No-Sew Greek Key Curtains

After living without master bedroom curtains for nearly 2 years I was ready to do something, ANYTHING, about it, ASAP! I've been searching high and low for pre-made curtains or fabric that I loved to turn into curtains for what seemed like forever but I still haven't found anything I had to have for the money it was going to cost. Being that our bedroom has 2 windows and a door leading out onto the patio that all needed window coverings the cost for pre-made curtains or fabric was quickly adding up to the tune of $150+ and because I'm not Donald Trump, I decided to forgo curtains in favor of my wallet. 

 

This project all started when I stumbled upon these Vivan curtains during one of my many Ikea trips. And the best part? They're $10 curtains people! $10!!! Although these curtains are sorta on the thin side and the color choices are limited, for $10 I figured it couldn't hurt to pick up a pair and see what I could whip up.

 

Into my cart they came and after adding some character, my $10 curtains are here to stay.

To make these curtains, here's what you'll need:

 

Vivan curtains from Ikea

Heat n Bond Hem Tape Ultra Hold

Black Grosgrain Ribbon

Scissors

Tape measure

Lighter

Ironing board

Iron

 

The first thing I did was measure the length my curtains needed to be. A tip when hanging curtains, is the higher the rod, the better. Hanging the rod high and wide draws the eye upward and instantly adds visual height to the room and makes the windows seem bigger. This diagram below perfectly depicts what I'm talking about:

 via

 

Once I had my measurements, I added 1" to the overall length to allot for the bottom hem. If you're using drapery clips, be sure to take that into account when measuring. The great thing about these Vivan curtains is that they come extra long. At almost 99" you could hang the rod even higher without worry that you'll end up with high-water curtains! And if you know anything about curtain length, you know that the longer the curtains, the more dollars are flying out your pockets, so at $10, these are a steal!

 

With my measurements and the added inch for the bottom hem, I laid my panel on a flat surface, in this case, the floor, used my measuring tape to measure, and cut to length.

(Quick Reminder: cut the bottom of the panel, not the top!)

 

Next up...the coolest part of the entire project! And guess what?! It involves absolutely NO SEWING! With your unfinished edge, cut a piece of Heat n Bond Hem Tape to equal length of the bottom edge and place it along the raw edge of your panel with the paper side up. Hold the tape in place with one hand and with the other, go over it with the iron. Once the tape has cooled down, peel off the paper, fold over the fabric that now has the hem tape adhered and go over it one more time with the iron.

 

 

(these pictures were taken from a previous project - don't mind the pink & orange fabric)

 

 Ta-da! Your hem is officially done and it required ZERO sewing! If you're at all apprehensive about how well a no-sew hem will hold up, let me tell you, do not worry your pretty little head! I've used this same method to hem my living room drapes and even after several washes, it's held up beautifully.

 

At this point I hung up my newly hemmed drapes and lived with them for a few weeks but the plain white curtains were just ho-hum boring and I just wasn't in love. So after searching the interwebs I stumbled upon this blog and after seeing that she used the same curtains I had just hemmed, I thought adding some ribbon the way she had was the perfect solution to my very boring drapes. 

 

I started by making all my ribbon and hem tape cuts. For one panel you'll need:

 

16 - 4.5" ribbon lengths

8 - 9" ribbon lengths

16 - 4.5" hem tape lengths

8 - 9" hem tape lengths

 

After I cut all my ribbon and hem tape, I ironed on all the hem tape in the same manner described above and then used a lighter to seal each of the ends. This step isn't necessary but for added durability and to prevent your ribbon from fraying, I suggest taking the time to do this.

 

To determine placement of the ribbon for your Greek key design I simply measured inward 9 inches and upwards 4.5 inches from each corner of the curtain panel, placed my first ribbon and ironed over top. After I placed my 1st 2 ribbon pieces, I just eyeballed the placement per the diagram below,  made a few passes with the iron over each ribbon piece until it was in tacked down. After going over the ribbon with your iron, the ribbon will be hot. Do not touch it. Once the ribbon has cooled down, it will firm up and the glue will have taken hold. The diagram below will better illustrate how, where, and in what order I placed my ribbon cuts. I did all four corners first before connecting the tails.

