The thought of making grommet top curtains kinda scared me a little at first. I’ve made (or altered) all of the curtains in my house – yet the idea of making these was somewhat daunting. But, I like a good challenge, so when I decided to make some curtains for my kitchen, I wanted to try something new. Ya know what? Grommet top curtains weren’t nearly as complicated as I thought they’d be!
I started out by measuring my windows and cutting my fabric six inches longer than I wanted my curtains to be. I chose this pretty blue medallion print fabric along with blackout lining for them, both courtesy of Online Fabric Store. I used the full width of the fabric and cut from the length.
At the top edge of the front fabric, iron on a six inch strip of fusible webbing (we’ll get to why in a minute.)
Then pin around the two long sides and the top of the fabric (so three sides, leaving the bottom open.)
Next sew up all the way around the three sides, just like with my easy lined curtains tutorial.
Then, I flipped it out to iron. Remember the fusible webbing? Be sure to really iron down that six inches all the way across the top to seal it to the lining. Then iron out all of the edges all the way around to get it all even and neat.
Related links:
Quick & Easy French Script Curtains
On the back side (where the lining is), cut a piece of grommet tape to the width of the panel. Measure down 1 1/2 inches, then pin the grommet tape all the way across. Trace all of the holes with a pencil on the inside.
Snip inside the hole, cutting it into pieces will help to trim it all out.
Cut all of the circles out all the way around, then line up the grommet tape with the holes and pin it down again.
With coordinating thread to your front fabric, sew down the grommet tape all the way around.
Lastly, pop on the grommets on top of each of the holes, then hang your new grommet top curtains. To hem your freshly made curtains, use my curtain hemming tutorial to make it quick and easy.
*Thanks to Online Fabric Store for partnering with me on this post. All ideas, opinions, photos and content are my own.*
Audrey Zumwalt says
December 19, 2013 at 8:29 amWow … great tutorial.
Have a wonderful Christmas.
Audrey Z. @ Timeless Treasures
Nina Petty says
December 19, 2013 at 10:28 amThese are beautiful, but now I’ve got a dilemma! Do I make regular lined drapes, or grommet topped??
Michal says
December 19, 2013 at 6:01 pmThis was very helpful. I need to make curtains for a lot of windows. AND…..I LOVE THIS FABRIC!!! It’s awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Diane @ The Checkered Apple says
December 20, 2013 at 10:57 amSo glad to see your tutorial. Your curtains look awesome! Great fabric! I have been leery about trying to make my own and this is giving me the courage to take that next step. Thanks so much!
Anne Boykin says
December 22, 2013 at 8:24 amHi Gina, I’ve always wondered about do it yourself grommets. Thanks for the how-to. I’m going to try this my next curtains I make. Happy Holidays!
Carolyn says
January 1, 2014 at 9:21 amLove the curtains and that fabric is to die for!!! Are the colors pretty true to your photos? I’m moving into a “new” place and this would be perfect. You wouldn’t have any scraps you’d want to send me as a sample…..just a thought.
Great blog too!
Hamideh says
November 26, 2014 at 2:11 amIt’s so nice and you have described how you’ve made it very good. I just have one question!
Should I sew both the top edge and the bottom edge of the grommet robbon to the fabric?
Because it does not seem to have a sewing line at the top of the curtain in the picture!
Thanks for your information 🙂
Gina Luker says
December 1, 2014 at 1:49 pmYes, I sew it all the way around the tape.
Virginia Callister says
January 19, 2014 at 9:00 pmWow! You make it look so easy! Thanks.
Cindy says
January 27, 2014 at 10:04 pmGrommet tape: genius. Who knew there was such a thing?!
Great tutorial. Thank you!
Amy@theidearoom says
April 28, 2014 at 2:07 pmLOVE these Grommet Curtains! Love the fabric! Sharing on fb today! Thanks.
Gina Luker says
April 30, 2014 at 7:06 amThanks, love!
Ginger says
May 6, 2014 at 1:33 pmI am drooling over these curtains…seriously, the family is amazing. Can you tell me how many yard it took to do 1 long panel? I am trying to figure how many yards it would take for me to do my living room and dining room. 1 very small window which I would want 2 thin panels on and 2 larger windows with regular panels 4″ long? Oh and then can ya make them for me? Lol
Lorena Creely says
August 2, 2014 at 6:08 pmGina, your instructions for the grommet-top curtains are confusing. First you say to iron the fusible webbing onto the top of the front fabric (the actual curtain fabric). But then later on, you say to iron down the webbing to seal it to the lining. So is the webbing ironed into the front fabric, or the lining? I’m assuming the webbing is sandwiched in-between the fabric and the lining, and that the grommet tape is attached to the back of the lining after the lining and fabric are sewn together and flipped so that the outside of the fabric is showing? Thanks for clarifying, hopefully you will see this soon!
