Crafty Curtain Tie Backs

I don't really care about curtains. I know they are necessary and I like the fact that our neighbors cannot see me puttering around in my PJs but I am not one of those people who would spend hours at a curtain store picking them out. With that said, similar to my belief that making my bed makes my bedroom look 80% tidier, I do think tie backs on a curtain make them look nicer in the room. The problem is that most tie backs are expensive, so I decided to make my own.

There is a lot of nice ribbon out there. I decided on this white ribbon with grey scroll for the main piece and a white chiffon ribbon to make a rose in the center.

I wrapped it around one curtain to see how much I needed to measure. I didn't want my curtains looking too cinched so I cut the ribbon to how it would look with the two end folded over.

I folded each end about 3/4 to an inch. Any amount is fine as long as the closures fit.

I have used those velcro tabs on fabric curtain tabs before but they always fall off after few days no matter how sticky they seem when I first affix them. I used hook and eye closures for this. These are the closures you often see on pants.

~ No special sewing skills necessary ~

Just a basic needle and thread sewing situation. 

* Full Disclosure: I consider myself an intelligent person but for some reason it took me a bit to wrap my head around which side of the ribbon one of the closures needed to be on in order for the tie to work correctly.*

While I cut each piece of ribbon as close in length as possible it's most important that the finished product is the same length. This way each curtain is tied back the same way as opposed to one being looser or tighter.

I found this chiffon ruffle ribbon at Michaels.

I slowly rolled the ribbon until it was the size I wanted.

Once it was the size and shape I wanted to cut the ribbon and held on for dear life. (just kidding, but I did hold it tightly so as not to unravel).

I then took a needle and thread and sewed across the bottom, making sure to include all layers. I used a hot glue gun to affix the "rose" to the center of each ribbon tie back. 

Although I used hot glue, fabric glue would probably work fine too. I was just careful to hold the rose tight to the ribbon and let the glue dry fully.

Now that I make my bed AND tie back my curtains, our bedroom looks 90% tidier! If only I could keep myself from tossing my clothes on the floor. 

Baby steps.

Using a a nice ribbon  to create a curtain tie back was an easy, and frugal, way to create exactly what I wanted.

~ B