For the past few months, I’ve been thinking about doing some updates to my bedroom.  There’s nothing “wrong” with it, but some of the elements – window treatments, pillows, pictures – have been around for a while and you know me, I always need something to change or update!

First thing on the list?  Window Treatments.

The ‘before’ window panels were from our previous home and the length has always been an issue since I repurposed them in this space.  They are beautifully lined panels from Pottery Barn (with matching pillow covers), but I was just ready for a change!

This is how they looked before~

Well actually the window treatments were the second on the list, first came the fabrics.

After having a concept in my head, I was on the search for new fabrics.  I was stuck on the color of dusty-gray-blue.  Because my interiors are mostly on the warm side, I wanted to bring in some cooler tones.   I combed the net, searched in fabric stores, and found nothing that appealed to me.  Then I made a random trip to Joanne Fabrics one day, and found this fabric which was very inspiring, but totally not the dusty-blue that I had desired.

O well, I loved it and a few fabrics later, I was out the door and ready to start my transformation.

Before I begin the step-by-step tutorial,  I wanted to mention that I decided to line the window treatments, but it isn’t a must for drapery panels.  Even though they were not going to be functional, meaning I wasn’t planning on moving them each day/night to block the light, I still wanted them to have a more substantial feel and heavier weight.  I decided to use drop cloth material because it was the least expensive and I knew from my other projects that drop cloth would really give the panels more substance and hang better.

Making Lined Drapery Panels

1. I started off by measuring the height from the floor to my existing drapery rod.  Once the height was determined, I added about 12″ of additional fabric which gave me some “play” for alterations in later steps.  I layed out the fabric and using my cutting board, clear ruler, and fabric cutter, to measure the length of fabric needed for three panels.

FYI: At this point, measuring does not need to be perfect, because it will be altered later.  That’s the beauty of these panels!

The measurement from my floor to the drapery rod was: 78″, but to allow for enough fabric I made each panel 90″

2. Once the main fabric is cut, lay the right side of your main fabric onto the right side of the lining fabric (in my case, I used drop cloth material because it was the least expensive.  For $16, I got one piece of drop cloth that was 9′ x 12′).

Before cutting, make sure ALL YOUR FABRICS ARE IRONED!  Once ironed, use your main fabric as a template and cut the lining fabric to the same size.

3. Once both fabrics are IRONED and CUT, pin around the edge of the entire panel.

4. Similar to making a pillow, sew around the 4 sides, except leave a 6-8″ opening at one of the shorter ends, so you can pull the right sided fabric through.

After sewing around, pull the fabric through to the right side.

5.  Once pulled through to the right side,  iron all the edges and seams so the panel is nice and crisp! Now that the main part of the lined drapery panel is complete, they are ready to be hung and altered.  There are numerous ways to hang window panels, but I decided to use a basic rod and hang the panels using clip rings.

6. To determine the height for the window panel, measure from the floor to the top of the clip (not to the top of the ring).  Take the unfinished side of your panel and clip the rings to it.  Then adjust the height of the panel up or down, so the panel either just hits / skims the floor OR leaves a slight puddle on the floor (I decided to have them just hit the floor).

The one side of the panel is still unfinished (that’s okay), and here’s how it will look from the back.

Now let’s finish this up…

7. It’s time to trim and finish the top.  Measure down about 4-5″ from the crease where the rings are clipped to.  Trim the rest.

8. (a) With the rings left on, remove the panel from your rod and head back to the ironing board. (b) First, iron in between the rings to get a crisp line.  Then remove the rings and iron the entire crease.  (c) Open the crease and fold over the top edge twice creating a finished edge. (d) Close the crease, iron and pin edge so it can be sewn.

8. Then sew along the bottom edge of the “flap”.

Reinstall the drapery rings and the lined window panels are complete and ready to hang.

The wall of windows and the entire view of the three lined window panels…

One more time…here is the before and after~

And if you didn’t notice, I got rid of the sheers and replaced them with functional wood roman shades – such a better look!

I’m still in the midst of this master bedroom makeover and I’ll be sharing more soon, so stay tuned!

I link my projects to some of these parties: Skip to My Lou, Dittle Dattle, Between Naps on the Porch, Today’s Creative Blog, Stories of A to Z, All Things Heart & Home, Savvy Southern Style, House of Hepworths, Finding Fabulous, Creation Corner, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots and Jello, Funky Junk, Under the Table & Dreaming