File this under “A Lazy Mom’s Trick To Get More Sleep.” I made no-sew, mind-numbingly-easy, shortcut, DIY blackout curtains. Enough adjectives for you? I’m an over-explainer. Anyway, this isn’t the professional way, it’s the cheater way. Haha.
First the why. Although the faux wood blinds on Clara’s bedroom window provided a decent amount of light-blockage, I knew blackout fabric would make the room pitch black in the middle of the day (which means it might help with the just-one-forty-five-minute-nap that we’ve been getting these days). To JoAnn fabrics I flew, and purchased 5.5 yards of blackout fabric (which sort of felt like the white fabric on roller-blinds). Thanks to a 50% coupon I got it all for $15.
How I Made Blackout Curtains:
- I returned home with the 5.5 yards of fabric (I measured her existing curtains to see how much I’d need beforehand)
- I washed the fabric (it said dry clean only but the lady at the counter said I could wash it on cold and air dry it without any issue and she was right)
- I unclipped the two fabric curtain panels from Clara’s room and laid one on the floor on top of the blackout fabric to use as a template
- I cut two blackout curtain panels to the same size as the two curtains
- I debated sewing the back side of the fabric to the back side of the blackout fabric on three sides and then turning it rightside-in to hand sew the top closed, creating a finished panel the same way you’d make a pillow cover
- I realized I had four minutes before nap time and couldn’t wait to see if the blackout curtain would even make a difference
- I used my ring clips along the curtain rod to clip the curtain up in front of the blackout fabric without sewing anything together (thanks to the weight of both materials, the fabric drapes down in front of the liner, looking virtually identical to how it looked without it)
Haha, so with that description of virtually identical, I will now share a photo of Clara’s room that looks pretty much the same as many others I’ve shown sans blackout liner. Haha. But know that it’s there. Lurking.
So yeah, I’ll probably go back and sew at least a few sides of them together like a proper semi-dysfunctional seamstress (remember, I’m not exactly old friends with Oh Brother, but for now… it works). Clara has been giving us about 90 minutes for naptime instead of 45 for the past two days since we added it (we’ll take it!) and now sleeps 12+ straight hours overnight (from 7:30 pm to 8 am). In the keep-it-real department, she has always been an awesome night sleeper (I take no credit, it’s just how she was made) so this was more about attempting to convince her that napping for more than 45 minutes in the 12-ish hour span of day between that awesome night of sleep is a good idea. It was a total bonus that her usual 7:30 wake up time scooched back to 8.
So those DIY blackout curtain liners are well worth the fifteen bucks and fifteen minutes spent. Sleeping until 8 for the past two days has been amazing life saving, especially since we’ve been going to bed around 2am due to book stuff. But it’s all worth it! Can’t wait to share sneak peeks of our book shoots and other how-does-this-word-doc-become-an-actual-book stuff as we go (now that the final manuscript is in as of last night, well, this morning at 2:14am). Woot!
Have you guys taken any shortcuts lately? Are you all in complete disbelief that Clara runs around all day long and only naps for 45-90 minutes? When the Bowers came to visit Will was regularly serving up three hour naps and Jeremy couldn’t believe how Clara would pop back up a little over a half-hour later and be raring to go. And yes, I was jealous of their sweetly slumbering son. Very, very jealous. Do you know how much backsplash tile we could start installing over a nice three hour chunk of time? Haha. That’s ok though, we definitely can’t complain about the awesome night sleep Clara has given us pretty much from day one. And the fact that we can put her to bed at 7:30 and hammer away from 8 o-clock on is pretty darn awesome.
Psst- Wanna know where we got something in our house or what paint color we used? Just click on this button:
Dave says
“…Fifteen Dolla Black Out Curtains” cause that us how da $herdog be doin’ all up in tha Richmond hood. Now Clara be sleepin it up, straight gansta.
LOL…you kill me.
