Several years ago I made a collection of aqua & brown animal print pillows and window treatments for Laura’s master bedroom & bathroom.
Recently she sent the remnants from that project and asked if I could make a small cafe curtain for a tiny window in her bathroom.
Today I’m going to show you how I pieced the various remnants to create a coordinating cafe curtain. GETTING STARTED
Laura’s Window – 23″ wide x 42″ h
Finished Cafe Curtain – 2 panels 23″ wide x 30″ h
There was just enough left over fabric to make the body of the curtain from the aqua zebra print and the cuff from the aqua floral. I used the brown animal print as a contrasting facing and the trim and crinkle fabric to embellish the cuff.
Aqua Zebra – Body of curtain. Cut 2 panels 27″ wide x 38.5″ high. Hem each panel with a blind hem stitch to create a 4″ double hem. Panel will be 30.5″ long x 27″ wide at this point.
Brown Animal Print – Back facing. Cut 2 pieces 23″ wide x 4.5″ high.
*Normally the animal print would be cut the width of the lining but in this case I was working with tiny remnants so it’s only the width of the curtain.
Aqua Floral – Finished 5″ Cuff. Cut 2 pieces 26″ wide x 6″ high.
Cuff Lining – Cut 2 pieces 22″ wide x 6″ high.
Brown Crinkle – Finished 3″ Cuff ruffle. Cut 2 pieces 46″ wide x 7″ high.
Curtain Lining – Cut 2 pieces 26″ wide x 33″ high. Hem each panel with a 2″ double hem.
Lining will be 29″ long at the point.
CONTRAST FACING
When creating a droop style curtain I often add a contrasting fabric to be seen within the droops. Since this curtain was all about mixing and matching it was definitely a good choice to include this contrast.
To achieve this you can use a contrasting fabric for your lining OR add a facing to the top upper back of the lining.
Turn under a 1/2″ seam along the lower edge of the facing.
Aligning raw edges, topstitch facing in place along the upper portion of lining. 
This shot shows how the facing & lining will be positioned on the curtain.
THE RUFFLED CUFF
With right sides together sew cuff ends to lining using a 1/2″ seam.
This will give you a 1″ hem (where the face fabric is folded towards the back) on each side.
Be sure the hems are even in size and mark (with a pin) the bottom outer edge on each side.
Create your ruffle by folding the 7″ in half lengthwise and hemming each end. You can use this method to gather your ruffle.
Evenly space ruffle along lower bottom edge of cuff between pins. Gather ruffle evenly.
And stitch in place using a 3/8″ seam. 
Place lining over stitched ruffle…
and sew together using a 1/2″ seam. 
Turn cuff right sides out and iron.
*If you prefer, you can sew any trim on at this point. I prefer waiting until the curtain is finished. Especially if the trim is long and/or heavy. It just gets in the way.
ATTACHING CUFF TO CURTAIN
Center cuff along the upper edge of curtain and pin in place. Right sides up for both.
The extra fabric on each side of the cuff will be your side hems. 
Center lining right sides together over curtain and pin in place. 
You will notice my lining is slightly narrower than the curtain.
I do this on purpose so I will have a bit less fabric when folding my side hems. 
Sew all layers together along the upper portion of curtain only using a 1/2″ seam. 
Ideally, this is what the bottom of your curtain should look like at this point. Right sides together.
OOOOOPS!
The upper portion of my curtain looks exactly like it should.
Do you see what I did wrong?
When placing the cuff on the curtain the curtain was turned wrong side up.
Time to pull out the seam ripper.
Be sure to DOUBLE CHECK that you have all the pieces of your curtain going the correct direction and sew together…again.
Lay pieces out and iron seam flat.
Fold curtain together along seam and iron.
At the point lay the curtain face down and fold in the extra fabric on each side to create a 1.75″ to 2″ double side hem. Stitch in place using a blind hem stitch.
*You can also topstitch the side hem in place if you’re more comfortable using a straight stitch rather than the blind hem stitch. The blind hem gives the curtain a cleaner look. 
Here’s how the upper portion of the side hem will look. My blind hem stitch was acting up with the thicker fabrics and looks a tad wonky in places. 
Whip stitch closed the bottom on top portions of each side hem. 
I prefer to sew my trims in place. You can see the stitch lines above.
You can also use fabric glue if you prefer. 
Hint: Anytime I will be adding a tassel trim over a ruffle I make the ruffle 1/2″ to 3/4″ longer than the trim and no longer. I think the proportions look best at this length. 
The combination of upholstery weight fabrics and a stiff tassel trim made this curtain have a mind of it’s own.
Once I had the droops how I wanted them I tied the cuff and hem on each curtain and left them hanging like this for several days to encourage the curtain to do what I wanted it to do.
*Use 4-5 rings per panel if don’t want a droop.
Some fabrics are more stubborn than others so this is a great trick to train your window treatments to hang the way you prefer.
FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Finished Cafe Curtain – 2 panels @ 23″ wide x 30″ long”
Finished Cuff – 5″ cuff + 3″ ruffle = 8″ total
Tiny but oh. so. cute!
And literally made from scraps.
See the rest of Laura’s coordinating curtains and pillows here.
See more sewing tutorials here.
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