We took a trip recently in our motorhome and noticed that the lining was beginning to tear on the privacy curtains. I had never really looked at the quality of the curtains, but the material used for the lining is actually not very sturdy. This wouldn't be a problem except the tears are very visible when you close the curtains and if you have ever stayed in an RV park, you know people like to walk at night and see each other's rigs. So this needed to be fixed or I knew it would bother me while on the road.
Once the curtains were taken down, I was able to see how difficult it would be to make the repairs. I really didn't want to take the entire seams apart. Here you can see the corner and when you look at them from the front, they are actually put together with what looks like a blind seam.
In addition to the inferior lining material and the blind hems, there is a trim that is used to hang the curtains. I didn't want to disturb this either. Looking at all of the materials, I was worried that using any kind of seam ripper might damage the curtains. I went through my stash and found a brand new set of twin sheets that I purchased at my local thrift store. The curtains were 54 inches by 36 inches each, so I would have more than enough fabric using the flat twin sheet.
After taking my measurements, I cut the curtains one inch wider all the way around. I will tell you that there was a slight curve to the curtains on the sides so if you do a project like this, give yourself some extra fabric. The travel of the curtains on the sliding system in our motorhome does curve so I expect this variance helps them hang better. You can always trim a little bit or take up your seams as you pin. I used my iron and seam press tool to do two 1/2 inch turns on all of the sides. I pinned them well and then laid the sheet and the curtain wrong sides together because once sewn, the right side is what you will see when the curtains are closed.
I worked around the curtains taking the pins from the ironed hem and transferring them to the curtains. You can see that I butted the lining right against the hemmed areas of the curtains. This also allowed me to adjust that ironed hem as I went around the perimeter.
Here is a view of the lining pinned and ready to sew. I knew that the seams were going to be visible unlike the existing blind hems.
An easy way to help hide them was by using a bobbin thread that matched the curtains. This way I could sew from the lining side and watch my seams, as well as hide the bottom thread as much as possible.
Here is a picture of the seam once completed. As you can see the bobbin thread matches the curtain material and unless you knew to look for it, the new lining fits well.
Here is a picture of one of the curtains hung in the motorhome and drawn.
Here is the other side. They hang just the same as they did before. The only exception is a slight pattern because of my fabric choice.
Here is a view of them from the outside. Now instead of torn linings, passersby will see beautiful fabric. I am going to also estimate that the weight of the sheet will help insulate much better than the factory material.
Here is one if the curtains pulled back. As you can see, the fabric lining doesn't impede the tieback or make it look bunched up at all.
So privacy has been restored. Now all we need is a road trip! I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you have learned and are generous with what you make. Someone will appreciate your hard work!
