How To Make A Curtain For Your Garage Door Window

Whip up a custom curtain for a garage door windows in no time.

Warm up the space, add privacy and a bit of charm.

Sew or no sew, this DIY is quick and easy to customize no matter what kind of garage door you have.


A few weeks ago, I was outside on the patio, watering my flowers and feeding the fish in the pond, when I noticed a giant tear in the garage door curtain.

WHOA.

Hold on a minute. When and how did this happen??

I grabbed my husband.


Ok. First of all...the sun??

I get it that direct exposure for several years could cause the fabric to weaken and fade, but spontaneously burst in two? Hmmm. I was skeptical.

And his reputation for reliability in these situations is sketchy at best.

But second, and even more astonishing, is how did I not notice this until now? Seriously, where have I been?

I guess between all that gray winter and spring weather and the non-stop rain we had earlier in the season, that giant rip just sort of blended in.

However, in the bright light of a sunny day, it was impossible not to see.

Great. Another project, just what I needed.

Well, rather than get cranky about it, I dug in. I grabbed my computer and started Googling to find a new curtain to fit the door.

I didn't want anything fancy, I was just looking for what I already had, what had been up there for years.

That was going to be the easiest fix. Of course, I ran into trouble immediately.


I don't know why or how, since the door is a standard size, but I couldn't find a compatible curtain anywhere. Too big, too small or way too expensive, so I abandoned Plan A and went to Plan B...DIY.

Rather than get myself in a twist, I decided to look upon it as an opportunity to use up some of the fabric in my stash. I certainly have enough of it.

The only issue was what pattern to choose? I'd always just had a white semi-sheer curtain there, would a pattern look silly in the garden? I wasn't sure, but I decided to give it a shot.

I found a red (big surprise!) and white print that I thought would work and I started planning.

How To Make A Curtain For Your Garage Door Window

1. Measure The Window

Normally, I'd use my velcro trip, but since the rod was already up, I simply measured from top to bottom and added an inch to top and bottom to create a very simple rod pocket.

I didn't need a header since no one was looking at the inside of that room.

Then I measured the width and cut my fabric one and one half times as large so I'd have enough material to gather it a bit and hem the sides about a half inch each.

2. Iron

Once my measurements were set and my panel was cut out, I ironed the areas where I was going to stitch.

It's much easier to iron than it is to pin and when you have simple, straight seams, an ironed edge may be all you need.

3. Stitch Or Glue The Seams

Now. If you don't sew, when you have that iron out, you can just lay down a bit of fusible webbing and iron it in place.

--> I like this Fusible Web.

The fabric will bond and voila. You'll have a custom curtain panel in a jiffy.


I do sew, and my machine was playing nice, so it took me no time to finish the curtain.

5. Hang It Up and Fluff The Pleats

Once it was complete, I took it back to the garage and hung it up on the rod that was already in place.


I snipped a few loose threads and positioned the gathers so they looked pretty from the outside.


I have to say, I was truly astonished what a difference it made to have a patterned fabric out there. it really changed the feel of the entire patio.


It warmed up the space immediately and made the garage look a little more like a cottage and less like a utility space.

It's improved my garden view dramatically.


It was such a quick fix, it got me thinking about swapping the curtain out more often.

Perhaps seasonally.

Perhaps for the holidays.

And definitely whenever the sun causes it to tear. 😉