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This isn’t a surprise to you, but my “Repurposed” entry for So You Think You Can Sew Week 2 is the flutter curtains (they’re a knock off of Anthropologie’s Tender Falls Shower Curtain).
I’ll be honest, every time I do an Anthropologie knock off, I feel like I should start my tutorial with a Big Ol’ Disclaimer. These knock-off’s, while fabulous, are a ton of work. And these curtains are no exception.
With that warning, if you want to make some fluttery, lovely, slightly labor intensive curtains, here’s the how-to.
You’ll need– two Ikea “Knoppa” flat sheets (for the curtain panels), another Knoppa sheet cut into circle ‘flutters,’ part of a cream colored sheet, cut into circle ‘flutters,’ and part of another bright white sheet (with a different texture than the linen-y Knoppa) cut into circle ‘flutters,’ a fabric cutter and a circle die (optional, but nice… I used the GoBaby! to cut out all of those circles), invisible thread and needle, sewing supplies.
First sew the curtains panels. To do so, first fold your sheet in half , right sides facing each other. Make sure the bottom hem’s finished edge matches up and pin and sew up the vertical edge. Turn right side in.
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Then measure the length from your curtain rod to the floor to find your finished length. Iron over the top edge to match your finished length. Make a curtain rod casing by turning the extra fabric under (I had to cut some off first) and make a ‘tube’ on the top edge with a finished seam (because you turned that extra fabric under and pinned and sewed in place). Optional– Fold and press your curtain in half and in half again and sew along those pressed-in-places lines. This divides the curtain up nicely and gave me good ‘markers,’ but if you’re good at eyeballing space, you might not need this step.
Sew a row of ruffles along the top of the curtain, matching up with the bottom of the curtain rod casing.
To make my flutters, I folded each circle (you use SO MANY circles for this project!) in half, then in half again. I pulled my needle through the point and then back down through the quartered circle and the curtain fabric- just once on most of the flutters, but sometimes twice.
I also used my ‘guide’ lines to divide my panels up into fifths. Before filling the top 20″ with ruffles, I sewed three vertical lines of ruffles in place. Then, I filled in each block, one at a time (using the same flutter method I described above).
Make sure you use a mix of circles to get that haphazard, fluttery look. Add more spaced out flutters on the bottom three quarters of the panel, and you’re finished!
I love having these curtains in the living room, but I think they’d be dreamy in a Master bedroom, or even in a nursery. And if you decide to take this project on (especially after I warned you about how they’re a little fussy), would you send pictures over? I’d love to see your take on them!
wowza lady. Those are mighty pretty. You are a patient hand sewer.
Hmmmm- patient or crazy. 🙂 Thanks friend!
You are my hero.
I have been logging in twice a day for the past 4 days to see whether the tutorial was up yet :)) I love, love the way you’ve made these. I am planning to make these for my living room . But I have one small doubt, Do you think the ruffles will retain their look after a wash ?
You are an amazing seamstress – I voted for you yesterday on SYTYCS . Wishing you the best of luck for the rest of the contest
Shireen – all the way from India 🙂
Shireen, this comment made me laugh (and blush!). Thanks for being so patient!
The wash makes me nervous too. Two thoughts- first, you could use jersey that won’t fray as your flutters (maybe even a jersey sheet since you need so many)! My other thought is that the whole thing is kind of ‘raw’ anyway. I made them white so that I can bleach them if I have to. And I figure the frays will just add to the charm. Hopefully I’m right because it is not a small endeavor. 🙂
Good luck! Please send pictures over when you’re done!
love
kirstin
Kirstin,
Will definitely post you the pics once I do it. Thank you so much for the tute!
I wasn’t thinking about the fraying – I was wondering whether the ruffles would get flattened /wrinkled over after a wash. After so much effort , if those ruffles get ruined , I am sure I would cry ! Do you have any suggestions , any special way – maybe a dry clean ? I am a very beginner sewer , this would take me days n days to do 🙂 , so please don’t mind if I ask stupid questions .
Thank you,
Shireen
I would love to see pictures if you ended up making these, Shireen! I love this idea and am thinking of trying it as soon as I get a job and can therefore buy a sewing machine 😀
how bout putting them in a zippered pillowcase to wash them in seems they would wear better that way…
Love that idea!
Wow! It’s gorgeous, but looks soooo time consuming!!!! I want to try, but have a question or two first. It looks (and sounds like) you sewed the flutters on by hand. Is that correct? Would it work to use a sewing machine (I hate sewing by hand!)? Or did you try that first with disastrous results?
You are right on all counts- yes, I did sew them all by hand and yes, it was oh-my-goodness time consuming!