YoungHouseLove says
That made me laugh out loud.
xo,
s
Lucy says
Blackout blinds and curtains are GREAT!! Your new ones look lovely – I went for the even easier lazier mothers option and got a wonderful person namely my mother to make both sets for my children (before they were born!) Neither of mine slept until month 9 but then WOW they slept 7pm till 7am!! Plus a 2 hour nap at lunch time which slowly dwindled over the years(although my son I was still putting to bed at the weekend for a lunch nap when he went to school at 41/2 (UK so we start younger)for a few months until he was able to cope with it all!) Now at the ages of almost 9 and 6 they still sleep solidly from 7 till 7 (7.30 for the eldest!)I doubt I will ever throw my blackout combo out!
Kristi says
Ha, my son gave up his second nap completely a bit before he was 2. He’s just a no-nap kind of guy. He sleeps 11 hours at night, but no breaks during the day. We’ve adjusted!
Heather W. says
Totally off topic but I wanted to ask you. When filling nail holes etc. on my painted or prepainted walls I have noticed that the semi-gloss paint doesn’t seem to have it’s sheen over these spots. I watched your video yesterday and thought I would sand the wall a little bit after filling in the holes (I always wipe away any excess still on the wall first) and you can still see the difference in the paint sheen. I am thinking of repainting the hallway/entryway anyway and using a satin paint. Just wondered if you noticed this or had any suggestions. Thx!
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, I haven’t noticed this. Maybe try sanding a bit more? And then painting a bigger swatch on the wall in that area (ex: not just a small blob over that spot but a 2 foot by 2 foot square that you feather out around it) – hope it helps!
xo,
s
Heather W. says
Thanks, yea I usually will paint the whole wall or a pretty big section. It’s like I didn’t get all the DAP off the wall or something. I use BM paint and I have had this problem in any room that I have done that has semi-gloss paint painted on the wall after filling in the holes. Should you always sand the spot after filling even if it is the wall? I have not always done that. Do you always sand your walls too after filling in nail holes etc. I know this seems dumb but it is bugging me. =)
YoungHouseLove says
I don’t sand when it’s super flush (ex: if I fill the hole and get a really good clean result without anything to sand then I won’t – but if I have some roughed up wall around it from extra spackle I’ll sand it flush). Oh and semi-gloss paint shows a lot more “variations” (aka: flaws) in general – so that might explain it (flat paint usually hides that stuff a lot, and the shinier you go, the more they show. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Jenn R. says
My husband thanks you. He works nights, sleeps days and has been asking for black out curtains for quite some time. While I love my husband, my sewing machine and I are not on speaking terms, so this will work out great! Thank you for the push to get it done :)
Laura says
Hmm, much less, um, ghetto? than the trash bags I put over our Clara’s windows this morning at our temporary rental. ;)
Angela @ Happy Fit Mama says
In my desperate need for a longer day time nap, I bought pre-made blackout curtains from Target. If I had been more alert, I probably would have made them like you. Maybe next time I’m in need of blackout curtains!
Christina Yin says
Ha! I did almost the exact same thing a few weeks ago, but I stitched the liner to the curtains, just under the pocket for the curtain rod. The first one is totally wonky despite the million pins I used. The second is perfectly straight because my husband had the brilliant idea of using painters tape to hold everything in place while I sewed. And there are no tiny pin holes in the liner, which, unlike fabric isn’t exactly forgiving in that area. Gotta love rogue sewing techniques.
I didn’t even think about finishing the other edges…maybe I will. And maybe not. Though the blackout liner improved things significantly, I still have a bunched up dark sheet stuffed between the rod and the wall for now to keep that light out, and stuffed animals lined up along the floor holding the curtains against the wall.
My boy needs it d a r k.
PS: I’ll miss you on Baby Center, but my sister and I will forever be grateful for introducing us to Baby Led Weaning! We read your post separately and changed our approach to feeding our babies the very next day.
YoungHouseLove says
So glad it worked for ya! Love BLW!
xo,
s
Carrie says
Seriously? I heart you. We just bought a foreclosure, so I’ve been eagerly following your cabinet painting posts. After I get a banquette built in my kitchen, cabinet painting is next on the list.
