Do-it-yourself curtains with eyelets: step-by-step instructions for sewing and fastening

It is difficult to imagine the interior of a room without window decoration. A room without curtains looks uncomfortable and uninhabited. Choosing curtains is only half the battle; you also need to hang them beautifully. Modern designers offer an original way of attaching curtains using eyelets.

You shouldn’t go to specialized salons to buy a new fashion item. You can sew curtains with eyelets with your own hands, and step-by-step instructions will help you with this.

What are eyelets

The word “eyelet” came to Russia from Holland. Initially, it designated a hole in the sail through which the tackle was passed. Over time, this term moved from the maritime lexicon into a design one. In the language of interior designers, eyelets are a detail that frames the opening in the curtain. Consists of two parts: back and front. Carries both a functional and a decorative load.

Types of eyelets

With the growing popularity of eyelets, manufacturers have significantly expanded their product range and produce products for every taste, taking into account consumer demand, sometimes even ahead of it.

All types of eyelets can be divided into four groups according to different parameters:

form;
material;
diameter;
design.

The most common form of eyelets is a ring; oval or square options are rarely found. The fastening coincides in appearance with the cross-sectional contour of the cornice.

Rings are made of metal, plastic, and there are also wooden products that will look harmonious in the interior of rooms designed in the “Provence” or “country” directions. Metal ones will look organic in a room decorated in a high-tech style, and plastic ones, thanks to a wide palette of colors and a variety of textures, will fit into any design solutions.

The diameter of the eyelets, as well as the shape, depends on the type of cornice. To ensure easy sliding, the diameter of the fastening ring should be 1.5–2 cm larger than the cross-sectional size of the rod.

The most extensive group is designer eyelets. The wealth of imagination of developers is limitless; consumers are offered a huge selection of fasteners of different shapes, shades, with beautiful decorative finishes.

You can find eyelets on sale in the shape of a star, a drop, or a geometric figure. Products are decorated with rhinestones, engraving, and embossing. Fasteners are produced with various textures: wood, stone, transparent. They are painted in all sorts of shades. So there is always plenty to choose from.

Benefits of use

Curtains with eyelets have a number of undeniable advantages and advantages over other types of curtains.

Pros:

Easy to expand. Such a curtain, unlike other multi-layer structures, easily slides along the rod, does not cling to anything, and does not require additional devices for moving.
Reliability of fastening. Such curtains will never come off the eaves, as often happens with hooks and clips. The fasteners hold securely on the rod, which is an undeniable advantage when using them in children's rooms and in the kitchen.
Possibility of creating uniform folds. Their order and shape are not disturbed during operation.
Easy to remove and hang. These curtains are much easier to remove and put on the rod than regular curtains. In order to hang the curtains in place after washing and ironing, it is enough to string them one by one on the guide rod. The retaining rings do not need to be removed before washing.
Comfortable ironing. Curtains with grommet fastening are easy and simple to iron. They are a rectangle without folds or gathers, which usually complicate the ironing process.

Flaws

Despite all the advantages, these curtains also have disadvantages. They are associated with the design and installation features of the holder rings.

If the overall interior of the room requires window decoration in a traditional style, then grommets will not be suitable. The combination of thick curtains and light tulle requires at least two strings or rods. In the case of rings, there is only one guide, and two will look extremely bulky.

Some materials may shrink along the warp and weft after washing. Even a special eyelet tape for curtains often cannot cope with deformation. The problem is solved by combining two canvases when making curtains.

Which rings are better - metal or plastic?

In the selection process, it is difficult to determine what to choose - plastic or metal. It is impossible to answer unequivocally, although the first material has a number of advantages over the second.

Advantages of plastic holders:

Lightness of products.
Easy to install; no special tools required for installation.
Wide color palette.
Imitation of the surface of various materials: wood, metal, glass.
Not subject to corrosion, do not leave traces of rust after washing.
The cost is much lower than their metal counterparts.

When choosing plastic fasteners, you should consider one nuance - the coating. Rings with a matte surface look discreet and last longer. Glossy products look brighter and more festive, but after some time they lose their original shine.

But it happens that the style of the room requires metal holders; moreover, they are much stronger than their plastic counterparts, which means they will last longer.

Application area

The part is widely used in the production of clothing, shoes and accessories. Shoelaces for tying shoes, belt tongues, and laces for bags are threaded into it. Another area of application is parachuting, where fastening reliability plays a very important role. The awning fixing cables are also threaded into the eyelets. This use case can be seen on tourist tents, marquees, and large trucks. The device is also known to signal makers who are familiar with the arrangement of street advertising: banners with large format printing, banners, etc.

