Wednesday, June 18, 2014

"Hide-the-Clip" Ring Top Curtains



I FINALLY made curtains for our family room. I ordered swatches over a year ago and just couldn't decide, so I waited. And waited.  Then, a few weeks ago I decided on a fabric and placed my order. 

But my decision-making had only just begun. I had to choose my hardware.  

My favorite curtain hardware for function is probably the ring-top. It consistently slides smoothly and is a cinch to put up and take down.  Ring-top has NOT been my favorite for looks, though, because of the ugly little clips used to attach the rings to the curtains. 

I used these on some curtains I hung in our old house. Overall I was happy with the curtains, but I hated seeing the clips. I would arrange the curtains carefully to try and hide them. 

So, this time around I devised a way to keep those little buggers hidden. And it worked!

All you need in addition to your normal curtain-making supplies is some grosgrain ribbon. 

First, attach the gross-grain ribbon to the top of the fabric, 1.5 inches down.  You can put one big strip of ribbon all the way across, or you can measure out and evenly space pieces of the ribbon (as I did), so attaching the clips at even intervals later will be easy. I am using 7 clips, so I have 7 pieces evenly spaced. Both of my curtains are shown here, one with the top folded over because I used the first one I did as a guide for the second. 

Sew the ribbon on three sides , leaving the bottom open. (Bottom of ribbon will become the top when you fold over and make the top tab of your curtain, as shown here.)

Finish the rest of your curtain top, sides and hem. 

Now, when you hang the curtains, clip the rings on to the hidden strips of ribbon.

Good-bye visible clips!

Easy sliding and no clips in sight!



Ahhh. I am always amazed at how much curtains add to a room.


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Smart Party Planning

12 comments:

  1. Spectacular idea!! I saw this on Thursdays Favorite Things


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  2. Genius! I love this idea. I have those clips on a couple sets of curtains and you are right they slide so nice but the clips are kind of an eye sore. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  3. What a great idea! Love those curtain patterns too :-)

    Thanks for sharing at Marvelous Monday on Smart Party Planning :-)

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  4. Your curtains are beautiful; love the color and pattern. This is such a good idea! Pinning!
    Stopping by from City of Creative Dreams link party.

    Val @ artsybuildinglady.blogspot.ca

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  5. Thank you for sharing this post at City of Creative Dream's City of Links on Friday! I appreciate you taking the time to party with me. Hope to see you again this week :)

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  6. Great idea for hiding the clips. I bought clips before and ended up using hooks instead. Thanks for sharing your tutorial with us on Merry Monday.

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  7. Absolutely fabulous! The clips make detaching the curtains a breeze, and by artfully hiding them, it doesn’t sacrifice the aesthetics. A truly ingenious idea. I'm definitely making that my next project. Hahaha! Thank you so much for sharing that! All the best to you!

    Shirley Todd @ Arjay SWF

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  8. That is the best idea! I'm always rearranging our dining room curtains trying to hide those ugly curtain rings. Thanks so much for sharing your creativity at the The DIY Collective this week! Hope to see you again this Thursday.

    Have an awesome week!
    ~ Ashley

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  9. I like your solution, but referring to ring clips as "b*****s" is extremely offensive.

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  10. Love the idea. My curtains will be panels like yours. They will be interlined and lined. Will they still hang right with this much weight? I need an answer as soon as possible since I am ready to cut draperies. Thanks. deemixson@bellsouth.net

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  11. where did you find the fabric?

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    1. Fabric.com
      It is a Sun-n-shade by Waverly fabric, so it will hold its color even after tons of sun exposure.

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