I was just putting my 8-month-old down for a nap when I thought, “Gee. I wonder if Jo-Ann sells blackout fabric so that I can make Daisy some curtains for this new bedroom.” Daisy went to sleep, I got on the internet, and voila! Your post! Thanks for the timely project!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw so glad to help Carrie! Good luck! And Daisy is the sweetest name ever.
xo,
s
Andrea says
Super congrats on handing in the final manuscript!!! You better believe I am scooping that up the moment it’s available : )
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Andrea!
xo,
s
Amber says
I did the same thing to the curtains in our master bedroom – I debated sewing them also, but ended up using liquid stitch to secure the black out fabric to the curtains. It worked perfectly (and you don’t have to worry about damaging the existing curtain). We love them…although waking up at a reasonable time on the weekends has now become a challenge ;)
YoungHouseLove says
So smart!!!
xo,
s
Sara says
Thanks for posting this!! I’ll be moving into my first home at the end of the month (if the bathroom remodel and the kitchen floor get finished in time) and will definitely have to find time to whip up some curtains for my 6 month old’s room. She, like Clara, is up and ready to go within half an hour of going to sleep. Unfortunately she doesn’t sleep through the night. (She might miss something if she did!)
Melissa Breau says
Just clicked over to Joann’s website and they’re apparently having a 50% off sale on all stock home decor fabrics—including the black out fabric. Thought readers might want to know!! :-D
http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/productdetail.jsp?pageName=search&flag=true&PRODID=zprd_02117232a
YoungHouseLove says
No way! Thanks for sharing!
xo,
s
Karen says
I’m so excited for this post! I’m almost 6 months pregnant and planning on making blackout curtains for the nursery, thanks for the tips!
Kelly says
Love them…
Lindsay says
Hi there – this has probably been said higher up the page, so apologies if this is repeated advice, but watch out if you sew the lining to the curtain fabric. Each needle mark lets light through the blackout fabric – I found this out to my cost with baby number 1: spikes of sunlight all down the seams, totally ruining the intended effect :( Soooo annoying!
Loving your kitchen transformation by the way. Can’t wait to see your floor, backsplash and floating shelves – all in good time though; you people deserve a vacation the workload you’ve had over the last few weeks!
YoungHouseLove says
No way! I never thought about that! Thanks for the tip!
xo,
s
Kim W Rily says
You’re totally inspiring me now. While Max does give us nearly three hours of nap in the afternoon IF I can persuade him to sleep– sometimes he skips it– We just redid our bedroom and DH ripped out the very old plain dust-colored (okay, white) blinds. We’re trying to decide between new light wood blinds and curtains. I got some blackout curtains from Ikea for our French doors, but not sure what we’ll do on the windows. Any pros and cons about blinds vs curtains? For now, we’ve been watching the sunrise behind our kids treehouse every morning.
(Also, LUCKEEEEE. Max hasn’t slept till 7:30 or 8:00 ever! Mitch and I take turns on the weekends who gets to get up with him at 6:30-7:00!)
BTW, one day soon you may have the opposite problem. I have trouble getting my little one to wake up! (Samantha is now 5 and we have to wake her up to get ready for kindergarten.)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s too funny! The idea of going into her room and waking Clara up seems so foreign! Haha. As for the curtains vs. blinds thing, I like curtains for height/interest/fun + blinds for actual light control (can lower them, half close them, half raise them, etc – lots more options than just open and closed like curtains. Our preference is faux wood blinds + curtains on all windows for the most flexibility!
xo,
s
karen says
Definitely off to get blackout fabric. Thanks for the tutorial.
I think you should write a post on how you keep all your store coupons organized. Mine are paper-clipped, in envelopes….all over the place. I need a system!
