When we first moved into our house I was looking to affordably furnish and decorate it anyway I could, so I picked up a pair of $29 curtain panels from Ikea to use in our main living space just to get something up on the walls. Four years later, the white RITVA panels still hang in our front room and Ikea has become one of my favorite places for curtain panels. I have them in almost every room of the house! I love them because 1) they’re affordable, 2) they come in multiple long lengths and 3) all of their panels include a back tab for pleat hooks.
A lot of budget curtain panels will come with rod pockets, back tabs or grommets — but hanging curtains by pleat hooks immediately make them look more expensive and elevated. The hidden drapery rings and tailored pleats keep the panels hanging nice & straight, making your windows look beautiful and put together. Ikea sells pleat hooks for $7 along with $2.99 hem tape right in their store or online, so you can get the look of custom, finished curtains all for $40. Yes, please.
FAVORITE IKEA CURTAIN PANELS
These panels are my tried and true favorites, along with a newer release I just used in our living room that may become my go-to linen curtain.
HARDWARE
To get the look of finished curtains, pleat hooks and hemming them to the correct length will go a long way. And if you already have curtain panels without pleater tape on the back, you can buy it by the yard and sew it right onto your panels. I linked everything you need along with some of my favorite Amazon window hardware:
NO SEW PINCH PLEAT CURTAIN PANELS
There are a few different styles of pleated drapery, but for these panels I’m going to do what’s called a double pleat or two prong pinch pleat. It’s less fussy than a traditional pinch pleat but still dresses the curtains up a bit. I’m using the DYTAG curtain panels from Ikea. I love that they’re 100% linen and this warm gray will look so pretty against the dark paint in the living room. I typically would sew the pleats together, but I am going to show you how you can get pleats & hemmed curtains without ever bringing out a sewing machine by using Heat & Bond.
To get started, insert the pleat hooks along the pleater tape. I am using the back tabs as “center” and going out 4-5 spaces on each side, creating a generous pleat to work with.
You can see here that it will create this little “loop” or pleat (you could stop here and leave the panels with a single pleat or ripple fold for a more clean, relaxed look — like the white curtains in our front room).
Once you have all of your hooks in, it’s time to pinch the pleats by folding the loop in half, keeping the fold centered with the hook. You’ll want to iron the fabric in this “pinched” position so that it will hold when securing it with the Heat & Bond.
Once your pleat is ironed, it’s time to secure it. Cut a small piece of Heat & Bond the width of the fabric. Be sure not to let any hang past the edge of the pleat as it will darken the fabric; do, however, place right it to the edge of the fabric for a nice + tight “seam”:
Hold your iron on top of the pleat until the Heat & Bond is melted and securing the two sides of the fabric together. Tip: it helps to put a heavy book or tray on top as it cools to firmly secure the seam.
And voila — perfectly pinched pleats!
The 100% linen composition of these panels give them a soft, lived-in look that is so pretty and relaxed. I’m already scheming how to use these in another room!
LIVING ROOM SOURCES
Curtain Panels
Ikea DYTAG in Light Gray
Paint Color
Storm Cloud Gray by Benjamin Moore
Ottoman
Custom
Large Woven Table Lamp
Vintage Ethan Allen