers from the fairy garden birthday party to decorate the wall. My girls are decorating with a flower theme right now. I’ll be sharing more about decorating my tween girls’ room as we finish it.
This post was shared at some of my favorite link parties.