Learning to Make Your Own Cafe Curtains

Café curtains impart any window with a light, airy feel. Simple to make, café curtains have been hung in the windows of French bistros for years; why not channel the spirit of croissants and café au lait in yours?

Hung at the window's midpoint level, café curtains let in sunlight through the top half of the glass but cover the lower half of the window to afford a bit of privacy. Although any fabric can be used for café curtains, this design works best when the fabric is of a lighter weight, typically cotton, linen or muslin.

Café curtains can be affixed to the curtain rod through the use of curtain rings; for a simpler look, slide the rod through the hemmed channel of the curtain, allowing it to gather slightly into a ruffled appearance. The typical bistro look is best achieved by using a brass curtain rod rather than a plastic or iron one.

One of the easiest sets of curtains to make yourself, anyone can create lovely café curtains for their home with the aid of this simple set of directions and some basic sewing materials:

• A measuring tape
• Two pieces of fabric, each three inches longer and four inches higher than the area of the window you plan to cover
• Cloth fabric tape the same length as your fabric
• Needle and thread the same color as your fabric
• Curtain rod the length of the window
• Two curtain rod brackets

Measure your window horizontally and verify that the curtain rod is the correct length. Measure vertically to the window's midpoint; this is where you will hang the rod. Install the rod brackets on either side of the window at your measured spot and run the curtain rod through the sockets.

Now turn to your attention to the fabric and fold over 1 ½ inches of the top edge, affixing it back with the cloth fabric tape. Thread your needle and follow the line of the fabric tape across the curtain to create a hem; this is where the curtain rod will slide in.

Voila! Your café curtains are complete. For a different look, use fabric that is wider than the curtain and gather it into ruched ruffles along the curtain rod.