Do you want to learn how to pinch pleat curtains on a budget using IKEA curtains? DIY pinch pleat curtains are an easy and inexpensive way to update plain curtain panels and make them look high end. No sewing is required with the method I will show you in this post for beautiful IKEA pinch pleat curtains!
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What is a pinch pleat curtain?
A pinch pleat curtain is a type of curtain where the fabric is folded and stitched into multiple pleats at the top of each panel. This allows the fabric folds to flow down, creating an elegant and traditional look. Pinch pleat curtains are typically made up of three “fingers” per pleat. The more pleats, the fuller the appearance. The fullness of the drapes is one of the main characteristics of pinch pleat curtains. The combination of the pleats along with the fullness create a desirable high end look.
Pinch pleats require extra fabric and are labor intensive which significantly increases the cost of pinch pleat drapes compared to other styles. That’s why I’m excited to share with you this IKEA curtain hack on how to pinch pleat IKEA curtains, they are easy and budget-friendly DIY pinch pleat drapes!
Instructions for DIY pinch pleat drapes
Without further ado, let’s pinch pleat IKEA curtains!
Materials
- IKEA HANNALILL curtains (I used two pairs, the color I used is not available but these IKEA ROSENROBINIA curtains are similar)
- IKEA RÄCKA curtain rod
- Curtain rod finials (the ones I used are discontinued but these new ones are really cute!)
- IKEA BETYDLIG curtain rod bracket
- IKEA SY iron-on hemming tape
- Pinch pleat curtain hooks
- Curtain rings
Tools
- Scissors
- Iron
- Measuring tape
Step 1: How to shorten curtains
To create these custom pinch pleated drapes, I started by shortening them to fit our space perfectly:
I like using a measuring tape and just sliding it along as I cut. This way, I don’t have to mark a line on the curtain itself.
Step 2: How to widen curtains
Pinch pleat curtains require extra fabric to achieve that high end full look. The more pleats, the fuller the appearance. That’s why I decided to double up the curtains and use one pair (two panels) on each side of the window for a total of two pairs (four panels). To widen the curtains, I connected two panels using iron-on hemming tape.
First, I cut off the side seam on one of the panels to avoid unnecessary bulkiness:
Then, I aligned the two panels:
Next, I placed the iron-on hemming tape in between the two fabrics:
Then, I used my iron to secure the iron-on hemming tape:
I repeated this process on the next section:
I recommend working on a few inches at a time!
Step 3: How to pinch pleat curtains
The IKEA HANNALILL curtains come with a curtain header that supports different applications, including pinch pleats which makes this IKEA curtain ideal to create DIY pinch pleat curtains!
To create triple pinch pleat curtains (the more traditional look made up of three “fingers” per pleat), I decided to use these curtain hooks with four hooks instead of the IKEA RIKTIG curtain hooks with two hooks. Using these curtain hooks will help create more fullness and achieve that high end look with this pinch pleat curtains DIY project!
Here’s how the spacing works out with the curtain hooks I used and the IKEA HANNALILL curtains:
With these curtains there are three levels of hoops to pull the metal hooks through. I found it easiest to pull all four hooks through the first level and then move on to the next level vs pulling one hook through all the levels first. This is the first level at the bottom:
As the first step, I pulled all four hooks through the first level:
Then, I pulled all four hooks through the second level:
Lastly, I pulled all four hooks through the third level:
After that, I flipped the curtain to pull the fabric pleats into place to finish off this section of the triple pinch pleat curtains:
Then, I moved on to the next curtain hook!
Step 4: How to hang pinch pleat curtains
In this last step, I’ll show you how to hang pinch pleat curtains!
To hang my DIY pinch pleat curtains, I used black curtain rings and looped the pinch pleat curtain hooks through them.
On the last curtain ring on each side, I actually took the end fabric hoop of the curtain and pulled it over the last curtain hook like this:
This gave me a nice wrapped curtain finish on each side of my IKEA pinch pleat curtains:
Finished IKEA pinch pleat curtains
Here are the finished pinch pleat curtains with the black curtain rod and black pinch pleat curtain hooks!
I love how these IKEA pinch pleat curtains turned out and I’m so glad I pinch pleated them!
The pinch pleats really do create a lot of fullness and make these IKEA pinch pleat curtains look high end. I also love the way they look with the mural in our daughter’s room!
I hope this tutorial was helpful in showing you how to make pinch pleat curtains and how to hang pinch pleat curtains! Let me know if you end up trying this IKEA curtain hack in your home.
As always, feel free to reach out with any questions!
Tina
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