How To Hide A Doorway

Hi there!  I know, it's been a while.  I really did have every intention of posting earlier but there's been this cute little girl in my life (hereafter affectionately referred to as Fidget) taking up a fair bit of my time over the last 5 weeks. :)  This time there won't be any promises.  I sincerely hope to be back to posting regularly as Fidget is beginning to have some semblance of a routine, although I fully realize that by saying that I've jinxed myself into having no discernible routine over the next couple of days.

I still have a number of tutorials related to the nursery and baby things but today I wanted to bring you something a little different.  If you've spent time renting an apartment or house you may have found yourself with the odd doorway that you'd like to cover but want to do it inexpensively.  I'm here to tell you that all you need is an extra bed sheet and a tension rod!

So this is what we were greeted by every time we walked through our front door.  Can you see now why something needed to be done?

I started by taking an old twin size sheet we had laying around since we have no twin beds and therefore it did us no good in it's original form.  You could use any size sheet you have on hand but for a regular doorway you'll end up needing to cut it down to size and hemming an extra side.

I left all the hems in place so there was one less step for me to do.  After measuring the height of my doorway I I folded the bottom of the sheet up 2 inches.  

I simply sewed right up against the existing hem.  This was originally meant to end up being the top of my doorway but found that the 2 inches I allowed wasn't quite enough leeway to make it slide smoothly across the tension rod once it was hung up. 

Using the measurements of the doorway and the sheet I then folded the top edge of the sheet over 5 inches and sewed along that existing hem.  

Like so.  This is the part that ended up going at the top of the doorway.

And voila!  This picture actually shows it hanging the way I originally intended with the 2" hem at the top.  It's clear here that the pocket made by that hem is not large enough for the tension rod and has since been reversed.  Also, don't you like how I had to stand outside to take this picture? :)

Tips & Tricks:

• This could easily be a no-sew project if you chose to heat n' bond, or fabric glue.  You could even use a hot glue gun if you didn't plan on washing it.
• You could have a lot of fun with this through the use of different colored/patterned sheets or adding embellishments with thread, ribbon, or fabric paint.
• The same effect could certainly be done with a fun fabric but it seems that most everyone has a spare bed sheet lying around or could find one at a thrift store for a nominal expense.
• The tension rod was obtained at Joann Fabrics with one of the 40% off one item coupons thus making this an almost free project!  

And now because you made it all the way through the post here's a gratuitous baby picture. :)

Thanks for reading and happy crafting!

***This post is linked up at Living Well, Spending Less***