How To Sew Easy Ruffle Curtains

Here’s how to sew beginner-friendly curtains with a ruffle on the top.

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Here’s how to sew some easy curtains with a ruffle on top!

You will need basic sewing skills to sew these curtains.

These curtains do NOT require any extra hardware outside of a curtain rod. (no extra rings needed!)

I really simplified things and used this tension rod so that I didn’t even need to screw in any screws to my walls!

Keep reading the photographed tutorial below, or watch me make these in my YouTube video.

Measure Your Window

The first thing you’ll want to do is measure your window and fabric.

Measure the length of your window (the top to how long you want your curtains to hand) and add about 10″ to that measurement. This will be the length of your curtain panels.

Then, measure the width of your window. This will be the length of one curtain panel.

I’d suggest making two curtains panels. If you’re making just one panel, I would add 1″-2″ to how wide you want your singular curtain panel to be.

Cut Your Fabric

For these curtains, you’ll want to first iron your fabric/lining, then cut your main fabric and a lining fabric.

If you’re cutting very very neatly (like with a quilting ruler and rotary cutter), you can cut the lining the same size as the fabric.

However, if you’re doing a rough cut, I would suggest cutting out the lining about 1″ larger than your main fabric, all the way around.

Cut your fabric and lining. They will be very simple rectangle shapes.

Sew Lining and Fabric Together

Take one main fabric piece and one lining piece, and lay them right sides together.

Sew all the way around, leaving a portion open that’s just large enough to turn your curtain panel right side out.

Turn out your curtain panel, and at the opening you left, fold those raw edges to the inside of the panel so everything is neat and straight. Iron everything flat.

Top stitch all the way around your panel, very close to the edge. This step is very important so that you have very neat curtains that stay in place.

While top stitching, it is helpful to set your sewing machine to a longer stitch length. This will help your stitches to look neater and straighter. Don’t forget to return your settings back to a regular stitch length before moving along!

Sew A Place For Your Curtain Rod

Next, you’ll be creating a ruffle and a tunnel for your curtain rod to go through, all with making one fold at the top of your curtain panel.

Lay your curtain pretty-side down on a table.

Place your curtain rod where you’d like it to hang.

Fold the fabric over your rod, so that the bottom of the fold is just below the curtain rod. Adjust the height of the ruffle so that it is however tall you’d like it to be.

Pin right below the curtain rod, and about 1″ above the curtain rod — just enough so that the curtain rod will slide back out (test this!).

Draw a straight line using a ruler to determine where you will sew above the curtain rod.

Take out your curtain rod. The front of your curtain panel should lie straight, and the back of the curtain should have a little “hump” where the rod will be.