Curtains & Grosgrain Ribbon: The Tutorial

Ikea Ritva curtains hang along my living room window, seen here.  I purchased the white curtains and added black ribbon along the inner edges.  I think they look amazingly stunning and much more expensive than Ikea prices...

To update the Ikea Ritva curtains, I used 2 1/4 inch black grosgrain ribbon from M&J Trimming and Fabri-Tac made by Beacon Adhesives.

And here are the steps I took to attach the grosgrain ribbon to the curtain panels:

1.  Apply glue to one edge of the ribbon.
2.  Fold the ribbon over about 1/4 inch and press until the glue holds.
3.  Position a ladder to reach the top of the hanging curtain; with glue and ribbon in hand, climb to the top (let the ribbon unroll as you climb).  Apply glue on the ribbon, beginning at the top of the folded edge and continue down about 2 inches.
4.  Press the ribbon to the back topside of the curtain panel, glue side down (I glued the ribbon about a 1/2 inch from the inner edge).

5.  Fold the ribbon over the top of the curtain panel (toward the front) and apply more glue to the ribbon.
6.  Press the ribbon onto the curtain panel and continue down, all the way to the bottom of the curtain... glue, press, glue, press, glue, press...
7.  Once the ribbon is glued all the way to the bottom of the curtain panel, roll out 2 more inches of ribbon and cut.
8.  Apply glue along the bottom edge of the ribbon and fold over 1/4 of an inch and press until the glue holds.

9.  Apply glue to the folded edge of the ribbon and continue to apply the glue until you reach the bottom edge of the curtain panel.
10.  Place the ribbon on the back of the bottom curtain panel (glue side down) and press to hold.
11.  After the ribbon is glued to both panels, double-checked any gaps in the ribbon.  If there are any loose areas that are not completely glued to the curtain panel, apply a little extra glue.  Squeeze a small dab of glue on a popsicle stick (or something of similar size).
12.  Slide it under the ribbon where it's unsecured.  Then press the ribbon against the curtain panel until the glue holds.

The final result...

This was a quick and painless update... it only took about 30 minutes.  How have you updated your store-bought curtains?

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