Please try it with a sewing machine and let me know if it works. Hopefully there is a way to do this faster!!! 🙂
love
kirstin
this is gorgeous! I love the whole feel of it
Thanks friend! We do too (Burke keeps telling me how much he loves the new curtains- haha!). 🙂
Those curtains are amazing and beautiful. I really love them, and can just imagine them on the window in my guest bedroom.
…but, that tutorial!!! It inspired me to learn to love the “no curtain” look I currently have, or just throw up a plain sheet! Cause there is no way I could ever do that!
(please take my comment with the intended dose of irony!)
haha! I kind of agree. 🙂 If I’d known how much work they were beforehand, I might’ve just shelled out the money at Anthro (or found something else to love). 🙂
Very inspired by your curtains! I also have been drooling over Anthro’s shower curtain but cringe at the price! SO, I’m going to buck up and attempt to make these! However, I absolutely hate sewing (on a machine) so I thought maybe I could buy some white curtains and just hand sew on the little petals, think that would work?
Thanks for the inspiration!
Shawnie 🙂
I love this idea..Im thinking about shear white and finding hot pink and zebra print rose petals (all the wedding rage right now) if I cant find them then circles it is..
I have 2 girls and it would looks soo cute in their room….To go with my newly inspired zebra chair makeover! I love your ideas!!!
Ooooh, Sandra, I love the idea of not cutting out all of those circles! Let me know if you do it- send over a pic. 🙂
OMG! The bottom of my wedding dress had “petals” just like this! LOVE!
I love that! I bet it was gorgeous!
wow you did an amazing job xxx
Thanks Aimee! 🙂
LOVE this DIY!!! You have put so much work into this and I am about to do the same :o) One question though. How big are the circles? Thanks!!!
Hey Chris. It’s not for the faint of heart- can’t wait to see yours!!!
The circles are 2″ (with a 3″ one every 10th one or so for variety). 🙂
I am in lve with these curtains, and am currently making my own version! I am using basic broadcloth, chiffon, and satin in white, teals, and red. How did you go about spacing the ruffles? Thanks so much for this wonderful idea! I hope mine turn out similar to yours!
Kelly, that sounds GORGEOUS! I used my finger to space the upper ruffles and eyeballed the lower ones. Send over a picture when you’re done- we’d LOVE To see them! 🙂
ps- They’re a ton of work, aren’t they??? Glad to have someone who can relate!
These are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Holly!
Ahhh ! I’m so EXCITED. I’ve been looking for curtain ideas and they are friggen’ fantastic girl ! wowza.
Question : Did you cut all those little circles out by hand? (I’m sweating already…)
I have 4, 7 foot windown in my living room, I’m going to attempt this look, except since I’m a newbie at sewing I’ll be hot glueing. May work, I will keep you posted ! 🙂
(It may look a tad different, but I made a coffee filter lamp shade the hot glueing way and it looks “fluffy” 😉
Thanks SO much for sharing with us !
Hey Ashley! I used my Go Baby fabric cutter for the circles. It was still a bit of work, but not nearly the task of cutting all of those circles out by hand. Can’t wait to see yours!
Hi, so I am braving this project and finally have all of my circles cut. I am now ready to sew them on but they don’t seem to stand up like yours do, they just kind of flop over. Im not sure that Im sewing them on right. Could you please explain to a newby sewer how to sew them on in a little more detail. I would greatly appreciate it!
Thanks so much!
Shawnie
Hey Shawnie! I love it that you’re braving this project!
Ok, so I folded my circles in fourths. On most of them, I just stitched right through the folded point, but if you’re needing them to stand up more, you could also bring your thread through the point horizontally (going threw the fold) as well. The difference might be our fabric choices- some fabrics hold their shape much better than others.
If you try the double stitching, will you let me know if that worked???
You sewed each one on individually and knotted it on the back right?
No, just the ones that were spaced out at the bottom. The close together ones at the top are all sewn in one line (until I ran out of thread, and then I just started a new line).
Ok, thank you SO much for your help! I started sewing them on individually and oh my does that take some time! And you are right, the tougher fabric definitely stands up better. Thanks again for replying! Ill send you a pic once they are done =)
Shawnie
Hi i love this post and am attempting a few questions though before i get started. What size sheets did you buy at ikea?? Twin, full, queen?? And how many circles do i roughly need to cut out?? Thanks
I used one of their Knoppa flat sheets… I think those are twins (they don’t come in different sizes- they’re the 3.99 ones).
Also, I have no idea on circles. Hundreds for sure. I think I used almost another whole Ikea sheet in circles, plus part of an ivory vintage one.
Hope that helps! 🙂
I made mine I will post a picture of it soon on my blog. I did some shortcuts i will share…I LOVE THESE CURTAINS
http://www.elliephotographyblog.com/2012/anthropologie-copy-do-it-yourself-curtains/
Ellie, they look so great!