Eyelets have not bypassed the office, where sheets of paper are sealed with the help of these parts. Heavy draped curtains are also hung on these holes. At the same time, the product is still relevant for sailing ships, but now these are either private yachts or sports vessels. The device is also called a block, which is not entirely correct, because the design consists of a ring and a bushing, which is also called a block.

The grommet sleeve is also called the leg and block, the washer is called a ring, sometimes a cap.

What to look for when choosing eyelets

Having decided on the material issue, you should decide on the color of the fastening rings. For them, there is only one requirement - the products should not violate the overall harmony of the interior. Consequently, the color is selected to match the surrounding environment. In some cases, contrasting combinations are allowed, in which case the emphasis shifts to the eyelet. It wouldn't hurt to play with the appearance of the rings. The unusual shape will enliven the interior and give it a touch of originality.

The last thing to decide is the size of the mount. In order for the curtain to slide easily, the hole in the ring should be slightly larger than the diameter of the rod. The best option is considered to be rings ranging in size from 10 to 50 mm.

How to sew tulle with eyelets yourself

Despite the apparent complexity, sewing curtains with eyelets is quite simple. By following some advice from experienced craftsmen and step-by-step instructions, which can be found in abundance on the Internet, you can make a product that is not inferior to factory-made analogues. The Internet is replete with guides and master classes telling how to sew such curtains yourself and install fasteners.

Fabric calculation

In order to calculate the amount of fabric, you must first take measurements. The width of the cornice is measured from one wall attachment to the other.

To achieve harmonious drapery, for which curtains with eyelets are valued, you need to take 2.5–3 times the width of the cornice. If you buy less fabric, you won’t get beautiful and expressive folds, and vice versa, an overly wide curtain will look bulky.

Allowances for edge processing are added to the resulting width. Their size depends on the type of processing: overlock or double hem. If you are planning a curtain of two halves, add an allowance for closing so that the moved curtains look like one whole. As a rule, the closing allowance is 7–8 cm.

The height is taken arbitrarily: the curtain can be either to the floor or to the window sill. To the desired height, add 13–20 cm per hem: 3–5 cm at the bottom and 10–15 cm at the top, depending on the material and width of the special reinforcing tape.

Required tools and materials

Having decided on the fabric and size, you should prepare all the necessary tools.

To work you will need:

eyelets;
sharpened scissors;
grommet tape for curtains (can be replaced with doubler tape or non-woven fabric);
tailor's chalk or pencil;
sewing supplies: needles, threads, scissors;
iron;
sewing machine.

Sewing curtains does not require special skills, just basic knowledge and the ability to operate a sewing machine.

Initial fabric processing

Sewing begins with finishing the edges.

Procedure:

The top is folded 2 cm to the wrong side and ironed.
The size of the next hem depends on the width of the eyelet tape.
Inside the folded part of the curtains, a tape is laid, the length of which is shorter than the width of the curtains by the amount of allowance for the side hem.
Curtains are carefully ironed. To avoid damaging the fabric with a hot iron, it is better to use white cotton cloth.
A stitch is laid along the upper edge of the curtain and at the place of the hem.
Then the bottom of the curtains and the sides are double hemmed.

For curtains made of dense material, the hem can be made larger, and vice versa, for light, flowing fabrics, the size of the top allowance will be minimal. Its value is also affected by the size of the eyelets: it increases as the diameter of the fastening elements increases.

Marking places for attaching eyelets

Installation of eyelets begins with markings. After making sure that the tape is securely glued and the edges are properly processed, you can begin marking along which the rings will subsequently be installed.

To achieve a beautiful wave effect, the number of rings should always be even, and the number of spaces between the rings should be odd.

First, they determine the size of the upper indentation - the scallop. For dense fabrics it is larger, for tulle, organza and tulle - less. The distance between the rings can vary from 15 (soft drapery) to 22 cm (embossed folds). The optimal gap is 18 cm.

Instructions:

First, lay the fabric out on a flat surface.
Step back 5–7 cm from the edge to make the first mark.
Do the same on the opposite side - this will be the last mark.
Attach the fastener and trace its inner circumference with chalk.
Repeat this procedure at regular intervals.

Fastening the rings

After applying the markings, begin installing the rings. Using scissors, cut a circle on the fabric, moving 1–2 mm from the edge of the mark to the outer edge. One half of the eyelet is placed on the inside, the other on the front side of the curtain. They snap into place.

Types of grommet rings

The materials from which this type of fastening is made are varied - from metal to plastic of various shapes and colors.

Installation methods also directly depend on this. A plastic eyelet is much easier to install, but a large load on it is unacceptable! If desired, you can remove it and use it again, but the fixation of the edges of the fabric will be very poor - they crumble and become deformed, and the product looks sloppy.

Colored metal eyelets are much more reliable than plastic ones - they hold the fabric perfectly, preventing it from tearing.

