DIY Bed Sheet Ruffle Curtains

After making my little munchkin a Dress-Up Closet (tutorial here) for her birthday I ran into a bit of a problem... there was no more room in her room!!!  Since getting rid of something (my husband's idea) was NOT happening, I knew the only thing to do was improvise.  So I took the doors off her closet, moved the dresser inside and added a few cute baskets for shoes and accessories but it didn't look finished without curtains.  To keep this project under budget, but still chic I decide to attempt my first curtains.

I'm a very novice sewer so I took a little help from these super cheap sheet sets from Walmart. They are around 7 dollars a set and come with a flat sheet (for the curtain panel), a fitted sheet (for the ruffles), and a pillow case (for the tie backs).  I used one set for each side of the closet, so about 14 dollars total... not bad huh!?!

Since we are using the hemmed flat sheet as the base the only thing you really have to sew are the ruffles.  To make those I cut off the elastic border of the fitted sheet to make one large square of material and then along the top edge I cut one inch slits ever 6 inches or so, now is the fun part rip away!!!  You could cut them but I like the frayed edge and it was so fast.  It's a nice little stress reliever too!

Now ruffle all the torn pieces.  I just used a long loose stitch and then pulled the bobbin thread, if you have a ruffle foot for your sewing machine that would be perfect.  I on the other hand am lucky just to get the silly machine turned on, yet more proof that if I can make these you ABSOLUTELY can!

OK, once you've ruffled every scrap piece you can find, pin then to the finished flat sheet.  I just eyeballed it and evenly spaced them out in three rows.  Now sew them down to the panel with a stitch right down the center of the ruffle. Then, depending on how long you want your curtains fold over the top and sew along the top to create a channel for your tension rod.  Finally, repeat all of that for the other side.

And TA-DAH!!!  Pretty cute huh!?! I love that these are long and that even when gathered they pool a little on the floor. 

For the ties, I took a long piece from the pillow case or really any scrap you have left over and used a push pin to secure it just inside the closet frame.

This would also work great with sheets you already have on hand or you can always find them at the thrift store for super cheap.  I love the girly touch in my little divas room, and I especially love the price!

Enjoy,