How to Make and Attach a Border to Drapes

Don't replace your drapes just because they are too short or the color isn't right. Many window treatment problems can be solved by adding a border to the bottom of the drapes. Buy extra fabric when you reupholster a chair and use it to make a border for your existing window treatments for a perfectly coordinated room. Add a border in accent color to make the existing drapes in your new apartment work with your furniture. Use a print fabric to add interest to solid drapes or tone down print drapes with a wide border of solid fabric.

Tailor's chalk
Ruler
Tape measure
Fabric
Scissors
Ironing board
Iron
Pins
Sewing machine
Thread

Instructions

- 1
  Use tailor's chalk to mark the desired position of the top of the border on the drapes while they are hanging. Measure the distance from the floor to the line. Measure every 4 inches along the line to ensure it is parallel to the floor.
- 2
  Measure the width of each drape and add 2 inches to calculate the width of the fabric for the border. Double the desired height of the border, the distance from the floor to the line on the drapes, and add 1 inch to get the other dimension. Cut a rectangle of the border fabric with these dimensions for each drape.
- 3
  Lay one piece of fabric face down on an ironing board and iron a 1/2-inch fold on each side. The side edges will be the short edges.
- 4
  Iron a 1/2-inch fold on one long side of the fabric. Iron folds in any additional border fabric pieces in the same way.
- 5
  Take down the drapes and lay one out on the floor with the right side up and the hem closest to you. Lay the border right side down on top of the drapes with the fold at the top. Align the fabric so the bottom edge of the rectangle is 1/2 inch below the chalk line on the drapes and the folds on the sides of the fabric are even with sides of the drapes.
- 6
  Pin the fabric to the drapes with straight pins along the bottom edge of the fabric.
- 7
  Sew the border to the drapes along the chalk line by sewing 1/2 inch from the edge of the border fabric.
- 8
  Fold down the border fabric along the seam line and iron the fold.
- 9
  Turn the drape over and lay the hem on the ironing board. Fold the border down until the fold on the bottom edge of the fabric is even with the new seam. If you are not adding length, this fold will be along the bottom edge of the drapes.
- 10
  Hand sew the fold to the back of the drapes. Sew the borders on any other drapery panels in the same way.

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