Steel fasteners are considered the most reliable for fastening fabrics, leather parts, and cardboard. But before you install eyelets without tools on clothes or shoes, you will need to practice on unnecessary pieces of material. This is necessary to understand how the work is going and not to spoil the thing.

The most popular way to use eyelets is to attach them to curtains. To do this, you additionally need grommet tape, which is sold in specialized stores. It is used to glue the edge of the fabric, creating rigidity.

The mount itself can have a completely different shape - from circles to animals. The color palette is also huge.

Curtain eyelets will help to form smooth, interesting and neat folds. In order to move such a curtain on the eaves, you do not need to apply any force. The fabric does not wear out on the cornice, and, accordingly, its service life is longer.

How to properly secure a cornice

All that remains is to hang the finished curtains on the rod. To achieve beautiful drapery, you need to choose a cornice of suitable length. Ideally, it should exceed the width of the window opening by at least 15 cm.

A distinctive feature of these curtains is their beautiful “comb”, so the curtain rod should not be installed too high. There should be some distance between the ceiling and the guide.

The cornice is attached to the wall with brackets. Installation on the ceiling is possible, but in this case you should choose a long bracket to avoid deformation of the upper edge of the curtains.

Pros and cons of self-installation

Installing eyelets on curtains at home is not very difficult. But before starting work, you should clearly weigh the pros and cons. So, the pros:

realization of creative potential;
as a result, you can get exclusive curtains that you can be proud of;
saving the family budget - installing such fasteners yourself will cost much less than purchasing a finished product or having it sewn in a studio.

How to care for eyelet curtains

During use, any curtains become dirty and dust settles on them, so washing cannot be avoided.

Machine washable

If the manufacturer has indicated a special symbol on the fabric label that allows machine washing, then you can safely entrust the curtains to household appliances. No special preparation of curtains is required for the cleaning procedure.

The following rules should be followed:

Wash only in a special bag. If you don’t have one on hand, you can replace it with a pillowcase of a suitable size.
Set the temperature to low and switch the machine to delicate mode.
It is better not to wring out light materials (tulle, organza). It is enough to carefully hang the curtains; after all the water has drained, the fabric will smooth out under its own weight.

Handwash

If the fabric manufacturer does not allow machine washing, you will have to hand wash the curtains. It is recommended to use shampoo or special gel. The curtains are soaked in warm water for a while and then rinsed thoroughly.

It happens that after washing the fabric comes out from under the ring. Don't be afraid of this. To fix this problem, simply remove the ring, fill in the loose material, and put the structure back together.

Distinctive features

Thanks to them, the curtain can be closed quickly and easily. They are located so freely that they do not impede the movement of the canvas. They move smoothly and calmly along the cornice. They don’t sag, stay straight, and don’t form wrinkles. When moving, they do not affect it, ensuring wear resistance of any model.

A distinctive feature is that it can be attached to curtains. They look installed on special equipment. In fact, even a non-professional can secure them. The time and effort spent will not keep you waiting long. Carefully hung curtains compensate for the work.

In places where there are slits, beautiful natural folds are created along the entire length of the curtains, which allows you to create romantic comfort.

Useful tips

The use of eyelets provides the housewife with many opportunities to change and improve the interior. So, curtains can be used to zone a small room. Open curtains look playful and give an ordinary bedroom the appearance of a boudoir, while tightly drawn curtains give a feeling of privacy and intimacy.

Eyelets can be used not only as fasteners, they also serve a decorative function, at the same time being a decoration and part of the composition.

You can safely play with the fastening, sometimes trying the most unexpected combinations.

You should not believe the statement that curtains for curtains with grommets are not the most successful companion. The combination of flowing tulle, gathered at the top and fixed on the cornice in the traditional way (on hooks or clothespins), with thick curtains strung on a rod, looks original, unusual and incredibly beautiful.

Store-bought or homemade?

A wide variety of models of roller, Roman, pleated and other compactly assembled curtains on sale does not necessarily guarantee that among the entire offered range there will be a perfectly suitable product. The main characteristics of industrially produced options are:

standardized sizes. The typical size range - length, width - is designed for the popular dimensions of metal-plastic and wooden windows;
neutral colors. For the most part, ready-made curtains have calm, soft colors that are suitable for different interiors. Colored and printed products are more expensive;
using non-woven or woven synthetic materials as a base fabric. Their advantages are resistance to ultraviolet radiation, ease of cleaning, durability, and strength. The main disadvantage is the synthetic nature;
standard opening/closing mechanisms;
standard finish or lack thereof.

For many users, all of the above features are advantages. But if you have a non-standard window size, a desire to create an individual design, or a desire for natural materials, it is better to try to order a suitable model or create roller blinds for plastic windows with your own hands.