DIY French Door Curtain Panel Tutorial: Before & After

french door curtain before and after
French doors are a bit of a curtain conundrum – if you use hanging curtains on a rod above they’re always in the way when you want to go in and out, while off-the-rack French door panels are usually really plain and snooze-worthy.  I had these John Robshaw designed panels from Anthropologie leftover from our old house, so I decided to chop them up for the doors leading from our master bedroom to the back patio and do a custom french door panel tutorial.

Surprisingly I think it was the quickest project I’ve done yet.

And thanks for the post POPSUGAR HOME!

1.  First cut your old curtain or your fabric.  Just measure the length you want your curtain to be and add 1.5 inches on each end (three inches total).  For the width you want it to be double the width of your window so you get nice gathers.

I used curtains that were already lined, but keep in mind that from the outside you will be able to see the back of the curtain through the windows, so use a fabric that looks good from both sides or add lining before going to the next step. Also because I used an old curtain, I did not have to hem the side edges – it was just already about double the width of my windows.  If you are using fabric you want to hem the side edges now.

2.  Now to create your rod pockets:  Fold the top of your curtain edge down 1/4 an inch and iron, then another half an inch and iron again.  Pin in place and sew:

You’ve created your rod pocket:

3. Repeat on the bottom of your curtain and any more curtains you want to make:

From the front it will look like this.  A great side note:  if your seam is uneven it won’t show when your curtain is gathered and hung:

4.  Now attach your Flat Sash Rod brackets to the top and bottom of your windows.  Run the rod through your curtain, starting with the top and hang:

Pull the edge over the bracket to hide it:


Which prevents any peeking room on the sides:

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