No sew curtain clips with paint

Easy No-Sew Kitchen Curtains with Clip Rings (Plus a Home Update!)

Learn how to make easy no-sew kitchen curtains using grain sack towels and clip rings — no sewing required! A budget-friendly cottage-style curtain DIY, plus updates from our home renovation journey.

Original Post July 2021

Today, I’m sharing how we made the easiest no-sew kitchen curtains using clip rings, grain sack towels, and a simple stencil. Best of all? No sewing required — perfect for anyone like me who never quite mastered a sewing machine (or hand stitching either, if I'm being honest!).

This project is not only easy and budget-friendly, but it also adds a personal, vintage touch to your kitchen — even if you’re still dreaming about a bigger remodel down the road, like we are.

Why I Needed Budget-Friendly Kitchen Curtains

Back in July 2021, I first shared our no-sew café curtains for the kitchen. It's hard to believe it’s been nearly four years!

Since then, we’ve made the choice to funnel money into other areas of our home instead of investing in a kitchen that’s not part of our long-term vision.

I often joke that I'm still cooking in "someone else's kitchen," even after all this time. Family, friends, and even casual visitors have lovingly nudged us to make some updates — but here's the thing: I’m playing the long game.

When we eventually remodel the kitchen, it won’t be a few cosmetic updates. We’ll be reconfiguring the entire layout.

If you’re in the same boat, stay strong. Stick to your goals.

Life Happens: Setbacks and Unexpected Repairs

Now, has the kitchen remodel taken much longer than I originally planned?
Absolutely.

Between remodeling a bathroom last year, unexpected home repairs, and life in general, our kitchen makeover got bumped down the priority list again — and it looks like it'll stay there a little longer.

But that's okay. Let me catch you up on some of the "fun" surprises we’ve faced lately:

• Window Replacements:
  We finally finished replacing all of our windows. (Well, kind of.) The experience this time around wasn’t what we had come to expect, likely because the window company is under new ownership. It's disappointing, but at least it will be done when we receive the correct glass on one of the windows. (Just one window remains of the original, which is another long term project in the works.)

• Mortar Cracks:
  After the new windows went in, we noticed cracks above them in the mortar joints. A few calls later, a very interesting conversation with a local mason who thought his great-grandfather built our home — and we finally found someone from out of town who matched the stone and is working on fixing the cracks correctly.

• Roof and Chimney Issues:
  While working on the mortar around the chimney, our mason suggested we find a roofing specialist to take a look at the flashing, they found significant hail damage to our roof. Add to that a failed rubber roof repair, and you can imagine how that conversation went. Spoiler: we'll need a new roof and something called a "cricket" to properly divert water around the chimney.

If you're a homeowner, you know: when it rains, it pours.

I wasn’t expecting to tackle so many major projects at once, but I keep telling myself: every repair brings us closer to a fully updated, beautiful home. 

Don’t let outside opinions push you into spending money where it doesn’t make sense. Your dream home takes time, and there’s no shame in making subtle, temporary updates while you work toward it.

Side Note: We will only have the kitchen and first floor plumbing (water lines and drains) to replace at this point, and then we can say we own a new, old home.

Why We’re Still Waiting on a New Kitchen

With the roof, windows, mortar work, and chimney flashing repairs stacking up, it's no wonder the kitchen keeps getting pushed back.

And that’s okay.

We’ve made the decision to avoid debt for home projects whenever possible — even when life throws curveballs.

Every time we save up, something urgent pops up, but somehow, we’ve managed to handle it without taking on loans. I like to think there's someone watching over us, keeping us on the right path, even when the road gets bumpy.

Moral of the story: Life happens.

Your journey is your own, and timelines shift.

Building a dream home (especially an old stone cottage like ours) is a marathon, not a sprint, we are the turtle in this story that is for certain.

How to Make Easy No-Sew Curtains with Clip Rings

Alright, back to something a little more cheerful — our updated café curtains!
These no-sew curtains are a simple, charming way to brighten up a kitchen, especially if you're holding out for a bigger remodel like we are.

And since I am no stranger to painting fabric... well, let's see more, shall we?

Materials Needed:

• 2 Grain sack towels

• Paint of your choice (I used Waverly Chalk Paint in Elephant)

• Rounded stencil brush

• Stencil (I used a Decorative Stencil for Scrapbooking I already had)

• Piece of cardboard

• Tension rod

• Clip rings

Instructions:

1. Fold the Grain Sack Towel:
   Fold the towel over to your desired length. I folded about six inches to create a simple "ruffle" at the top.

2. Prepare for Stenciling:
   Lay the towel flat on a piece of cardboard (to prevent paint bleed-through).

3. Stencil the Design:
   Place the stencil over the towel’s edge and stipple the paint on using a rounded stencil brush.
   Line up the stencil pattern (I lined up the dots) and continue painting across the entire ruffle.

4. Allow to Dry:
   Let the paint dry completely before moving on.

5. Clip and Hang:
   Once dry, fold the towel in half, clip the ends with curtain rings, and fold again from the center to evenly space your clips.
   Thread the clips onto a tension rod, and hang!

Don't Forget to Pin for Later!

My Honest Thoughts on Hand-Painted Curtains

Was it perfect? No.

I made one little mistake lining up the stencil, and some areas are a little heavy-handed with paint. But you know what? I love it.

Handmade doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.

Our home isn't perfect, I’m not perfect, and I'm completely okay with that.
There’s something comforting about living with things you made yourself — imperfections and all.

As for washing, I'll update you once I put these through the laundry. Chalk paint sticks stubbornly to my clothes, so I’m hoping that bodes well for durability!
Before stenciling, the towels were incredibly easy to clean: just unclip, toss them in with your towels, and wash and dry like normal.

A Cozy Update for a Cozy Kitchen

This simple update makes me smile every time I walk into the kitchen.
The sweet stencil detail feels perfectly vintage, and it ties in beautifully with our DIY backsplash.

Even though our full kitchen remodel is still a ways off, these little projects help me enjoy the space we have right now — and they remind me that progress doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated.

If you’re dreaming of a new kitchen but it’s not in the cards yet, I encourage you to make small, meaningful updates that bring you joy.

Stay true to your vision, be patient, and embrace the journey.

After all, a dream home is built one small project — and one imperfectly stenciled curtain — at a time.

  

And here is that lovely shutter that is still hanging on the wall when we need more privacy too

Ciao,

Cara