How to Make a Shower Curtain

Scott and I are do-it-yourself wannabes.  And since we have a semi-old casa, the past two years of our marriage have been loaded with opportunities to try our hands in it.  The only problem is that halfway through a project, a majorly enlightening epiphany hits us almost harmoniously that we should’ve just called a professional.  You know, someone who actually knows what they’re doing.  The light bulb tends to go off after we’ve traded a few words with each other. :)

This weekend, though, me and my main man tackled the master bathroom all by our wannabe selves! 

It was begging for a revamp.  Before Scott and I got married, my dad graciously tiled it for us with leftover tile from a house he’d built.  But scurrying around with wedding plans and whatnot, we slapped an ivy green color on the walls, replaced the old cabinet hardware with more modern knobs and pulls, and called it a day.  Truth be told, the color was too dark for the small space and made the bathroom feel more cave-like than clean and airy.

I took a before and after picture to give you an idea.  Don’t you love a good before/after pic? 

Before:

 

After:

 

 

The cabinets are painted Benjamin Moore’s “Camouflage” and the walls are “Old Prairie.”  Both colors are in the same family, which is a safe choice if you’re not good at choosing paint colors like me. 

Okay, and now about the original idea for this post: the shower curtain.  I used a flat sheet from Wal-mart and hemmed the sides to fit my dimensions.  Wanting the curtain to be extra-long so that it goes from the ceiling to the floor, I used a queen-sized sheet.  A dear friend told me the trick for making shower space seem bigger is hanging the curtain as high as you can, but extra-long shower curtains are hard to find and usually more expensive.

If you’re a beginner sewer, this is a great first project!  If I can do it, anyone can!

1. Lay out your sheet, with the top of the sheet being the top of your shower curtain.

2. Measure the width of your shower.  The standard shower curtain width is 72 inches.  Add an inch for the hem (we’re only going to hem one side; the other side is already nicely hemmed!). 72+1=73 in.

  3. Now, make a cut at 73 inches, and tear all the way down.  If you try to cut all the way down, it’s probably going to be crooked…unless you have supernatural straight-cutting abilities. :)

4. Take your sheet to the ironing board, and iron down a one inch hem.  Get your pin tomato out and pin along the way.  It’s a long way down, so pin, pin, pin.

   5. Sew a 1/2 inch stitch down the sheet.

6. Trim excess fabric.

7. Now, repeat the first 6 steps but following the dimensions for the length of your shower.  Like I said, I wanted mine extra-long, so I cut and hemmed at 90 inches.  The standard shower curtain length is 72 inches, which means you could probably use a full-sized flat sheet rather than a queen if you go standard.

8. After you’ve hemmed the bottom, it’s time for button holes along the top of the curtain.  Someone queue the Jaws theme song, please.  Button holes are not for the faint at heart, but YOU CAN DO IT!  My advice: practice a few times on a scrap piece of fabric until you know what you’re doing.

9. Using a fabric marker, start 1 1/2 inches from the top end of the curtain and mark your first button hole.  Then, mark the following button holes exactly 6 1/2 inches apart.  You should have 12 button holes.

10. Finally, hang your curtain and call your husband to come look at your handiwork.  He’ll be so impressed.

Happy showering!