Cuckoo4Design

DIY black and white checkered curtains

craft projects· DIY projects· Home Decor

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You guys all know how much I love black and white patterns as well as coming up with affordable ways to DIY designer looks, especially curtains since they tend to be very pricey. A while ago I spotted fabulous modern black and white designer checkered curtains and immediately decided to come up with a way to make my own version of those black and white checkered curtains for our home using Ikea Merete curtains.

You can also check out my DIY marbled watercolor curtains, black and white painted curtains and DIY horizontal striped curtains if today’s pattern isn’t your thing.

DIY black and white checkered curtains

DIY back and white checkered curtains

I came across the below photo on Instagram. I love the mix!

room inspiration with black and white checkered curtains

photo credit: hbhome.com (curtains: Squares in Black on White by Hinson)

The above room is just so so good for many different reasons but those curtains gave me a lightbulb moment. And I knew right away that I had to recreate them. I also have this old Target box that looks the same way on a small scale.

It took me about a day to think of a way to create the look the best way. If I hadn’t had the curtain rod and curtains already, I would have definitely gone with the black rods and pleated curtains as well but I already had my West Elm rod and Ikea Merete curtains.

I also had some heat transfer vinyl left and knew it would fit the bill. It’s awesome that these are DIY black and white checkered curtains where no paint is needed. Not having to wait for the paint to dry or to watch out for spills.

Materials you need for DIY black and white checkered curtains:

materials needed to make DIY black and white checkered curtains

{UPDATE: Check out this post HERE about where you can buy checkered fabric like this now if you don’t want to make your own.
And I posted about my favorite back and white curtains HERE if you just want to buy a finished product}

DIY black and white checkered curtain instructions:

Click on the triangle below to see my video tutorial or read below for more details. I think the video gives you a good understanding of how I made the curtains though.

Using iron-on vinyl to make fabric pattern

Start out by making your cardboard template which I cut into a 5-inch square with 1.25-inch cutouts on all 4 corners as shown in my video.

Then cut all the heat transfer vinyl into 1.25-inch squares. In the video, I’m not using the method that I’m showing my next two photos.

taping the vinyl to the cutting mat for the DIY black and white checkered curtains

Well since the video, I figured out a way to cut the squares faster and more efficiently from the heat transfer after making the first panel. If you tape it to the cutting mat with the painter’s tape and just cut it that way into squares, you can knock it out in no time. The second panel was done quickly while I watched Netflix and happily crafted away.

The cutting mat makes cutting the squares a lot easier too since you can use the grid as a guideline.

using the grid of the cutting board to cut vinyl squares

Spacing the vinyl squares on the curtains

The above-mentioned cardboard cheat template helped so much with laying out the pattern on the curtains. Again. the cardboard cross is in a 5″ square and the heat transfer squares are 1.25″ on all 4 corners.

cheat sheet for DIY black and white checkered curtains

I started laying out the squares on the top of the curtains where the grommets are with the help of that cardboard square. That way you can make sure that the vinyl squares are placed nicely around the curtain grommets.

Ironing on the heat transfer vinyl

Make sure to keep the shiny side of the heat transfer facing up when placing the vinyl squares. Press the iron down firmly for a while (read your specific heat transfer instructions first and proceed accordingly), peel the shiny side off, if you messed up you can still remove it by peeling it off (which I’m showing at the end of my video too). If it is the way you want it, you can put the wax paper over the squares and press the iron down firmly to set the squares into the fabric.

ironing on the squares onto the black and white checkered curtains

Peel off the vinyl squares backing when they are firmly ironed in place.

starting out the DIY black and white checkered curtains

After a while, I started to eyeball a lot of the squares and it worked great. It doesn’t have to be totally perfect because nobody can tell when they hang up. The second panel went way faster than the first one.

I’m hooked now and these curtains for my entire downstairs.

full grid view of DIY black and white checkered curtains

Here is a current view of our dining room followed by some older photos.

current dining room view with DIY black and white checkered curtains

If you are wondering about our gorgeous new vinyl plank flooring then you can find out more about why I chose Karndean vinyl plank flooring in my recent blog post.

grommet view of black and white checkered curtains

neutral living room with black and white checkered curtains

close up details of DIY black and white checkered curtains

My hallway cross wall isn’t in our house anymore but I still love how it used to look.

cross wall view with DIY black and white checkered curtains in the background

old version of modern dining room with DIY black and white checkered curtains

beautiful neutral living room with pink and tropical accents and DIY black and white checkered curtains

These curtains aren’t the only project in my house using a pattern with black squares. Check out our powder room with a geometric black and white stenciled wall.

DIY black and white checkered wall stencil

graphic DIY black and white checkered curtains tutorial

Some more of my DIY window treatments:

how to make modern black and white checkered curtains

Tschüß

 

 

 

 

 

(Youleeya)

DIY no-paint, no-sew black and white Curtains - Cuckoo4Design

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How to make no-sew, no-paint DIY graphic black and white curtains - Cuckoo4Design

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How to make no-sew, no-paint DIY graphic black and white curtains - Cuckoo4Design

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Reader Interactions

Comments

    • Julia says

      Thanks so much Whitney, I was amazed at what my iPhone can do because that’s all I used for the video 😉 First timer here.

  9. Sheryll $ Critters. says

    Wow you are brilliant. Such a wonderful idea and your video is so clear. I would take a day to do what you finished in just a minute.

    • Julia says

      Thanks Sheryll. And yes the heat transfer is washable. It’s made for t-shirt and fabric applications which means it is washable.

  10. Sheryll $ Critters. says

    I forgot to ask where to get that great iron on tape. Also is it washable? If you said, I could have missed it. I was so caught up in the pics.

  12. Gretchen says

    so cool! And I love that there’s no paint….I would end up with black paint all over the place if I tried to do something like this with paint 😉

    • Julia says

      I was obsessed with finishing it and Netflix makes the time pass fast. I actually really enjoyed the project. I’m strange. And I think I only posted about the project on Instagram 😉

    • Julia says

      Once I got the hang of it, it went pretty quickly actually and you don’t have to wait for them to dry which I always had to do previously which cuts the time too.

  18. Julia says

    oh gosh yes that wallpaper would make the curtains so much better. I feel like I need more classic elements now like my chaise to blanche those curtains and crosses out

  20. Kathleen Tweed says

    Julia, this is really amazing! Your creativity knows no bounds! Seriously, I just love these drapes. I’m not sure I will ever make them but your video makes me believe I can! You are a star! Who thinks like you do? You see something and are able to copy it and pull the whole thing off! Can’t say this is my favorite post b/c I love so much of what you do but this is unreal and up there in my favorite ones!
    Lv, Kathleen

  21. Kenna says

    Oh my goodness, you did such a great job! These look so, so good. 🙂

    Here’s an odd question – I have the same blank curtains from IKEA, would you consider making them for me? I’d obviously pay you but you’d do such a better job than me!

    If not, no worries!

    • Julia says

      Hi Kenna, they took a really long time to make and would end up being way too expensive if someone paid me to make them 😉 but I’m so glad you like them.

  24. Amber @ Wills Casa says

    This is so good!! They look so beautiful and graphic! I bet they look even better with all the black and white you have already DIY’d. Absolutely incredible Julia. Also you’re styling and these photos are spot on!

    • Julia says

      I don’t really have the time to make them either but I pretend I do and then I get it done. Thank you 😉