Curtains are a divisive subject in the sewing realm. Do you bother to make them or are they too dull a project?

Apparently I’m a glutton for boring sewing, because I’m gonna make blackout curtains for every room of my home.

Here’s the scope: I have 9 windows to cover. About half of them get full sun throughout the day, including our bedroom with it’s sunrise-facing windows. In other words, the rooms get hot and bright!

I ordered blackout lining from Amazon, which came on a big bolt. It’s shockingly cheap! The fabric is thick, with a smooth side and a fuzzy side. The smooth side faces out, the fuzzy side faces the room.

The first shell fabric I found is a groovy Tommy Bahama paisley upholstery fabric. My husband picked it out while we were shopping at a place called Pat Catan’s. It’s mega heavy weight, which led me to revise my curtain-making process mid-project (more on that later). The teal color in the pattern matches our living room wall color perfectly!!

The first curtain I made has full double-folded hems, with the blackout fabric as a lining fully encased in the hems. It looks really nice, but the weight of both fabrics makes the curtain waywardly stiff.

For the other two curtains, I pinked the side seams and bottom of the upholstery fabric, then sewed them as a single fold hem. I only attached the lining at the top and I hemmed the bottom for neatness. As a results, the curtains are easier to maneuver and they hang better. Bonus: it’s also much much faster to make!

I have new blinds installed, so you won’t see the curtains from the outside very much – even less reason to care about the back.

The final touch will be some sashes, which I plan on anchoring to the wall next to the windows to pull them to the sides when we want light. I’d like to use some twill tape or ribbons, which I have yet to acquire.

So far, they work very well at keeping out the light and heat!

Only 6 more to go…