 

 

Once all your corners are done, connect all your tails as shown in the diagram below (blue lines).

 

 

And wa-la! 3 hours later, 1 panel is done. You think I'm kidding, or at least hope I'm kidding...well I'm sad to say that I'm not! Let me tell you...this project is so, so simple but it is tedious and time consuming. Just a warning! The 2nd panel only took me about 2 hrs so that's a plus! But they sure are purdy! Let's take a look!

 

You can't really tell in these pictures, which is the my point exactly, but I didn't go the extra mile and miter my corners, I just simply overlapped the ribbon and being that it's black on black, it blends seamlessly and you cant even tell that I took a little shortcut!

 

 

After living without curtains for nearly 2 years, I think these are the perfect addition to our bedroom! Even if they did take me 5 hours to make, I'd still do it again, I love them so much!

 

 

Not to mention they look stunning from afar too...

 

 

Total Project Cost:

 

1 Set (2 panels) Vivan Curtains from Ikea - $10

2 rolls Heat Bond Hem Tape from Joann's -$7 (pssst...you can get these cheaper if you use a coupon!)

Little less than 3 rolls (18ft rolls) black grosgrain ribbon from Walmart - $4.50

Curtain rod & hardware - already owned

Grand Total: $21.50

 

You just cant beat that price! Being that I have 2 windows and 1 door that needed coverings that means it cost me right around $50 for the entire bedroom! How awesome is that?! And after seeing how great these no-sew curtains turned out, my little brain is swirling with tons of ideas on how to embellish plain-ole curtains with a little ribbon and heat bond hem tape. What do you think? Will you give these a shot, or create your own unique design? I'd love to know!

 

 

 

 

 

Cut the Clutter - Closet Clean-Out

Hey guys... and welcome to my 1st official post! Can I get a woohoo?!

I don't know what it is about the ringing in of a new year that always has me itching for a fresh start but 2015 is no different. The day the clock struck midnight I wanted to purge like a crazy woman and get rid of all the clutter we've accumulated over the past 365 days and living in this smallish apartment only made this desire ever more pressing come 12:01 January 1st. Did anyone feel this way too?

January may be coming to a close but I've been working hard to get this place back in tip-top organized shape! One of the hardest hit areas of our house over the last year was our itty bitty coat closet that sits right off the front entrance. See for yourself:

 

Neat and clean? Think again! Over the last year we really used and abused this space, so much so that it was literally bursting at the seams. It was filled to the brim with so much junk that every time we tried closing the door on all that chaos, the door would pop back open.

 

The closet is right inside the doorway and a space we utilize everyday so it was the perfect 1st project for the new year. Since space is so limited in our apartment and because my boyfriend has 80 jackets (someone please tell him we live in California, not the North Pole), I really needed to find some storage solutions that would make this space work better than it had in the past.

 

So last week I decided to get this closet in order and I couldn't be happier with the result! Read on to find out how I went from that disastrous before, to this beautiful, organized after:

 

 

 One of the first things I do when tackling an organization project like this is to take note of the areas that are causing problems and preventing the space from being and staying organized. Even though this space is really small, it still had quite a few problem areas.

 

The first being the blue shoe box in the upper left hand corner of the closet. In it we keep shoe polishing supplies and while it definitely makes sense for this box to stay, having it stacked on top of those other containers made getting into the other boxes a hassle. The blue bin in the upper right hand corner of the closet held extra throw blankets and for a while keeping them here made sense but when I recently consolidated all our other blankets to the 2nd bedroom closet it no longer made sense to keep blankets here as well. The other 2 major issues with this this space was the hook rail we installed on the door of the closet. The hook rail has great potential but we were using it to hold too many bulky items that would be better suited elsewhere and I think this was a major contributing factor to the door not staying closed. The last problem area in this little closet was the mail bin we have shoved all the way in the back of the closet. It was too big, too heavy and it wasn't a great way to keep our mail or other paperwork organized.

 

 

After identifying all the problem areas, I always like to clear everything out of the space and start fresh. And when I say everything, I mean EV-ERY-THING! It really helps to see what you're working with and get a visual for how you can utilize a space better. Once I cleared everything away I started sorting through all the junk and made 3 piles...a pile to keep, a pile to donate, and a pile to trash. From this little closet I had one trash bag to donate and one trash bag to throw away. Crazy!! That's an insane amount of stuff shoved into a teeny tiny space!

