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Simple Joyful Living

Easy Valance Tutorial

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In mid-August we had new windows installed in our living room. I decided that I wanted to just have a simple valance at the top of the windows instead of the heavy drapes I had previously used. The windows were just too pretty to cover up. So, I picked out some fabric and set to work sewing valances.

One of the first things I sewed as a newly married woman were valances, and I think they are one of the easiest projects you can sew that can make a big change to any room.

Today I am going to show you how I make valances so that, even if you have limited sewing skills, you can make some, too.

Supplies

  • Fabric
  • Scissors and/or Rotary Cutter
  • Ruler
  • Thread
  • Iron
  • Sewing Machine

To determine the amount of fabric you need you will need to measure the width of your windows and then determine how full you want your your gathers to be. The more fabric you use in the width of your valance the more gathers you will have.

My rule of thumb is to take the width of my window and then cut my fabric to a width that is 1 1/2 times that measurement. Howecer, sometimes I have used a heavy upholstery fabric and made my valances with no gathers by adding only enough width to the fabric to accommodate turning the edges under.

For my living room windows, I made 4 panels because my windows are very wide. I decided that I didn’t want to make one long curtain because the middle needed to be open to accommodate the hook in the middle of the curtain rod that keeps it from bowing.

Since the fabric was striped I cut each panel the width of the fabric (45 inches) by 18 inches. Cutting the valances to a height of 18 inches allowed me to make the curtain rod pocket and hem the fabric without having super short valances.

If this isn’t clear enough please let me know if you need help figuring up how much fabric you need.

Instructions

1. Cut your fabric. As I mentioned above, 18 inches is a good height, and 1 1/2 times the width of your window is a good width for making valances.

2. Overcast (zig-zag stitch) or serge all 4 edges of the fabric. If you use a serger try not to cut much off while you are edging the fabric.

3. Press 1/2 inch of the fabric on both short sides towards the wrong side.

4. Sew the sides in place using a 1/4 or even a 3/8 inch seam allowance.

5. Press the top 3 inches of the fabric towards the wrong side.

(No picture for the next 2 steps.) 

6. Sew right along the edge you overcast in Step 2.

7. Sew another seam parallel the the seam you sewed in Step 6. Make the seam 1 1/2 inches (Towards the folded edge.) from the line of stitching you just made in Step 6.

You have just made the pocket that the curtain rod will go through.

8. Press 1 inch of fabric at the bottom towards the wrong side.

9. Sew the hem in place using a 5/8 seam allowance.

This is what your valance should look like from the back side if you have followed all of the steps. I recommend pressing the valance before hanging it up with a curtain rod.

This is the front view when all of the seams have been sewn in place. You will insert the curtain rod between the two lines of stitching which will give you some fabric above the curtain rod.

Here’s a picture of my window with my new valances. My husband said that the stripes make him think of a barber shop, in a good way. I guess that means he likes them.? 🙂

Have you ever made valances? Did you use a similar method? Please let me know if you have any questions.

Update: I had someone ask in the comments about making a valance that doesn’t have gathers. I have done that before and will briefly try to explain what I did.

Valance from Upholstery Fabric

I used an upholstery fabric to make the valances in my dining room. I knew the fabric wouldn’t lend itself to gathers so I simply made the valance a few inches wider than the window, and followed the tutorial above.

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  • Sheila

    Those look so nice and I love your new window!

    • Thank you so much, Sheila!

  • Penny

    We have a window like that in our livingroom also, only ours is still the old original one! Yours is much prettier, especially with the lovely valance. I have made many valances over the years. They are my sewing specialty (because they are easy!)

    • That’s great that you have sewn many valances. Do you make yours similar to the way I make mine?

      We had to get a new set of windows because the wood was rotting and caulking just wasn’t working anymore. We feel blessed to have been able to get them. 🙂

  • Kim

    Do you have any advice on how to merge 2 different fabrics to make a valance like this? I couldn’t find the fabric I liked, so I bought two and hope to have a little of each in my valance. Thanks.

  • kerry

    I am new to sewing and just my first valance using your instructions! Thanks for sharing! I am feeling mighty proud of myself right now!!

    • That is awesome, Kerry! Way to go. You should feel proud. I am so glad you found this tutorial to be helpful. Thanks for sharing! 🙂

  • Rose

    This tutorial is just what I was looking for. I want to make a valence for my daughter’s bedroom window. Did you use a decorator fabric or thicker type? The pattern I picked out seems thin, I think it’s just cotton. I was wondering if you would suggest adding a liner behind it or doubling the fabric?

    • Thank you, Rose! I hope my tutorial will work for you. I think your cotton fabric should work fine. That is what my valances are made from, just a thin cotton. I didn’t line my curtains because they don’t get a lot of sun. If they were east or west windows I would probably line them. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.