YoungHouseLove says
This is my method: all non-food coupons go in the side door of the car (my side, the passenger side). That way they’re always with us when we’re out (although sometimes we have to run out to the car to get them if we forget to bring them in, at least they’re right in the parking lot). They’re just tossed in there in a crazy wad- but someday I want to get one of those small accordion folders and organize them more! Oh and the food ones stay inside in a small clear envelope so we just take them with us when we’re going grocery shopping.
xo,
s
alex says
Wait…ive noticed something. And just to make sure im not insane…did you move Clara’s crib again?…cause in the video its opposite the door (which is awesome, I think that is a darker area and you dont disturb her if you peek in to check) but then in the post is back over to where you had moved it originally…is that right or is my mind looking at an m.c Escher painting?
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, we blogged about that here I think! https://www.younghouselove.com/2011/08/moving-and-shaking/
xo,
s
Amanda says
Yay for longer naps! And I love that you didn’t sew them together – I have a love/hate relationship with my sewing machine too, so I totally understand!
Chrissie says
I need to do this for me! Then on the weekends when I get to sleep in past 5.30 (ouch) I may actually sleep!
Also, HUGE congratulations on finishing the manuscript, it sounds like a mammoth effort for both of you. I cannot wait to read it :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Chrissie!
xo,
s
HeatherM says
Great job!
My MIL made awesome black out shades when my husband was a baby. She made fabric roman shades w/ a timeless fabric. But inside these shades, she lined them in Mylar. And she also stitched magnets all the way down both sides and the bottom of the curtains, and then glued a magnetic strip along the bottom and sides of the window (I don’t notice the strip when the curtains are open. When the curtains are down, they insulate well (my in-laws have a drafty 110-yr old bungalow), and block out all light and all drafts. The curtains are still there 30 years later, and when I sleep there, I always have absolutely no clue whether it is day or night when I wake up. The only problem is that to this day, my husband can’t sleep well with the light on.
YoungHouseLove says
Wow- that’s amazing! I love the magnet thing!
xo,
s
Emily says
JoAnn’s clerk was right. Most dry clean only fabrics CAN be washed in cold water, use woolite if lightly soiled, air dry, no heat. Satin can be washed, too, if the whole piece is submerged, there will not be any water stains. Press if needed with a cool iron. Wash fabrics before cutting. Shrinkage is minimal, but fabric should be pre-shrunk before cutting. Also, oxy-clean brightens vintage fabric without fading colors. I don’t know about most people, but I can’t afford the expense or the hassle of drycleaning. I don’t recommend washing slipcovers, or cushion covers. The washer agitation will fray the material if it is coarsely woven, best to dry clean.
YoungHouseLove says
Good to know!
xo,
s
anna says
huh. i did *exactly* the same thing yesterday. only i live in australia, where everything is twice the price and we don’t get coupons. so my 5 metres of blockout fabric cost $60. (which i thought was quite reasonable!)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw- that’s still totally worth it for the awesome darkness!
xo,
s
Ikl says
My 25 mth old gave up naps at 18 months and still wakes up all nite long. U have no clue how lucky u r….some kids dont need a n y sleep!!!
Emily says
I totally cheated with our little guy’s blackout curtains. We have the clip hooks on the rods as well and my mom and I just ended up cutting the blackout fabric a little smaller than the front curtain fabric. Then we just stitched the blackout fabric at the top! So the rest of it hangs loose. It’s been up there a couple months and I think it will work just great and don’t plan on sewing up the rest. Obviously if you liked sewing (I don’t much either, but am learning) you could make them better, but hey if it works it works! The blackout fabric doesn’t seem to ravel at all so I don’t think it would be a problem to leave it that way that I can tell.
Elizabeth says
So smart and simple! I cannot sleep with blackout blinds. I had them at my parents house and I would wake up in the middle of the night disoriented.
Claire says
For anyone interested, we bought really nice black out curtains from Bed, Bath and Beyond using their 20 off coupon. Just another option. :)
mp says
I put up new curtains backed by a pre-made blackout curtain in November, which made ALL THE DIFFERENCE in my east-facing bedroom. Now I want to do new curtains for my living room and dining room (side by side & open in a house that is otherwise not open floor plan) and specifically plan to add lighter fabric that will let light in — the current ones block everything and make the rooms gloomy.
