How to Turn a Bedsheet into a Curtain

We’re making curtains out of bedsheets today.

I know how that sounds. What you just heard is “How to decorate your home like a frat house” or “what type of curtain looks best with a moving box coffee table?” But I promise you it looks nice. No, we’re not hanging it with thumbtacks. This is just a simple DIY that fills the gap between “everything at Target looks wrong” and “custom drapery costs more than groceries.”

What You’ll Need

• Flat sheet (sizing recomendations below)
• Curtain rod
• Ring clips (in a matching finish)
• Optional: hemming tape

Before You Start

A few things to consider when choosing your sheet (besides the design/pattern, that one’s on you).

Fabric Weight

The type of sheet you choose totally changes the final look. Thin cotton or percale will feel light and a little sheer. Great for rooms where you want light to filter through. Heavier fabrics like flannel, linen, or sateen will let in less light. The flannel sheet I used, for example, is practically blackout.

Sheet Sizes (so you don’t have to Google it later)

These will vary a bit by brand, but here’s the general idea –

• Twin: 66″ W × 96″ H
• Full: 81″ W × 96″ H
• Queen: 90″ W × 102″ H
• King: 108″ W × 102″ H

What Size Sheet Should I Use?

I can’t tell you what size to use, but I can tell you this…the total width of your sheet/curtain should be roughly 2X the width of your window. How you get there is up to you. For example, if you have a 48-inch wide window, you can use a twin sheet on each side, or a king sheet pulled to one side. Heck, use two queens if you want, because it’s better to have your curtains be too thick than look thin and sad and cheap.

Curtain Height

Unlike regular curtains, you only have two options for length with a flat sheet. If your ceilings are standard eight-foot (96 inches), your window header is usually around 80 inches off the floor. That means that all of the sheet sizes will technically work. For taller windows or higher ceilings, go with a queen or king flat sheet. If you have super-tall windows, this DIY won’t work for you…but people with really grand windows probably aren’t looking to hang bedsheets on them anyway.

The general rule with curtains still applies here: hang them high and wide. It just looks better. You can purposely hang the rod so that your sheet just grazes the floor (what I did) or if your curtain ends up too long, grab some iron-on hemming tape to make a quick, no-sew adjustment. Too short, though? There’s no fixing that.

How to Turn a Flat Sheet into a Curtain

First, wash and dry the sheet. Then lay the sheet out flat and find the top edge…the folded, double-thick band. This is where your ring clips go.

Next, lay your clips out so you can figure out the spacing. You can be super official and use a measuring tape and math, or just eyeball it. I like to space them 3- 6 inches apart.

Next, pinch the fabric together where you want the ring clip to go.

Then secure the ring clip onto the fold about an inch or two below the top, so that most of it is hidden. This will mimic a back tab or pinch pleat curtain when it is hung.

Then, slide the rings onto your rod and hang it at the correct height.

And that’s it! Easy, no-sew, and oddly satisfying. I’ve been using this same trick for years, though the materials have changed a bit. I used to sew my curtains from scratch (enjoy that 2011 gem), but these days we’re short on time and long on extra top sheets, so this version just makes sense.

I actually hung this bedsheet curtain about a year and a half ago, and haven’t washed it or rehung it since (it’s due, but…life). It gets pulled on every single day by teenage boys and is sagging a bit, but is still solidly in place. Just in case you are thinking this method might not withstand actual real-life use.

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