No-Sew Window Valance

This is easy peezy! Have your curtain rod installed and ready. You can use a regular dollar curtain rod or a more expensive rod with finials at the ends. Pick any fabric that will droop nicely, and not fray at ends when cut. Hence the no-sew idea. I used a very inexpensive lace that is one step above tulle.

If using this to decorate a table, instead of a rod, just attach lace or tulle with stick-on Velcro or safety pins to the side of table facing the guests. Remember to cover any pins with a ribbon or flower for decoration.

Get ready:

You make the decision of how much swag you want. And how many inches you want the valance to hang down the sides. If you want it to swag low, buy a large enough amount of fabric. I just have a slight swag to mine and bought about a yard longer than the rod. But if you want the valance to hang down longer at the sides of the window, measure how long and add that to the fabric purchase.

1. Find the middle of the fabric by folding in half. Take a rubber band or think floral wire (a bread twisty can even be used).

2. Fold the fabric in accordion-style folds lengthwise. If you cannot succeed, just gather the all fabric in the center and twist the wire around it.

3. Attach the wire (which is your center of curtain) onto the middle of the rod you have.

4. Now go to one end and fix your swag the way you want. Gently pulling the length to the end of rod. You can pull the top of fabric a bit tighter and then the rest looser causing the sagging swag design. Hold the fabric and twist wire tightly around all the gathers in your hand and attach to rod. The extra fabric will hang down.

5. Do the same for the other end of rod.

6. Now take the hanging ends. Fold in a small accordion-style fold (about 1 - 2 inch folds). Start cutting across with scissors at a 80 degree angle or whatever angle you want your zigzag hem to be. I pointed my scissors to a ten o'clock position. When you let go there will be a zigzag pattern hem. If you do not want the zigzag, then just cut straight across the folds.

7. Now, where the middle wire or rubber band is holding fabric on to rod, pin on a decoration of your own to hide that area if wire shows. You can pin on a big daisy, hang a grapevine wreath, a ribbon bow or whatever comes to your mind to match your decor.