How to Make a Roll Up Hanging Room Divider

Room dividers break up large spaces and provide privacy.

Curtain room dividers allow you to separate or combine rooms at will. Thermal or insulating curtains cut down on noise and light, effectively creating two rooms. Squabbling siblings or studying dorm mates can enjoy their privacy then roll the curtains out of the way when they're feeling social. Curtains aren't as hard or bulky as privacy screens and movable walls. They also offer a very wide range of fabric patterns and colors, allowing you to customize them to your décor.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Thermal fabric (any pattern or color)
• Scissors
• Sewing machine
• Seam ripper
• Adhesive hook-and-loop fastener strips
• Curtain rod kit
• Hand-held drill

Instructions

1. Measure the length and height of the room you want to partition. Divide the length of the room by three to determine how many 3-foot wide curtains you need to make. For instance, if your room is 12 feet long, you will need to make four 3-foot wide curtains. The height of the room is the length of the curtains, i.e., a 7-foot tall room requires 7-foot length curtains.

2. Add 2 inches to the width and length measurements for your curtains. In this case, cut two pieces of fabric for each curtain, 3 feet, 2 inches wide and 7 feet, 2 inches long. Doubling the fabric ensures it looks nice on both sides and increases its insulating properties. You can choose the same fabric for both sides of each curtain or combine two coordinating fabrics.

3. Lay the first piece of fabric for each curtain on a flat surface with the right side face-up. Lay the second piece of fabric on the first with the right side face-down. The right sides of the curtains should be touching.

4. Stitch around all four sides of each curtain, leaving a 1-inch seam allowance and a 6-inch opening in one of the sides. Reach into the opening to turn the curtain right-side out. Stitch the opening closed.

5. Open 2 inches of the left and right upper corner seams on each curtain with a seam ripper. Stitch around each opening to prevent fraying. These are the openings for the curtain rods.

6. Cut two 7-foot strips of adhesive-backed, hook-and-loop fasteners for each curtain. Smooth the hook side of each strip against one of the long edges of the front of the curtain. Smooth the loop side of each strip against the back edges of each curtain. When you roll the curtains, the strips at the back of the curtain will stick to those at the front.

7. Screw curtain rod brackets into the ceiling, using one set for each curtain. Pick brackets with deep hooks so they'll hold your curtain rods even if they point downward.

8. Slip a curtain rod into each curtain and set the rod into one set of brackets. Check that the curtains hang evenly to the floor.

References

• Manolo Home: Curtain Room Dividers in Studio Apartments
• Curtain Room Dividers: How to Make Curtain Room Dividers
• Matter Network: Make Your Own Energy Saving Thermal Curtains