Asha says
Finally! A DIY project I can do ;) I was just trying to pin some DIY blackout curtain ideas for my 16 month old. He’s a great night time sleeper of late, but he takes a bit of convincing that his afternoon nap is justified… not dark enough for him. This will do the trick for sure. Where did you find your curtain clips? Smart idea. FYI- totally pinning this (and I’ll include the link to your site. Gotta give props! Props…yeah, bringing back the 90s.)
YoungHouseLove says
Those curtain clips (and rod) are from Target! Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Toni says
I can definitely imagine how exciting this project makes you feel! Our kids’ room has cellular blinds and I am kicking myself for deciding against the blackout option when we purchased them. Foolish! I made some light blockers of my own– white foam presentation board covered on one side with an old linen curtain for added light-blocking power. Saved me a bit of money over buying black presentation board. They buckle a bit now, after nearly a year of use, and I’d love to come up with a nicer solution. I can’t decide whether to layer curtains over blinds (weird?) or behind them, closer to the window (awkward to operate?), so I keep putting that project on the back burner. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Clara’s room has white faux wood blinds layered in there too! Oh and our bedroom does too. We like curtains over blinds in a lot of rooms actually!
xo,
s
KarenH. says
God love you–if you could get a cheap Brother to sew at all, you’re practically a magician. The only sewing machine manufacturer I know of that makes a decent under-$200 machine is Janome. If you ever check out the sewing machine reviews on patternreview.com (I have no affiliation with them other than I’m a member and think it’s a great resource for sewing related reviews), Janome is well respected and liked, even in the entry-level.
I think you did great and I love Clara’s curtain fabric.
Kristen says
Just in case no one has mentioned it yet, the Jo-Ann in the West End of Richmond (on Broad near Parham) is moving a new location, so they’re clearancing out their entire store I think beginning the middle of January, through their move date of March 9. I got a few things this past weekend on sale and definitely plan to go back to catch some of the deals. Thought I’d pass it along for anyone who’s interested!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tip!
xo
s
Pip says
Congratulations Sherry and John on finishing the manuscript! (and getting balance back re: babycentre blog- hope you’re back on that even keel). Blackout curtains are heaven sent – I’m prepared to do almost anything to help my nearly 2yo boy keep his 90min+ midday nap going! Classic music on a loop – check, grobag zipped up -check, pacifier (the shame!) -check. Go naps!
Lauren says
A 45-90 minute nap at 2 years old is great! My son started napping for only 30 minutes at a time when he was only 2 months old (and only had four of those naps a day). He was down to 1 nap already at 12 months old, but thankfully that nap was an hour – much better than half an hour.
Then at 18 months he went on a 10 day long nap STRIKE, where he didn’t nap AT ALL. Now he is back to a 45-60 minute nap once a day (at 21 months). And he only sleeps 10 hours at night. He is super cheerful and smart, though, so it must be all he needs. Therefore, I am not at all shocked by Clara’s 45-90 minute naps. I WISH I could get a 90 minute nap out of Noah! :)
It’s funny how kid’s sleep needs can vary SO widely. My nephews need an incredible amount of sleep, like 3-5 hours of naps a day, and then they sleep 12-13 hours at night… THIS shocks me!!! One of them is almost 3 and he STILL sleeps that much! He sleeps more than Noah has ever slept in his entire life.
Ok, enough about baby sleep…
Anna says
The long sleeps at night will mean shorter day naps – you can’t have both! Well some people do, but lets not talk about them…just call them names instead…
I have never had either with my 2.5 year old (20 minute naps for the first year, moving up to a daily 45 min at 1yr and now 1-1.5hrs if I run her ragged – and only just starting to sleep through to 5am occasionally in the past month). High energy does not even begin to describe my little darling. So enjoy your angel sleeper as the next one (if you so choose to have another) may not be such a good sleeper!
Katrina Gelino says
Don’t underestimate the power of your glue gun! I use it in place of many sewing projects and its amazing. I’ve made curtains, pillows & cushions with nothing more than fabric and my trusty glue gun. TRY IT!
