There was once a place where I lived and it had a large, beautiful deck. I loved spending time there, reading, or working on a tan, but I did not like the fact that the neighbors could look over and see me sun bathing. If you love lying out on your deck, but you’re not crazy over the neighbors staring, you need a privacy curtain. That might sound like it would be difficult to make but it’s not. If you can sew a little bit you can quickly make an enclosure, which can be taken down and put up with ease.
Purchase fabric to make the curtain or use a sheet as the source of cloth. If you use a sheet, cut it into wide strips, and sew them end-to-end. If you’re not using a sheet some good choices of fabric include cotton, canvas, or even oilcloth. Fold the fabric in half, lengthways, and you can easily draw the design on the fabric.
Measure from just under the rail. to the deck boards. to get the width for the curtain. Draw that measurement from the fold of the cloth, over, across the top. For the length, measure the length of the side rails, end-to-end, that you want to cover. Draw that total measurement down the fold of the cloth. Cut out the huge rectangle and you can easily sew the new privacy enclosure.
Sew around the perimeter of the rectangle but leave an opening at one short end to turn it right-side-out. After turning it, tuck the raw ends of the fabric in at the open side, and sew to close it. Note: if the fabric you’re using is especially thick there’s no need to cut two pieces, and sew them together. Instead, just hem around the perimeter of the fabric.
Ribbon or cord works well to make ties for hanging the privacy curtain. Cut a length to be long enough to tie around the banister, plus a few extra inches. Fold the ribbon in half, and sew the fold onto the top corner of the cloth. Do that to both top corners. Then, between those two corners, sew on more ties, spacing them evenly apart. Add another tie about every 15 inches.
If you’re using lightweight cloth it’s helpful to weight the very bottom edge, to keep the sheet or other privacy curtain from blowing in the wind. Use a needle and thread to sew some metal washers down the length, along the bottom. Or, lay the cloth out flat, position the washers or other flat weights, and use duct tape, or other sticky tape, to secure them.
Have no way to sew? Start with thick fabric, like canvas, and poke holes along one long side. They’ll hold up even longer if you install grommets. Slide a cord or ribbon through each hole and tie it once. Tie these onto the railing to create the privacy net in a no time.
It’s easy to tie the cloth around the inside of the deck rails, and remove it when you don’t need it. You can launder it or, if it’s oilcloth, you can simply hose it off when needed. When the enclosure is in place, you’ll feel very comfortable, and it will seem like your neighbors are miles away.
Reference:
- Deck curtain fabric: www.joann.com
