THE FARMHOUSE

This year I added cafe curtains to our pantry and I love the warmth and homeyness they add. But the Morris lemon tree print wasn’t exactly screaming winter holidays. So last weekend I pulled out my sewing machine and made another round of these quick and easy cafe curtains, this time with a more-festive print. Today I’m sharing the pattern and a step by step sewing tutorial for these simple window treatments.

rod, curtain clips, pendant light, stool, rug, writing roll, cabinet latch, drawer pull, Cathy’s sweater

I picked out a traditional French toile de jouy fabric for these curtains (ordered online here). Toile de jouy patterns date back to the 1700’s and I love that they’re classic, simple, and captivating. Of course there’s nothing technically holiday about the fabric, but the red color and nostalgic feel lend a holiday-esque vibe to a festive kitchen. And that’s the perfect amount of holiday for kitchen curtains IMO.

DIY Cafe Curtain Tutorial

fabric (I used 1 yard per window of this fabric, pre-washed)
Thread
Sewing machine, good scissors, iron
rod + cafe clips (I shared more on installing our’s here)

Pattern

I asked Nana to draw a pattern for the curtains to share with you (thank you Nana!). It might be easiest to download it and print it out, which you can do below.

Download Cafe Curtain Pattern

I’m walking through the steps and providing a few tips below…

cutting your fabric

Sizing your curtains can be the hardest part of this whole DIY. I generally like cafe curtains at 1/2 of the window height, but if there’s a detail in the window somewhere higher, it can be nice to match that. And of course, sometimes for practicality, you might want the curtains a little higher, too. If you’re going to add valances, I’d keep it around 1/2 so you have some of the window showing.

Once you know the finished height you want the curtains, I cut the fabric like so:

Width: each panel should be about 2/3x to 1x the width of the window.

Height: finished height of curtain + 6”

You can definitely fudge the dimensions a bit, but these numbers are a good place to start.

Step 1

On one side of the curtain, fold 1/2” and press with a warm iron. Fold a second time and press again. Hop on your sewing machine and stitch the seam along the inside edge of your folds. Repeat with the other side of the curtain.

Step 2

At the top of the curtain, fold the top down 1/2” and press with a warm iron. Fold it a second time 3 1/2” and press again. Stitch the seam near the inside edge.

Step 3

At the bottom of the curtain, fold up 1/2” and press with a warm iron. Fold a second time 1 1/4” inch and press again. Stitch near the inside edge of your folds.

Step 4

I like to press a fold in my curtains at each clip. That helps them open how I want them to and keep their shape. I went with 5 clips per panel so ironed a crease at the center and quarter points of the fabric like so…