How to Make Shower Curtains in 4 Creative Ways

Are you tired of all that water splashing around when you shower? Well, why not learn how to make shower curtains? And let me be the one to tell you that you don’t need some fancy glass wall or a luxurious bathroom renovation that will probably cost you a hefty sum. 

 

how to make shower curtains

With these clever tips and tricks, we’ll help you make your own shower curtains with a touch of creativity. Give your bathroom a designer’s touch, and forget about plain old curtains that don’t even begin to match your decor and style. 

 

Here are a few ingenious ways to spruce up your bathroom. All you need is to switch it up with a few embellishments, change the hardware, and maybe paint on some fabric and you might see an entirely different bathroom. Who knew changing the curtains could do so much?

1. Lengthen with macrame

Make your ceilings appear higher than they really are with shower curtains with a beautiful macrame slightly puddling on the bathroom floor. It is also quite simple to do. Remove your shower curtain from the rod and gently rip the hem at the base of the fabric.

 

Trim your macrame to the desired length and stitch it to the bottom of the fabric. You can use sewing pins to secure them in place before running them under the sewing machine. Use light or similar-colored thread to hide the stitches.

2. Stencil patterns

Who said anything about needing sewing machines to spruce up those curtains? With this easy design technique, all you need is a pattern, acrylic or waterproof paint, and a stencil. You can make your own stencil using thick paper and cut out the design. 

 

For this step, you might want to take the curtains outside where there is proper ventilation. Lay the curtain on the ground and place the stencil over the fabric. Spray paint until you imprint the pattern onto the curtain. Repeat until you have all your prints in place. 

3. Embroider a design

If you are looking for an opportunity to practice those embroidery or stitching skills, this might be the perfect project. Get your sewing kit, some colorful thread, and a bucket of patience. It’s also best if you use a plain or solid-colored curtain to enhance the embroidery.

 

Start by drawing your pattern onto the curtain to give yourself a guide. Be creative and add a unique spin to your design. If you aren’t confident with your skills yet, you might want to be a little kinder and experiment with geometric patterns instead. Once you have finalized the design, take out your sewing materials and get stitching.

4. Reuse fabric remnants

Do you have old fabric from past sewing projects? Or maybe you have a bunch of clothes that are waiting to be recycled. Regardless, it’s time to take out those boxes of scrap fabric and use them to spruce your bathroom shower curtain. 

 

Sew the pieces together so that it creates wide but short panels. The height should be ⅛ of the original shower curtain. We will use these panels to create ruffles. Sew them onto the curtain starting from the bottom and work your way to the top layer. 

How to make a shower curtain

Of course, before we can do all that, we still need a shower curtain that we can work with. Fortunately, we have a detailed step-by-step process to help you learn how to make shower curtains. 

Step 1: Pick a fabric.

Remember, unlike your regular curtains, shower curtains deal with a lot of water, steam, and vapor. So you want to select a fabric that can stand up to that much moisture. A good choice would be either vinyl, polyester, or polyester-cotton blend. 

 

You can also opt for non-waterproof types of fabric. However, be sure that you have a high-quality liner that will keep the rest of your bathroom dry. Natural fabrics like cotton, canvas, and hemp are good examples. 

Step 2: Prepare the fabric.

Once we have settled on what type of fabric you want to use, it’s time to do the technical aspects of the project. Take your tape measure and pencils. Start by measuring the height of your rod to the floor. 

 

Decide on how long you want your curtains to be. If you’re going to add a macrame finish, make the original fabric shorter (at least 3-4 inches above the floor). Otherwise, get the precise measurement for the curtain. A typical curtain measures 72” by 72”, so you can start from there. 

 

Cut your fabric, and don’t forget to add extra inches for the hemming. You will need 16 inches in length and 8 inches in width for the hem for shower curtains. This is much longer than the average curtain hem seam allowance. 

Step 3: Sewing time

Lay your curtain flat on the workspace and start by folding the top down to four inches. Iron the fabric, but be careful of the heat. Some types of cloth are sensitive and burn easily. Pin the fabric to keep it in place while sewing the hem. Do this again for the bottom hem. Do the same for the side hem but with two inches only, instead of four.

Step 4: Hang your curtain

Once you have secured all the seams, it’s time to get your curtain hardware. For shower curtains, it is best if you use grommets or snap-open curtain rings. Shower curtains are designed to open and close from time to time. The rings will make them easier to move. 

 

Hang your curtain, and we are done. Now you know how to make shower curtains and all the different ways to spruce them up. Let your creativity run wild, and don’t be afraid of trying new things.