  • Kelly

    I just made my first valence yesterday following your instructions… and they actually look great! I’m so pleased with the finished product, and the process was even enjoyable, which was an added bonus. Thanks so much for the great instructions, and pictures, and inspiration! Yesterday’s valence was for my son’s room, and I think I’m going to make another one for my bathroom, and I’m looking forward to it! Thanks again! 🙂

    • That is great, Kelly! I am so glad you were able to make some valances using my tutorial. Sounds like you are on a roll. Happy sewing! 🙂

  • Lindsey Whitney

    I’ve been making valances for a while, but I just got a serger, so I was anxious to see if this could speed up the job a bit. Thanks for the tutorial!

    • Thanks, Lindsey! I definitely think the serger will make the job go faster.

  • KCC

    Thank you so much for this tutorial. I just made 4 valances for my kitchen. This was really well explained. Very well done. Thank you!

    • Thank you so much! I am so glad you found this tutorial easy to follow. I never know when I post my tutorials if anyone besides me will understand them. 🙂 Great job on making 4 valances!

  • Jackie M

    I just made my first one – 9 more to go! Very easy pattern and great instructions – thank you so much

    • Hi, Jackie. (Great name, btw.) 🙂 I hope you were able to get all of your valances sewn. I am so glad you found my instructions to be helpful. Thanks so much!

  • Genie

    Very pretty! You make it sound so easy. I definitely want to try these for my bedroom windows.

    • Thank you, Genie. Let me know if you give them a try.

  • Claudia Soto

    I’m making a valance for my dining room, but the wooden pole needs a rod in the middle because of its thickness. How do I go with the valance since the pole will have to rest on the rod halfway? Thanks!

    • Hi, Claudia. I am sorry it has taken me so long to respond. I am afraid I am having trouble visualizing what you are talking about. Are you saying that there is something sticking out from the wall in the center and the curtain rod rests on it? If that is what you are talking about I have a similar situation. I made multiple valances to deal with that instead of one long one. If you look back at the beginning of my instructions I discussed that. Is this what you mean? If not, I am sorry I am having trouble understanding.

      • Claudia Soto

        What you are saying is exactly what I’m talking about. I have a rod sticking in the middle of the big window, because the wooden poles are so thick. I will check on the beginning as you mentioned since I didn’t notice when I read at the first time.
        Thanks for your reply!

        • Ok. Good. Then I would make 2 separate panels and have them meet at that rod that sticks out. I did 4 panels because I was trying make my fabric last. I could have easily joined the fabric and just made 2 panels. Anyway, I would make 2 panels and that will hopefully take care of the issue. Let me know how it goes and if you have any more questions.

          • Claudia Soto

            Thank you Jackie for your answer, I will do just that.
            When I get them up, I’ll post a photo. It will still be a while thou since it is my summer lake house, and here we are just starting winter!

          • Great! I would love to see how they turn out. We are having summer here. 🙂

  • Margo Remus Schwantz

    When you made your valence without gathers, did you still stitch a separate pocket for the curtain rod.

    • Thanks for your question, Margo. I am not sure I exactly understand your question, so please let me know if this doesn’t answer it. To make the valances you have to make the pocket for the curtain rod in steps 5-7. The reason it appears that my valances are gathered is that I made them wider than the window so they would appear to gather when I hung them up. I have made valances like this using upholstery fabric and cut the fabric just a little wider than the window so there wouldn’t be gathers.

      • Margo Remus Schwantz

        Sorry I didn’t explain myself well. I can’t sew worth a hoot but I wanted to make a valence without any gathering using a curtain rod. I did what you suggested by cutting my material just slightly wider to accommodate the end folds. Since I cannot picture in my mind what it will look like, I was trying to figure out if I need to insert the curtain rod in the separate pocket or would that look weird without the gather above it? I think you answered my question by saying yes, I need to do these steps. Thank you so much.

        • I see what you are saying. I am not sure that I can share a picture in the comments of the valance I was describing so I will try to update the post with a picture a little later so you can see what I did. I still made the pocket with the fabric above and it isn’t gathered.

          • Margo, I have updated the post to show a picture at the end of the post of the non-gathered valance. I hope that helps.

  • Zovesta

    OMG. I love you! I know this post is 4 yrs old, but I’ve spent forever looking through pictures of these perfect rod pocket curtains and valances, some with no ruffled header above the rod, and some with, and I just couldn’t figure out how they made that extra header! Just sewing half the rod pocket. So simple it kills me. Lol, thanks so much for your informative post, although I’m not even sure if you post anymore… it sure helped me out!!

    • Thank you, Zovesta! I am so glad you found my tutorial helpful. I love making valances. I hope you enjoy sewing yours. And yes, I am still here even though this post is older. 🙂 Happy sewing!

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