How to Make an IKEA Kura Bed Curtain

Looking for a cute, flexible, and inexpensive option for a child's bed? Look no further than the IKEA Kura.  It is a great transition bed if you are looking to move up from a converted crib or toddler bed. This bed can function as a single bed or a bunk bed.  Top it with a cute IKEA tent top and add one of of the precious, wall-mounted IKEA lights for kids, and you have a winner!

We bought our first Kura bed when our oldest was moving out of his converted crib to make way for the second born's impending arrival. It makes a really cute single bed, and at that time, the panels could switch from royal blue to white; now the panels are white on both sides.  We knew that our house was small and the bunk bed option would possibly come in handy in the future.

Fast forward six years later, and we are now the proud owner of three Kura beds with a fourth in the near future.  We moved to a larger house, and even though we don't have two kiddos per bed like we originally anticipated, we like the ability to give each child their own private space as they share rooms. When a kiddo hits six year's old, we flip the bed into a bunk bed.

In an effort to give even more privacy and pizzazz to each bed space, I created bed curtains for the two older girls for Christmas, which fit conveniently with my desire to give them something homemade by me for Christmas.  I don't have a bunch of time on my hands (who does these days?), so the bed curtains were the ideal quick project.

My time and effort were rewarded with happy girls, a fresh look in their room, and (gasp!) a room that looks cleaner. Joy all around!

STEP ONE - 
I began by taking measurements of their beds and envisioning how I wanted the curtains to function and look.  For our home, one pair of curtains on the one long side of the bed opening into the room made the most sense.  Their beds are bordered by a bookcase and walls, leaving only that side open.

That side not converted as a bunk bed measured 74.75 inches long - the perfect length for a 75" tension rod.  We chose tension rods because 1) there are not holes to drill in the bed, 2) they install quickly, and 3) they will easily shorten when the bed is converted to a bunk bed and that 74.75" opening shrinks accordingly.

That opening is 31 inches high from interior of the top wood bar to the interior of the bottom wood bar.

STEP TWO - 
Pick a fabric - one that you love, one that your child loves, and one that will work for several years, unless you like repeating a project often.

I happened upon some My Little Pony fabric that was nothing like what I had envisioned but absolutely perfect.

If you make curtains to fit one of the 74.75" by 31" openings with a bit of gathering, you will need 102" (2 yards and 30") of fabric IF your fabric bolt is 41" wide.  If you have a pattern where you need or would like to match a pattern, plan to buy more.

When you buy your fabric, buy your tension rods.

STEP THREE - 
Wash, dry, and iron your fabric.  I always use a Shout Color Catcher on the first few washes of anything new.  It catches any bleeds and allows me to wash multiple new items in one load.

STEP FOUR -
Measure, plan your cuts, write down, get your fabric scissors and other supplies together, and measure again.  In any project, always measure at least twice before cutting.  This is the sad voice of experience who mislaid a whole kitchen of 18" (17.75") tiles once.

For the pair of curtain panels, I cut three fabric pieces 34" long from my 41" wide fabric, I split one panel vertically and married a half to each of the full size panels.  I folded and ironed the seams to hide the rough edges and used a decorative flower stitch so it would give the girls something pretty to look at when they were in their beds.

Hem the bottom .5 inches by folding .25" and ironing and then folding that over again .25" to hide the rough cut edge and to only sew that side once.

Fold the top edge of the curtain .25", iron, and fold again 2.5" and iron. Check again that the pocket will fit your tension rod once seamed.  If it does, run your seam over the bottom edge, catching your fold for the full length.

STEP FIVE - 
Iron and hang your curtains.


I hope your family enjoys the curtains as much as we do!