Easy Cozy Kitchen Cafe Curtain

To cozy up my kitchen for Fall, I decided to add a cafe curtain to the window above my sink. Cafe curtains are timeless, but they do seem to be having a coastal grandmother moment right now.

To make this cafe curtain I used a pillowcase! Earlier this year I purchased a pretty brown gingham duvet cover which came with 2 matching pillowcases.

I didn’t need the cases but I stashed them in my linen closet. I was all set to purchase a ready made cafe curtain on Amazon for my kitchen when I remembered I had the pillowcases. It was so simple to turn one of them into a cafe curtain. Here’s how:

1. Separate the pillow case into 2 matching pieces by cutting apart the front and back along the seamed edges.

2. Cut each piece down to 24 inches wide. My window is 30 inches wide and the rule of thumb is your curtain should be 1 and 1/2 to 2 times the width of your window. I wanted my curtain to have a little fullness when closed but not so full that it covered too much of the window when open. So I went with about 1 1/2 times the width:

30 in. x 1.5 = 45 in. divided by 2 = 22.5 inches for each panel

3. Fold the top and two side edges over to the wrong side about 1/2 inch and then fold again another 1/2 inch. Press and sew.

4. For the bottom hem, it’s best to hang the curtain first so as to account for the rod and hooks.

5. I purchased a custom length inside mount cafe rod in unlacquered brass, along with 12 tiny pinch on rings, both from Rejuvenation Hardware. You can choose from several finishes as well as an inside mount or outside mount. This was easy to install with a drill to pre-drill the screw holes for the brackets and a manual screwdriver. In terms of how high to mount the rod, I wanted it to just cover the latches that open and close the window so they weren’t sticking out above the the rod.

6.Once I put the two panels on the rod, it was easy to measure down to the window sill and pin the hem. I sewed it like I did the top and side seams except the hem was about 1 inch instead of the narrow hem I used on the top and side seams. Usually I do a wider hem but this was all the fabric I had so 1 inch it is!

This was a high/low project – the brass rod and rings was on the pricey side but the curtain literally cost me nothing! I like to save wherever I can so I can afford to splurge on things like real brass hardware. We have other brass elements in our recently remodeled kitchen so I wanted to continue with that theme. If you’d like to see more of our kitchen remodel, start here.

No-sew cafe curtains can be made from dishtowels and even cloth napkins. In a prior home I used two Pottery Barn napkins I found on clearance. This was a completely no sew project which you can read about here. A tension rod is also a low cost alternative to the brass rod I used, especially if you’re not sure you want to commit to a permanent rod.

And for a little more inspo, take a look at this cutie kitchen with cafe curtain that popped up on my Insta feed. So cute.

Source: @AngelaNewtonRoyPhotography

Happy Decorating!

Debra