I don’t have a sewing machine and I don’t have the money or inclination to buy commercially made drapes. So what is a classy, city-apartment-dwelling, bachelor to do? Well between eating cheap Chinese delivery, and drinking crystal light with vokda (what did I say…classy), I put together these no sew window drapes for my living room windows.
Engineering Requirements
My living room has a long wall of three windows facing east. In the morning, the sun can be very intense. My drapes needed to be ten to eleven feet long and not let through even the most intense direct sunlight. Oh, and no sewing. Since I don’t have a sewing machine, I’m certainly not hand sewing eleven feet of drapes. Oh and it has to be cheap; what’s the point of DIY if it’s not cheaper than the commercial alternatives. Wait…don’t answer that question.
The Solution
The basic design is painter’s drop cloths hung from a long curtain rod. They are already hemmed and the connection to the curtain rod can be achieved by grommets hammered into the cloth.
The Curtain Rod
First, the long curtain rod: actually two shorter ones connected together. If you remove the plastic end from one rod and screw it to the one in the other rod. Then end result is one long rod that spans the whole length of the windows. Be sure to put a support bracket right under the connection.
As far as choosing the rods, just choose something you like. There’s no real advantage to one over the other. Just be sure the diameter is reasonable: no more than 5/8″.
The Drapes
Why do I always think Cry-Baby when talking about the drapes? Painter’s drop cloths come in 9′ x 12′ and 12′ by 12′ and I needed a double layer to block the light. Two 9′ x 12′ cloths folded in half to make 9′ x 6′. The idea was to have the extra 10″ or so drape luxuriously on the floor. However, because of stiffness of the raw cotton and the radiator in the middle of those windows I ended up pinning up the excess with safety pins.
About 2.5″ from the top I hammered in 5 grommets spaced evenly across each cloth. Then I just used an S hook to connect the grommet to the rod. Voila, no sew window drapes…with a rough industrial sort of look.
Disadvantages
The only disadvantage to this technique is that the S hooks will not pass over the brackets that hold up the rod. This makes it difficult to fully open and fully close the drapes (though not impossible).
Price Breakdown
curtain rods $15 each
drop cloths $17 each
grommet kit $13
S hooks $1.25 each
Total $90
next time I do it on a regular size window: $38
Summary
I think this is a pretty cool (and manly) way to do window drapes. You can also dye the drop cloths to match the other colors in your room. While this may not be quite as manly, it is a pretty good idea. I think I’d use this technique again.
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