Vintage Pillowcases to Cafe Curtains

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I have never had a curtain or shade or anything in my kitchen window. It isn’t a very big window and I live on a quiet cul-de-sac and the house is on a bit of a hill, so it has never been an issue. But the window did look undressed and stark. Cafe curtains are the perfect compromise and making them from vintage pillowcases makes it beyond perfect.

I have always thought about putting something there and I tossed it around as to what it might be. I didn’t want anything too heavy and I didn’t want to block the light.

I found some beautiful vintage cotton pillowcases at a consignment shop that would work perfectly! They have beautiful dainty cutwork at the opening and around the entire hem. I love them. They aren’t perfect though. There are a couple little spots that refused to budge, so their use as pillowcases was not an option. But perfect for these cafe style curtains, don’t you think? Follow along to see how I turned vintage pillowcases into cafe style curtains.

I bought a tension rod and simple curtain clips for this look. I wanted black, but I settled for brown.

I hung the pillowcases in the window before I cut them to make sure I would like them there and to get an idea of their placement and the length I wanted them to be.

I wanted the dainty bottom edge to show so I kept them a little high, above the window frame.
Once I was satisfied, I put a pin at the top to mark the length of the finished curtain. I marked a cutting line and cut my piece out, being carefully to leave the back of the pillow case intact.

Then I cut the bottom off the back of the pillowcase, about 4.25″. I planned this to be a little topper for the curtain. It has the cutwork along the bottom edge and I didn’t want to waste that.

You might have a different style of pillowcase and you might choose to not include a topper. Or you might choose a different style, like a gathered one. So you will have to make the proper measurements and allow for a hem, according to what’s necessary for your design.

I made a very narrow hem along both sides of all four pieces and pressed them well. I pressed the top edge of the topper down 1.25″. And then pressed it under again by 0.25″ at the very top.

With the topper lying face down, I place the panel face down on top of it having the top each of the panel at the 1.25″ pressed line on the topper.

Then I folded the topper down over the panel, turning the 0.25″ under and pinned. I stitched this in place and then made another stitch line close to the fold. And then pressed and lightly starched the panels.

I decided to use 5 clips on each side. I placed them equidistant across the top and hung them up.

They are light and airy and I love them! I think the daisies look pretty cute there too!

Thank you for following along, I hope you have enjoyed this little how-to and I hope it inspires you to make something beautiful today. Maybe you have some vintage pillowcases to turn into cafe curtains too.