Magnetic Curtain for Front Door

We put a new front door on our house a few years ago and have needed a curtain ever since.  We went a year or so with just a wreath on the outside, hoping that would act as some kind of privacy.  It didn't.  People peeked in.

How was I supposed to hang a curtain without a curtain rod? I didn't want to drill into the door.  For the next couple years I had a scrap piece of lace fabric held up by several refrigerator magnets.  Yep.  Classy.  I took it down when I knew guests were coming over.

I couldn't find material I thought went well with our living room curtains.  Then we got new curtains, and I still couldn't decide on fabric.  Guess what, people?  I finally took care of the problem!

Colin and I ran to Walmart to pick up a couple things, and there was a huge box of marked down fabric.  Since Hancock Fabrics has closed, I have been in mourning and haven't gone fabric shopping.  And it's best for our bank account if I don't.  I like fabric.  Back to the story...I saw some fabric that I thought would actually work and not clash with the rest of the curtains in the living room.  And it was on sale!

We now have a curtain on our front door, and it only took a little fabric, a little time, and a little ingenuity.

Here's what I did:

1. Wash and dry fabric.  It's better for it to shrink before you cut and sew it.
2. Iron the fabric.
3. Measure your window and how big you want the curtain.  I added an inch to the height and an inch to the width for the hems.  Measure and measure before you cut.  I wanted my finished curtain to be 20x31''.  I cut the fabric 42 inches (doubled the height so it would fold over and be pretty on the side that faced out as well) by 32 inches.
4. I folded the fabric in half height-wise with right sides together.
5. Pin around all four sides.  Fabric can shift.
6. Sew an 1/2 inch hem (or 5/8 or whatever you want, being sure to measure for the size hem you want) around the three open sides, being sure to leave an opening at the top side.  SEE IMAGE 1
7. Turn the fabric inside out through the opening.
8. Iron the fabric to get out wrinkles and flatten the hems.
9. Pin around all four sides.  You can get a sewing machine foot that keeps your bottom fabric from shifting from the top, but I'm going to assume we're working with a standard foot.
10. Top stitch around all four sides with a 3/8 inch hem, being sure to leave the opening.  SEE IMAGE 2
11. Create a "pocket" at the top, measuring 1 1/2 inches from the top, sewing all the way across.  SEE IMAGE 2
12. Insert magnets into the opening, storing them in the pocket.  Be sure to use heavy duty magnets.  You can find small ones at a craft or office supply store.  SEE IMAGE 3
13. Sew the opening closed.
14. Hang!

click to enlarge images

This is just a simple curtain, no frills, but exactly what we needed.  Hooray for privacy that looks good!

Before & After: