DIY Ikea Curtain Hacks!

If you’re looking to hang some curtains and want something a little more high-end looking with OUT the high-end price tag…I’ve got you! These are my Ikea Curtain Hacks.

I always buy my curtains at Ikea. They have so many different options and are so affordable. My favorite are these Lenda panels in “off white”. They have a nice texture and pretty little stitching detail. I’ve used these multiple times in my house! I have also used the Hannalill curtains in beige.

SUPPLIES:

TOOLS:

Iron
Scissors
Sewing Machine

The Lenda curtains come with a tab top and no pleating tape. This requires cutting off the tabs first, and then sewing pleating tape onto the top of the curtains. You can skip this step if you purchase curtains with pleating tape already on them. I always grab two packages of curtains (each package comes with two curtain panels) and double them up to make wider curtains for a more high-end look.

This pleating tape is *usually* in stock at Ikea, but I have also found it on Amazon!

After removing the tabs, I using my sewing machine to sew two panels together! I flip them over to the backside and pull the two edges together and sew right along that edge hem all the way down. This makes one double wide curtain panel out of the two. I repeat this step with the other package of panels. This could also be done with heat bond!

Pleating Tape

To add the pleating tape, I line it up along the top of the double panels on the back side and sew along the top and bottom lines of the tape. I use white thread so that you can’t see the lines. Once this is done, I trim off the excess!

Pleating Hooks

Now I begin adding my pleating hooks! These are also found at Ikea. You will need one package per double panel. I always stick one hook into the loops FLAT on each each to hold the curtain up on the ends nicely. Once this is done, I count 4 in from EACH loop on the pleating tape. This is where I slide the ends of the pleating hooks in. This created the perfect pleat in the curtains!

I repeat this step all the way down…

And then hang them into my curtain rings!

I prefer to hem the curtains hanging because it is way more simple than measuring.

To do this, I simply pinch the curtains along the base where it meets the floor. I then lay that out onto my ironing board section by section and iron to create a crease here. I can then trim the excess off about 2 inches below the crease that I just made.

Now, I flip the curtains over onto my ironing board and iron on my heat bond after folding the curtain on my crease!

Once this is done, you will have a perfectly hemmed-double-wide-pinch-pleat curtain! HECK YEAH!

I have never tried doing this FULLY with heat bond, but I’ve heard some feedback from a few followers that say it CAN work! Even with the pleating tape! Ikea has lots of beautiful curtain options to try this on. Some with pleating tape already attached!

Another trick that I love to use is for my curtain rods! If you have a large window or door, but don’t want to spend hundreds on an extra long curtain rod, there is a way around that! I buy two of the longest rods from Ikea (the Hugad). Then, I remove the outer piece of ONE rod and slide that onto the other side of rod number TWO.