Gina Luker says
August 4, 2014 at 6:18 amIron it to the front fabric first, then fuse it into the backing once you’ve turned them right side out before adding the grommet tape on the back.
Hope this helps!
Lorena Creely says
August 4, 2014 at 7:42 pmThanks Gina. I ironed the fusible webbing to the back side of the front fabric. But it is only fusible on one side, how do I fuse it to the lining? Also, I just received the grommet tape in the mail, but I’m a little confused about how it works. I assumed the grommet tape would come with the grommets that you pop onto the front. But it looks like Ineeded to order the grommets separately (this is what I a guessing from looking at the Online Fabric Store website. This is very disappointing, it would have been nice to know this up-front. The grommet tape is pretty pricey to begin with, but then the grommets themselves are an additional $2.35 each? Ouch!! Makes for very expensive curtains. I assume I can order the black ones as opposed to silver for slightly less, $1.85 each? But the black ones should fit, right? I wish the Online Fabric Store had a little more information about their product.
NANCY DUNCAN says
November 28, 2017 at 9:28 amMy dilemma is similar to Lorena’s. I’m confused as to what I need , size wise, with the grommets. I have seen online but I don’t know what size to use in the grommets. I have a pair of drapes with grommets and I think they are about 2-2.5 inches. I can’t seem to find that size online. Can you suggest a good place to order the tape and grommets and size I need to use for my drapes. Your instructions were great but I am having trouble with size of grommets….thank you for your input.
Lorena Creely says
August 4, 2014 at 7:50 pmAlso Gina, what are those plastic tab things sticking out from each of the holes? I thought you were supposed to just pull them to separate the grommets, but I ended up just ripping the grommet ring away from the tape! Luckily I don’t need the entire length of grommet tape that I purchased.
Becky Marasek says
October 11, 2014 at 6:09 pmI have a question…..
How wide does my fabric need to be? With
Gathered curtains I know it should be 3 times
The width of the window. But how about with
The grommet curtains? Is it the same?
Gina Luker says
October 13, 2014 at 10:14 amWith grommets I usually do 2 times the amount.
Hellen kudinha says
November 6, 2014 at 6:59 amwhat type of fabric is this,so nice i would love to make my own curtain with it
Gina Luker says
November 10, 2014 at 12:51 pmIt is drapery quality fabric
Katy says
November 23, 2014 at 6:41 pmI love the curtains you made! I am about to make some for my house, but I have the same question as Lorena. I purchased fabric, and grommet tape, but your instructions do not show how to use the grommet tape. What are the little plastic tabs? What happens to them? How do you get the fabric in between the grommets? Thanks in advance for your reply!
Gina Luker says
November 24, 2014 at 9:41 amI don’t use the plastics tabs so i cut them off of mine.
Hillary says
March 18, 2017 at 11:48 amI had no idea grommet tape was even a thing! I’m just researching so I can attempt to make curtains for our new trailer. Thanks so much!
Gina Luker says
March 21, 2017 at 9:45 amGo for it Hillary!
Cindy says
June 11, 2017 at 8:02 pmAll good tips, however there should always be an even number of grommets to make sure the curtains hang so that both edges are towards the wall instead of one facing the room. You may need to adjust the width of your curtain material to do this.
Gina Luker says
June 12, 2017 at 10:12 amThanks Cindy, great tip!!
Julie McCowan says
August 7, 2017 at 1:40 pmYou still have those curtains? Would love to buy them from u…
Gina Luker says
August 7, 2017 at 4:04 pmSo glad you like them Julie but we still use them 🙂 You should try to make your own, super easy, just follow the tutorial 🙂
RJ says
December 19, 2017 at 3:28 pmDo you know the brand of grommet tape with the tabs? Thanks
Gina Luker says
December 19, 2017 at 6:26 pmI am so sorry RJ but that was a long time ago and I do not!
Debra E Miley says
May 11, 2019 at 1:35 pmGrommets should always be done in even numbers !
Olive Veali says
August 30, 2019 at 7:34 pmI have been wondering how the grommet curtains are done. I want my curtains done up like that.
Thank you.
Olive Veali
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Gina Luker says
September 2, 2019 at 10:05 amIt is my pleasure Olive, so glad it was helpful 🙂
red slider says
June 27, 2020 at 5:23 pmMuch easier way than measuring, using templates, punching individual holes, etc. Just cut your fabric to the size opening you want to cover and fold your material into pleats of the width you want the pleats to be, each fold will be the same size, except the first and last if you want some extra overlap on each side. Decide how much margin you want on the top and locate the center for your grommet accordingly on that first fold. Then just punch a hole through all of the pleats at once. They will all be at the same distance from each other and at your desired distance from the top. Set your grommets and you’re done.
Gina Luker says
June 29, 2020 at 11:54 amThanks so much!