Hurrah! I finally crossed off the third task on my list of unfinished objects – the tiebacks for my kitchen curtains. Goodness knows why I put it off for so long. They were so quick and easy to make. For anyone who’s interested, here’s my quick and easy method to make tiebacks to fit any size curtains… They took me about 45 minutes per pair.
Requirements
- Card or paper for making template
- Fabric – approximately 0.5 – 0.75 yards/meters, depending on the size of your tiebacks. See how to calculate more accurately below.
- Buckram – approximately 1.5 – 2 yards/meters, depending on the size of your tiebacks. See how to calculate more accurately below.
- Thread to match or contrast as desired
- 4 curtain rings approximately 1 inch (2.5cm) diameter.
Create your template for your tieback
Gather one of your curtains with a tape measure at the point you wish your tieback to sit, so the curtain is drawn back in the way you want it to be. This measurement will give the finished width of each tieback.
Draw a horizontal line the same length as your measurement onto a piece of card or paper.
Add a line at each end the length you wish the ends of your tiebacks to be. If you’re not sure, just guess, you can always adjust later.
Mark a line below the centre of the horizontal line the length you wish the deepest part of your tieback to be.
Draw a curve joining this line to the lines at the edge in a smooth curve to complete the shape of your tieback. If you’re not happy with this shape redraw the lines until you are.
Once you are happy cut half the template as shown below then fold it over and use the cut half of the curve as a template to cut out the other half. This will create a perfectly symmetrical template.
Pic
Finally place your template around your curtain, as if it was your finished tieback, to check you will be happy with the finished product. If you’re not, re-measure and redraw until you are.
Calculate how much fabric you need for your tieback
Width: at least as wide as one tieback plus 1 inch or 3cm
Length in feet and inches = (4 x length at deepest part of tieback) + 2
Length in centimetres and meters = (4 x length at deepest part of tieback) + 6
Example, my tieback was 28 inches wide and 4 inches deep
Width of fabric required = 28 + 1 = 29 inches.
Length of fabric required = (4 x 4) + 2 = 18 inches
Or in centimetres:
My tieback was 70cm wide and 10cm deep
Width of fabric required = 70 + 3 = 73cms
Length of fabric required = (4 x 10) + 6 = 46 centimetres
You will also need two pieces of buckram the same size as your tieback template.
I used buckram from a roll 5inch/13cm wide, so for two 28inch/70cm tiebacks I needed a piece of buckram 56 inch/140cms long.
Cutting out your tieback
Fold over the top of your fabric along the straight grain, wrong sides together, about 3/4 inch (2cm) longer than the depth of your tieback. Place your template with the straight edge along the fold.
Draw a line on the fabric 1/2inch (1.5cm) from the edges of the template using pencil or chalk.
Pin inside the line ensuring you pin both layers of fabric together.
Cut along the line you’ve drawn
Repeat to cut out second tieback.
Cutting out buckram
- Place tieback template on a single layer of buckram and draw around it.
- Cut out
- Repeat for second tieback
Making up your tiebacks
With wrong sides together, press fabric along the centre fold.
Open out and place the long straight edge of buckram on wrong side against fold.
Press edges onto wrong side 1/2inch (1.5cm) all around, overlapping buckram where necessary. You may need to clip into the curved edge a little if you have particularly thick fabric.
Fold the tieback together, so that the buckram is sandwiched in the middle, and press closed.
- If the edges don’t meet exactly, repress until they do.
Topstitch the edges together.
Sew the curtain rings approximately 1 inch (2.5cm) from the edge of the tieback –on the inside.
Et Voila! You have a pair of made to measure curtain tiebacks.
Dartmoor Creative 
Well done! they look great and a very clear tutorial!
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Thank you. As you probably realise it’s the first one I’ve written.
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I’ve had my ‘new’ curtains up about 3 years – and STILL not got round to making the tie-backs! Maybe this will give me the necessary push…
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LOL! You’re making me look quite slick – I only started the curtains just over a year ago (and there are four pairs).
But, yes, go for it!