Ellie didn’t share her shortcuts on her blog. 🙁
I would pay you good money for you to make a set of these for my living area. Please let me know if you would be interested. And how much . Thank you!
What a compliment Maureen! You probably think more of my sewing than you should. 🙂
And we aren’t taking any customs orders right now, but are flattered you asked!
Where did you find the beautiful blue lamp?
Hey Judy- I got the lamp at Target. 🙂
I love your flutter curtains! Since I am not sew that well, could I buy a set from you?
So sweet of you to ask- though we aren’t accepting any custom projects right now. 🙂
*can
WOW! Im amazed how this turned out, this is absolutely stunning. How long did it take you to complete this project?
TOO LONG- haha! I didn’t keep track of the hours, but it is NOT a low maintenance project! 🙂
these are breathtaking! i cant wait to make these. i dont care how long it takes, these will be mine! mine! mine! your talent has given birth to a little green monster in me, and come hell or high water, i am gonna make these for every sliding glass door in my house! i will post pics! lol either pics of the finished products….or pics of me in a jail house line up for loosing my mind trying to make them! haha, you are so talented, cant wait for you to show us more of what you have done!
jackie- I am laughing out loud. I think I tried to warn in the tutorial- they are NOT low maintenance. but worth it if you love them like it sounds you do. 🙂 please do send over pics. 🙂
Thank you so much for this tutorial! I decided to create my own… And (you were definitely right!) they were tons of work! Here is a picture of the finished product!
file:///var/folders/2p/r_cnvwdj2w7d90trsz368jr00000gn/T/com.apple.mail.drag-T0x1038236c0.tmp.NjT8K3/photo.JPG
Grace- TONS of work, right? Oh my goodness. But they turned out so GREAT! love!
Hi! This is so gorgeous! I’m in love! Thank you so much for the tutorial, maybe one day I won’t shy away from making one myself. 🙂
Thanks for your sweet words karenina…. It is QUITE the undertaking, but turns out great!
Though, I think I saw the flutter shower curtain in Anthro’s sale section. I’d be tempted to do that if I could get it for less than $100. 🙂
So, I’ve had this pinned on my Pinterest for quite some time and have been meaning to do it for ages. I finally have a reason to– I am expecting! This will look beautiful in a nursery.
What I am curious about is how many sheets are actually used to create this. If I was reading right, it’s four, correct? Please please clarify this for me! I’d greatly appreciate it, and thank you SO MUCH for the amazing tutorial!!
Hey Meghan- CONGRATS! This will be perfect in a nursery!
Hmmm, I ended up using one whole white sheet, and about half of two other sheets. Hope that helps!
Saw this on today’s Apartment Therapy blog and followed the link to your site. Lovely and quite inspiring!
Sarah, so glad you stopped by! The project is definitely not low maintenance, but I love those curtains so much! 🙂
These are amazing and beautiful! I am not a very crafty type nor do I sew. Does anyone know where I could purchase these??
Hey Elissa- I think you can buy them at Anthro (or maybe on ebay since it’s been awhile since they’ve been in stock at Anthro). 🙂
Wow, these curtains look fantastic. When you say alot of work, how many hours are we thinking? I would love to try to make these but do not know if i have your sort of patience.
Christina, hmmm… I worked on these during two 12 hour car trips (and they still were not finished all the way). If you are worried about not having the patience, I might find them on ebay or something. 🙂
AMAZING! These would look great in a nursery but with sheer material! Tks so much for sharing.
Thanks Suzanne! Yes, they’d be perfect in a nursery! 🙂
Did You String all The Petals On A,String Line First, Then Sew The Line Onto The Fabric? That’s The ParT confusing Me
Nope, stitch them on one by one, in a line. Hope that helps!
I love your tutorial! I was hoping you could answer a couple of questions for me because I am trying to make them myself! What are the measurements for the circles you used and about how far apart did they place them? (if you have any idea, what is the ratio of larger circles to smaller ones?) Thank you so much
Hey Darcy, it’s quite the project, isn’t it? I used about three times more small circles (about 1.5″ in diameter) than larger ones (about 2.5″ in diameter). At the top of the curtain, they are placed really close together (the stitches are right next to each other) and then they space out as the flutters space out.
Hope that helps!
kirstin
Hi! I have been looking for some DIY curtains for my new place and I found your tutorial. I’m amazed, the curtains are beautiful!! I’ll do them myself for my bedroom 🙂 Thanks!!
Thanks Andreia- love that!
Hi! I found these and loved them. I just have a question about the Knoppa sheet as a curtain– how opaque is it as far as blocking views in at night? Thanks!