Katrina
YoungHouseLove says
Never even thought of that!
xo,
s
Megan says
Hey there,
With the mention of your book, I wanted to ask whether it will be available as any e-book format. I bet lots of your readers would be interested, so if you haven’t talked about it with your publisher, you might want to!
Megan
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Megan! I think it’s still an open-ended detail but I’ll put in a vote for making it available if possible!
xo,
s
diane says
I am sure they will help but will keep my fingers crossed for longer naps. Black out fabric can also regulate the temp in the room which helps young and old alike sleep better. We carry all sorts so check it out.
Ryan says
I really like those nice funky flower curtains! More sleep is always a good thing for moms.
Debbie C says
Hee hee, I did the same thing with blackout liners from Target, just clipped those puppies up right behind the panels! No sewing! You are REALLY fortunate that Clara sleeps 12 hours straight at night, that is awesome!
Lisa says
I need to try this! My 1 year old also takes only 1 short nap… I would love it if this would get him to sleep a little longer!
Courtney Rutledge says
OK. So I read this and not sure why I haven’t thought of this sooner. Since I was T-1minute away from nap time I taped (can you believe) it a blanket on my non-napping 2 year olds super bright window and she is taking a nap as we speak. So, after nap time I am heading to Jo-Ann’s. My question is how do you know what fabric is black out? Thanks so much! I still don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner. Sometimes we make things harder than they really are!
YoungHouseLove says
I just asked them to show me what they had for blackout fabric and they lead me to this aisle with a few options (I’m not sure they were labeled as blackout because I remember them being called thermal window liner or something – but they’re big bolts of white fabric that feels sort of plastic-y and rubberish like the material on a roller shade). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
MamaJ says
Gosh, I love those panels!
And baby naps are pretty much the best thing ever. Without them, I wouldn’t get anything done. I hope the blackout helps mama get a little more sleep :)
Jara says
Your post inspired me! I am not a sewer in the least, but have been feeling a need to get crafty recently and decided this would be my first project. After purchasing fabric and a sewing machine, I set out to making curtains for our bedroom (which faces directly into the morning sun). After about three hours and many curses later, I was able to complete the project. Sewed the blackout and curtain fabric together and it worked great!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahooo! Congrats Jara!
xo,
s
Sharon says
Adding black out fabric to the back of the curtains I made in my (now) 15 month olds room has saved our lives. He sleeps 12 or so hours at night too. Now I’m making some for my friend’s newborn. What a cheap way to help a baby get its precious sleep!
dawn says
So glad you posted this tip! I’ve been looking at all sorts of no-sew options for black-out liners, and was about to buy a not-so-well-reviewed set of black-out blinds (expensive concertina paper, according to some reviews). All this would entail is a nice and easy trip to Ikea to get the curtain clips for our Ikea rod*! And an easy, but less nice, trip to Jo-Ann’s Fabrics.
*Don’t know why, but I’ve always just put the curtains directly on the rod itself. Always thought the clips were for home-made or non-Ikea curtains without the pre-sewn holes. Can you guess how reluctant I am to sew?)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- good luck with everything!
xo,
s
Robyn in Chicago says
10 minutes before I read this post I said to my husband, ” maybe we should get blackout curtains so our baby will take longer naps”. It’s like you read my mind….
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- I love it!
xo,
s
Angela says
I’m so sad! I was inspired to do the same thing in my son’s room after reading this post, so I went out, bought blackout liner, and hung them up. Sadly, he is still taking his usual 1-hour nap and waking up at the same time. I really thought it would work, but I guess he is smarter than my trickery. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw man, maybe it just takes a few days for adjustment?
xo,
s
Josi says
Hi…
I like this idea for Clara’s room. I’ve seen this same fabric before (that you used for the curtains- the floral… not the black out). Can you tell me who the designer is so I can find it as well?
Thanks
YoungHouseLove says
It’s by Waverly a while back – so maybe try ebay? Hope it helps!
xo,
s