Once I began planning for our laundry room replace, I knew I wanted an answer for hiding all our footwear underneath the bench. I used to be continually lining them up and making an attempt to maintain them organized and it at all times simply regarded like a sizzling mess. I really like the look of a sink skirt and thought it could be tremendous cute to make a shoe skirt! So I started working on making my very own no-sew pinch pleat curtain to cover all our footwear!
Exhibit A: I’m truthfully shocked it took me 7 years to determine to cowl this up. We use this room SO MUCH and irrespective of how arduous I attempted it was inconceivable to maintain the footwear neat and tidy. I needed one thing that was nonetheless practical but additionally fairly and a curtain appeared like an awesome alternative. It could disguise the mess however can be simple to drag to the aspect and get to our footwear once we wanted them.
WHY PINCH PLEATS?
In case you take a look at any skilled inside designers work, likelihood is you’ll see pinch pleat curtains. They provide a really tailor-made and splendid look, creating a really excessive finish look. More often than not these curtains are customized made and might value a LOT of cash as a result of they require additional cloth, however I used to be shortly shocked at how simple they had been to make myself.
I truly do personal a stitching machine nevertheless it’s been a sizzling minute since I used it and by the point I figured all of it out once more I’d in all probability already be finished with this no-sew technique! I’ve used iron-on adhesive earlier than and was tremendous impressed with the outcomes so I used to be keen to present it a attempt on these curtains.
MATERIALS FOR NO-SEW CURTAINS
I’m so in love with the material I selected for this venture. I found these stunning block print textiles on Etsy and instantly knew I’d be utilizing one in all them. They remind me of my DIY Block Print Desk Runner I made final 12 months! As soon as my samples arrived, these this dainty little tulip print was the clear winner. And bonus – I’ve additional cloth left over so I feel some pillows may be in my future ?
HOW TO MAKE A NO-SEW PINCH PLEATT CURTAIN
STEP 1: MEASURE YOUR FABRIC
You need your cloth to be roughly double the size of the completed dimension of your curtain. The way in which the sample went on my cloth, my size was already pre-determined for me and I ended up making 3 curtains whole.
On your peak, I recommend chopping the material a little bit longer than you suppose you’ll want. Then when you hem the edges and high you’ll be able to maintain them up and get a greater concept of the place to trim it.
STEP 2: HEM THE SIDES OF YOUR FABRIC
After getting your cloth minimize to dimension, you’ll be able to hem the edges in roughly one inch. In case you’ve by no means used iron-on adhesive earlier than, it’s tremendous simple! You merely minimize a bit to the size of your cloth. Fold your cloth over it, after which use your iron to make it stick!
The warmth from the iron melts the adhesive and binds the material collectively. There are totally different manufacturers of adhesive so be sure that to learn the instructions for yours! Mine wanted to be pressed for about 10 seconds a bit on the again. Then I flipped it over and pressed it once more for a number of seconds per part.
The iron-on adhesive created a everlasting bond with out having to stitch! Straightforward peasy!
STEP 3: HEM THE TOP OF YOUR FABRIC
The hem on the high of your cloth goes to be a little bit wider than your sides as a result of that is the place your pleat tape will go. Fold your cloth over and place the pleat tape on high so that you’ve got about 1/4″ house on high and backside (1/2″ whole).
Take away the pleat tape and fold the material again down. Place two strips of adhesive the size of your cloth, fold the material over it and iron it down.
STEP 4: IRON ON YOUR PLEAT TAPE
To connect the pleat tape do the identical factor as above, putting two strips of adhesive over your seam. Place the pleat tape on high and iron it in place.
STEP 5: HEM THE BOTTOM OF YOUR CURTAINS
At this level, you’ll be able to maintain up your curtain and get a greater concept of the place you need them to fall. Mine finish about 1/4″-1/2″ above the ground. You might have considered trying yours to softly drape throughout the ground or dangle barely above. Both means, I discovered it simpler to get my measurement at this level within the course of. I even hooked up one of many hooks and rings and held it on the rod.
STEP 6: INSERT YOUR PLEAT HOOKS TO CREATE YOUR PINCH PLEATS
This was truthfully the toughest a part of this complete course of. These guys are cussed and also you positively want a little bit elbow grease to get them to go in.
You will have a number of choices right here – you will notice that your hooks have 4 prongs on them. To get the traditional pleat pinch look, you’ll need to insert all 4. You too can simply insert 2 or 3. Mess around with them and see which you want greatest!
I made a decision to go together with 4 and I’ve some tricks to make it a little bit simpler for you! The primary tip is to make use of a toothpick to assist open up the slits on the pleat tape. Particularly after ironing it to your cloth, the slits are going to be very flat. Simply insert a tooth choose and wiggle it forwards and backwards a bit. In case you nonetheless have a cussed slit, you’ll be able to maintain the toothpick inserted whilst you insert the prong. Then simply slide the toothpick out.
The second tip is to insert the center two prongs first. Then insert the 2 outer ones. This made it a lot simpler than making an attempt to do all 4 proper in a row.
I used to be so excited after I turned my cloth round and noticed my first pinch pleat! It regarded so good! It’s possible you’ll have to do some adjusting with the material to ensure it’s folded the suitable means, however for probably the most half, the hooks will do all of the give you the results you want.
You too can determine how a lot room you need to go away between every hook. If you need your pleats nearer collectively, do a smaller quantity. If you need them farther aside with extra cloth in between, then you’ll be able to house them farther aside. I went with 2 empty slits between every hook.
STEP 7: HANG YOUR PINCH PLEAT CURTAIN
As soon as all of your hooks are hooked up, you’ll be able to dangle it up! With the kind of rings that I obtained, I recommend placing the rings on the curtain rod first after which hooking them onto the curtain.
I obtained the rod customized produced from Pepe and Carols who additionally made the brass kitchen rail in our kitchen. The end is unlacquered brass and the rings I bought had been a fairly shut match to that!
I’m not going to lie, I used to be tremendous impressed with myself and the way properly this turned out! I saved placing this venture off as a result of I used to be scared it was going to be arduous and take a very long time. Making my first curtain in all probability took an hour and half simply because I used to be figuring the whole lot out and the second two had been positively underneath an hour.
And now we have now the proper resolution to hiding all our footwear!
My pinch pleat curtains are a little bit extra whimsical and flowy, however if you happen to choose a extra outlined and crisp look then you’ll be able to iron your pleats.
What do you suppose? Will you attempt making your personal no-sew pinch pleat curtains?
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