 

Once I had sorted through all the contents I gave the closet a good scrub down, vacuum, and made a few cosmetic changes. We already had this hook rail from Ikea but I decided to give it a face lift with some leftover paint I already had on hand. Now we hang less bulky items here like our keys, scarves, umbrellas, and even my purse! Its a great little rail to unload all our items after just walking in the door. I also used the same paint to paint the edge and handles of the wicker basket that sits on the closet floor which I'll use to hold any items that I need to return or ship out. Something as simple as paint can breathe life into items you already own and make them feel new again and the best part is that it doesn't cost any money so long as you have the supplies on hand!

 

 

Another quick and easy fix for any closet is to change out your old plastic hangers. I've been slowly changing out all our plastic hangers over the last few years for these inexpensive ones from Ikea and they really just take any closet up a notch. They come in several great colors and every time I make a trip to Ikea, I grab a set or 2 so the conversion from cheap-o plastic hangers is a little easier on the wallet. As silly as it sounds, having matching hangers instantly and visually de-clutters even the messiest of closets.

 

 

To solve our mail issue, I added 2 wire baskets to the back of the door that I picked up from Home Goods and attached them using 3M Command Strips and Hooks. Paneled doors such as these are usually hollow so I couldn't use nails to hang up my baskets, plus these 3M Command Strips save you from having to patch any nail holes which makes them renter-friendly! And the best part about these hooks, is that even for a short girl like me, I'm able to grab top basket, bring it down to put what I need in it and hang it back up, no problem. When organizing closet spaces, don't forget to use the back of the door when you can! It's a great way to maximize space and clean up the clutter with some inexpensive baskets and hooks!

 

 

We now have a basket for incoming mail and one for outgoing mail. I printed up some simple labels on the computer, backed them on some fun scrapbook paper, ran them through my laminator (what, you don't have a laminator? Well...you really should! I use this inexpensive one I snagged at Target and it totally rocks!), hole punched them, and tied the on with some fun grey and white rope I found in the gift wrap section at Target.

 

 

 

Aren't these labels so cute? Super easy too and now there's no mistaking what goes where! Now all our mail has a fun and organized place to live and it doesn't have to hide in the depths of our closet like it did before! And while I was at it, I made labels for all the other containers too. The 2 clear bins now hold all our loose cords and chargers and emergency kit supplies like flashlights, batteries, tape, etc. Relocating the blankets in the blue bin made space to store all our reusable bags, lunch bags, and our shoe polishing supplies. 

 

 

 

Total Project cost:

 

2 wire baskets from Home Goods - $9.00 ea - $18.00 total

2 sets of 3M Command Hooks - $3.49 ea - $7.00 total

Grey and white rope from Target - $2.99

Everything else - already owned

 

Project Grand Total - $28.00

 

And that's that, folks! What do you think? Do you have some closets that have seen better days? What have you done to contain the clutter?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heidi Ho Neighbor

Hey, there!

I'm Danae. I'm a, dare I say, almost 30-something (emphasis on almost) living and loving in sunny Southern California who was made to make. Make what you say? #allthethings.

My mom tells a story about catching me red-handed painting our toilet seat purple and using her red lipstick to draw all over the brand new outfits my dad just bought for her. While at the time I'm sure she was less than pleased with me, looking back now I see it as telling of the kind of person I'd grow into be. A purple toilet seat maker. A lipstick graffiti artist. A designer of sorts if you will.

Made2Make is a DIY, home décor blog where I've finally worked up the courage to take the plunge and follow my dreams and passion to talk to you about all things that make me tick and do the happy dance - DIY and home décor. While I may have graduated from purple painted toilets and lipstick covered garments, when I'm not busy working my 9-5, I spend my nights and weekends making and creating this little place I call home.

I currently rent a smallish 1000 sq. foot apartment with my beau and our furry friend Zurg where storage space seems to be disappearing by the minute, my fat cat wants to lay all over my freshly fluffed pillows, and even though the landlord says I can't do X, Y, or Z, it hasn't stopped me from finding creative ways to make these 4 white walls a home. All while ballin' on a budget, yo!