I tried years ago,and they looked home-sewn by someone who wasn't a particularly talented seamstress! But I was young, and couldn't have afforded custom curtain even if I wanted them, so they were fine at the time.

There are some videos on YouTube that show a way to do the rod pocket type. I know I saw it posted on the Sewing forum a while back. Seemed simple enough. They were even lined.

They're not that difficult to do. Basically, you'll measure the width and length of the window. I double the width of the fabric for rod pocket or pinch pleated. I add about a foot for the length, sew the top first and hem last. The videos might be very helpful, but common sense will get you through it. Measure and have patience!

Check on line...you can make no sew panels too.

I have marginal sewing abilities (7th and 8th grade HomeEc), and made funky curtains throughout the early years of being married. Now, when I can get nice panels from Ikea for $25, I don't attempt it anymore.

Except, I did make a cute valance for over my kitchen window. I found a how-to online and it's even lined. I amazed myself.

I have sewn all my own curtains and have also made fully lined pleated drapes using panels that I painted myself. I sew the fabric for the drapes before I paint them so that I can control the movement of the pattern. I have done a lot of fabric painting, and this allows me to get the colors and patterns that I want for a room.

For my bedroom, I made fully lined curtains, but you can also make curtains by simply hemming the fabric all around, and then you can use clip-on rings for the curtain rods. For my living room, I made loops from grosgrain ribbon for hanging panels of fabric in the windows on either side of the front door. To do this, I used a facing fabric with the loops between the front fabric and the facing fabric. I also made a fully lined curtain for the linen closet in my bedroom that is hung on a hidden tension curtain rod.

You can also get tips from the sewing forum.

I have made all my curtains as we moved around for years. I wanted matching quilts and curtains and was not interested in "the pottery barn" look. I would say as far as sewing goes, you can't get much easier than basic curtains. What sort are you envisioning? Formal pleated, lined curtains take an eye for detail but it is all straight stitching. As far as cost--for many years now sewing gets you more options for colors/patterns fabrics, it no longer gets you much of a reduction on cost. There are ways to decrease your price but that entails finding a discount fabric shops, coupons and sales. I am not sure that is best for a new sewer as you probably want to feel fabric, ask for assistance etc. Pattern companies also sell patterns for many different curtain styles. Curtains are pretty straight forward but if having a pattern helps your confidence it may be worth the price to you.

You can get creative with tablecloths, sheets, painters drop cloths, even towels to create interesting window treatments. When I was in my college dorm, I hung printed bordered flat sheets from the rod as my window treatment...just slide the rod through the top hem.

For fun, I was looking on pinterest for no sew window treatments and came across this one...a new one for me. Very clever.

At the old house, I used to make no sew valances for my windows for the holidays...I'd take a sheet of styrofoam and wrap it in xmas wrapping paper and tie a big bow around it and then hook it to the curtain rod...it was lightweight and very easy to do....if I needed a longer one I would hook the styrofoam together by dipping toothpicks in white glue and then sticking them halfway into each of the pieces I wanted to butt together and then, once joined, reinforce the seam with duct tape.

I've also made pleated valances by wrapping the styrofoam in quilt batting first and then wrapping and pinning the fabric over top, pleating as I went...came out really nice.

Here is a link that might be useful: curtain from old slides

This post was edited by AnnieDeighnaugh on Thu, Jan 22, 15 at 9:45

And get a load of this product....doesn't get much easier...

Here is a link that might be useful: deco wrap

Simple curtains are not hard to sew. I make most of my curtains because I want specific colors and styles that I cannot always find or don't want to pay ridiculous prices for. Just made a valance for my living room, saw one online at a nice curtain store which would have cost me $240. I made mine for about $60. But - I will say that it is not always cheaper to have a seamstress make curtains or anything else. If you want anything custom made, it costs more, as you should expect. Custom made gives you unlimited options as to color, style, materials, etc. which will cost more and of course you are also paying for the seamstresses time and skills.

Why not start small? Say, a kiddo's room or guest room that isn't regularly used. You could try your hand with something very simple, and work your way up (or not!). I used to sew panels for my daughter's room (google wide pocket adjustable rod -- scrunched up along the top - as much or as little top frill as you'd like), and it was easy and inexpensive enough to swap out different fabrics as she got older. We always donated the curtains we were replacing, so they never went to waste. Maybe this will save you enough money to splurge on more formal dining/living rooms. Good luck!

(BTW, picture not mine...and you'd want to use longer fabric for curtains as opposed to the topper shown.)

Not sure if this is at all helpful to anyone else; I came across a blog entry (link below) with the following tip but have never used it myself:

'If you arenâÂÂt picky, or if you donâÂÂt need something that looks super high end and you just want some pretty fabric panels sewn, then your new best friend is your drycleaner/tailor.
Drapery is sooo easy to sew, its having the space that is difficult which is why i donâÂÂt do it very often. But its just two double hems on the sides and 4-6â³ hems on the top and bottom. Straight seams. SOOOO easy. So normally your local dry-cleaner will do it for $20 a panel (maybe even less).'

The blog post continues from there, but it struck a chord with me because my one attempt at sewing curtains was pretty unsuccessful due to the space issue that she mentions. In a small home with a small dining table, there was nowhere to lay the fabric out to pin the seams except on the carpet, which was too squishy to get accurate measurements and really get the seams straight. Add my cats running across the curtain fabric every 2 minutes, and you get... uneven, puckered curtains.

But for other folks, this may not be a problem at all! I'm not familiar with sewing studios, but if they have big enough workspace then that might completely fix the issue. If you're not very familiar with sewing, I recommend a very simple treatment like a rod pocket or using clip rings, but of course you might have great success with something fancier!

Here is a link that might be useful: Style by Emily Henderson

I think it's relatively easy as long as you are patient but it's the handling of long lengths of fabric that is tricky, as much for sewing as for pressing.

There are some really helpful sewing videos on youtube that may help you get more comfortable with what you need to do to make it happen.

Here is a link that might be useful: Make your own curtains

The sewing part of making window treatments is the easy part. It's all straight sewing. The hard part is the calculating, cutting, and pattern matching. Singer has some excellent books - Sewing for the Home, More Sewing for the Home, Sewing Projects for the Home. I can also recommend Sunset's Curtains, Draperies and Shades. I've made dozens of window treatments using these books. Also, Sailrite has some really nice videos.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sailrite videos