Julianna, these are hanging in the guest room now, and since I really want my guests to be able to get a good night’s rest, I have a darkening shade/curtain hanging behind the flutter curtains. They are pretty, but they are also fairly sheer. Hope that helps!
Thanks! Yes, it does help. I’m thinking that I would need to do the same thing– put a shade behind them of some kind. Maybe a pull shade/roll shade. I actually prefer the sheerness, but I know that my husband will want them to be solid.
Stunning!
This is probably way beyond my ability level, but I’m curious if the Knoppa curtain is pure white/bright white or whether it’s a big off white. I know the IKEA website says “white”, but it doesn’t look stark to me. Thanks!
Marie, it isn’t stark white, probably because the thread count is low enough that it’s a little sheer. The fabric itself is probably white, though.
I cant sew with a sewing machine. I dont even have one and as much as my ideals of crafty womanliness are challenged by it, the fact is I have not the least bit of interest in acquiring one. I can sew by hand well enough. So I was wondering if you had any suggestions on how I might create these dreamy fluttery curtains without one.
Marcy- almost all of this is hand sewing (all of the flutters). To make without a sewing machine, I would buy a pair of basic white linen curtains and sew on the flutters as directed in the tutorial. Hope that helps!
Hi, I love this curtains and have started making some myself. My friends and family think I’m crazy as they are going to take a long time but I find it very relaxing and winter is coming ha ha. I am also a lazy reader and am just using your images as instructions!! Thank you
I love it that the work is soothing to you! It does take FOREVER (ohmygoodness, so long), but if the progress is enjoyable, that’s no problem. 🙂
Finished!! Need a few more finshing touches but will do them when they are up hanging in my new home.
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/237776055299940625/
love it! 🙂
I’m way into these curtains and want to attempt doing them but i don’t understand the first half of the instructions. what side are you folding them? why are you folding and sewing? Is it so the curtains are thicker and more opaque? Also, what was the diameter of your circles?
Yes, folding and sewing to give them more weight.
I think the circles were 1.5″
Starting this project this weekend!
Leslie- good luck!
What are the final dimensions of your curtains? I swear I saw that posted earlier, but for the life of me, I can’t find it. PS: MAJOR set back since I’m finally getting to do them. lol
Leslie, I don’t know (and the curtains aren’t accessible right now or I’d measure them for you). If I remember correctly, it was a twin sheet folded in half for each curtain? Sorry!
I looove these curtains!! You weren’t kidding when you said they would take a lot of work! I want to try this..it’s super cute! Looks like the effort is well worth it. Thanks for sharing!
Dez- Thanks! And WHOA yes, so much work! 😉
I am going to make this but will add beads to add a little more colour and texture.
They will ready by next summer. 12 months time here in NZ
Very clever designed
Thanks from Kiwi land down under
Chris
Love Dovie coconutie !!!!!
Here goes nothing. I love how whimsical this looks.
I’m going to try it .
Thanks for the comment Elle!
I tried making some, and it’s definitely taking awhile. But they look so nice in the mornings! Thanks for the tutorial!
https://instagram.com/p/y6EwDJGcNp/?modal=true
Grace, they look great! They take FOREVER though, right???
Love love the final outcome !Labor intensive but so is all handmade sewing
Labor intensive is a really great way to describe these. Whoa. 😉
WOW so amazing. I’ve try this right now. But i have litte problem to fold the circles. I’m not sure how to do this part. I really hope you have a video tutorial.. Thx for your great idea..
Cheers..
Hey Ayu- just fold in fourths (fold in half and then in half again). Hope that helps! 😉
I’m super excited by this!
I plan on using my OLFA circle cutter (a quilter’s tool) to make all the circle cutting a breeze.
Thank you! They’re beautiful!!
Ashley, any shortcut you can take will be extra helpful on these curtains! They are so pretty but so time consuming- good luck! 😉
wow, i have so many “flutter” circles already cut and now i have something to do with them!
I love your creative idea, have you considered tacking the flutter with the sewing machine ? it would move things a bit faster.
Maria, if you try the sewing machine method, will you report back? Good luck!
Is there anyway I could pay you to make three of these curtains for me?
jaadeelynn@gmail.com
Can’t wait to speak with you
Sorry- we don’t do any custom sewing! They might still sell these at anthro, though???
If I knew how to sew, I would attempt something like this. These are magnificent and as you say, ” so many circles” time consuming. Bravo. What a beautiful creation. Will be one of my favorite of all ever curtains. ♥️♥️
Thanks Aline! I made these awhile back and I always think about just how much work they were- SO. MANY. CIRCLES. 😉 But they have been used over and over (in many different homes!), so it’s been totally worth it! Thanks again for the kind words.
O my gosh I just LOVE the look of these, It would be totally worth the time to make them, the results are stunning, I must try on my list!
Thanks Caro! 🙂