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Yay!
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They look lovely!
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Thank you!
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Bekki, this is a really excellent post. You’ve illustrated it all so well and the instructions are very clear. The finished tiebacks look wonderful on your curtains. Well done. 🙂
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Thank you so much – by the time I’d got all the words to sit properly around the photos my brain was totally addled. Hopefully now I’ve written one tutorial the next will be easier.
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I know that word addled vey well. I sometimes think my brain’s in a permanent state of addlement (If there is such a word!). I’ll look forward to your next tutorial. 🙂
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Well if it isn’t a word it should be!
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Yes it should! It’s a great word. Haha. Thanks, Bekki. 🙂
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Love the curtains.Love the view. Love the tie backs 🙂
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Thank you! And thank you for taking the time to tell me 🙂
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Well you’ve got the knack for writing a clear tutorial so future ones will be a doddle! Looks like you’ve done a great job of he curtains and tie backs too:)
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Aw! Thank you for such kind words.
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They good look great. Clear instructions too and I like the way you added lots of photos so I could easily follow each step.
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Thank you!
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Whoops – clicked on post before deleting ‘good’.
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I’d never noticed tiebacks weren’t straight before 😮 And how wonderful that you took the time to create a tutorial. I’ll pin it on my Technicalities board on Pinterest 🙂
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Aw! Thank you. Hope you find it useful. I love them, because they really finish the curtains off, but don’t take to long to make. Also, after hauling round heaps of fabric making a curtain, they’re a nice small project too 🙂
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When I have my own place I’ll definitely make some, if nothing, to pretend I’m a grown-up. Right now I use chairs to hold the curtains (this household is fancy like that) 😀 And -gasp! – I let them trail way down to the floor 😳
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🙂 I like to pretend I’m a grown up too.
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Your tutorial was wonderfully clear and the pictures are great. I really like that fabric, thinking of using something similar for curtains, and how it will be to make the tiebacks! Oh, and lest I forget, your ironing board cover is awesome! 😉
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Hi Jen, Thank you. Glad it was helpful. I still love that fabric. It was also a real bargain end of line Laura Ashley – I had to ring round several shops to get enough, but with five windows – four floor length – I needed a bargain 🙂
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Thank you for posting such a clear tutorial, two tiebacks completed in an hour!
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Glad you found it useful. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
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This tutorial I was looking for was perfect! I didn’t make my curtains but I bought 96 inch curtains for an 84 inch length and cut them to fit. I used the extra fabric to make the tie backs…. It was a little bit more work with hemming the curtains but I bought them at the Christmas tree store for 1699 a pair!
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Excellent idea! Great to hear the tutorial was helpful 🙂
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I am like Tracy, I bought curtains too long, hemmed them and used the extra material to make the tie backs. I am not a sewer and was able to follow your directions. Thank you. In Canada, I don’t think that we have buckram. (At least they had never heard of it at our fabric shop.) I explained what it was for and she told me to use interfacing. Also, you can buy interfacing that is iron on. Not sure if Buckram is iron-on? Next time I would try the iron on interfacing to make the job easier.
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Hello. Thank you for your comment. Glad to directions were clear enough. You’re right, buckram isn’t iron on. It’s a bit stiffer than heavyweight interfacing, which I imagine wouldn’t be as easy to use. I definitely give iron on a go another time – I think that would be easier. I confess, I’d never heard of buckram before the lady in our fabric shop suggested using it instead of interfacing 🙂
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Thanks so much for the instructions on drawing the template. I love those types of tie backs but could not find a pattern that made sense. I’m not very creative and needed a visual so it helped a lot!
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Hello. Great to hear it helped. Thank you for letting me know.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to explain and show how to draw out the shape, I can sew but I cannot figure out how to make shapes!
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Thanks for your kind comment. Glad the tutorial helped. I’m not good at drawing either 🙂
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Great tutorial, I’ve just finished making 4 sets of curtains (phew!!!) and will be using your pattern to make tiebacks. Also used Laura Ashley material, it’s just gorgeous.
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