Ready to DIY ceiling and wall drapery for your next party or an upcoming wedding? If you’re looking to add some style and drama to your event, then this post is for you. Fabric is a simple and affordable way to transform any event space, and with a little bit of creativity and some basic tools, you can easily create a stunning effect on your own. Learn the steps of creating your own ceiling and wall drapery, from selecting the fabric, knowing how much to order, and hanging the finished product. Whether you’re a seasoned DIYer or a beginner, we’ve got you covered with tips and tricks to help you achieve professional-looking results. So grab your tools and let’s get started!
How I Learned to DIY Ceiling and Wall Drapery
For my daughter’s wedding, we wanted to incentivize her to stay on budget and allow us to DIY most of her decor. To do so, we set her a very modest budget for the whole wedding and told her whatever she did not spend, we would double and give to her as cash. We felt it allowed her to use her creativity to stretch a dollar and give her the opportunity to start off her marriage with a bit of extra cash in savings. She did an amazing job and you’ll find many of the projects we did to save money here on the blog.
My daughter had one very specific request when it came to the decor of her reception space. She didn’t want it to look like a church gym. I can understand that completely, but the problem remained that it WAS a church gym! Our family had been to countless wedding receptions in that gym and I spent a long time trying to figure out how to make it unrecognizable.
To completely transform the space, I knew I was going to have to learn the secrets of a DIY ceiling and wall drapery. Outside of DIY-ing her wedding cake, this one task was what I was the most nervous about. Many a night, I found myself wide awake at 2:00 am trying to figure out how I was going to get it to work. This was her most important of all her wedding decoration ideas and I wanted to get it right for her!
Materials and Tools Needed to DIY Ceiling and Wall Drapery
- Lightweight fabric – organza, chiffon, gauze, tulle, or muslin
- Large heavy-duty eye bolts
- Heavy-duty braided fishing line – 100 lb strength
- Turnbuckles
- Drill
- Scissors
- Measuring tape
- Stud finder
- Small safety pins
How to Drape a Ceiling and Walls with Fabric
Time needed: 6 hours.
How to Drape a Ceiling and Walls with Fabric
- Get clearance from your event space
They may already have the hardware installed in the walls and ceiling. If not, you will need their permission before installing eye bolts into their space.
- Determine where to add eye bolts around the space
Eye bolts will hold the weight of all the fabric and they have to be installed into studs in the wall. Wall anchors are not strong enough to hold both the weight, as well as withstand the pulling force of the wires.
- Select the fabric you will use as the drapery
Use lightweight fabric that will be sure to stay up during the event. You also need to decide if you want a sheer or opaque fabric.
- Plan the location of the support wires and the direction of the fabric
Create a scaled drawing of the space. Marking the location of eye bolts, where the wire will run, and the direction of the fabric. Take detailed measurements. This is not a place to guesstimate. Don’t forget to have the middle line higher than the side lines.
- Calculate how much fabric you need
The amount of fabric you need depends on whether you want a solid covering across the ceiling and walls and what type of fabric you have selected. If you have a sheer fabric, you will want to install it folded over on itself so it isn’t too see-through. Don’t forget to calculate the amount of swag or droop in your ceiling by adding 30% more fabric to that measurement.
- Install the eye bolts
Measure and mark the location of each eye bolt. Be sure they will be going into studs inside the wall. Predrill the hole in the drywall and stud, making the hole slightly smaller than the size of your bolt.
- Install the wire and turnbuckles
Tie the heavy-duty braided fishing line onto one turnbuckle. Attach it to one of the eye bolts and run the fishing line along one wall. Attach another turnbuckle to the other end and attach to the eye bolt. Adjust the turnbuckles to make the fishing line very tight. Repeat for the remaining lines.
- Hang the fabric
Run the fabric up and over the lines. If possible, do not cut the fabric until the rest of the fabric is in place. If you do need to cut it, leave a few extra feet to make adjustments at the end.
- Make any needed adjustments
Once all the fabric is up, adjust the spacing and amount of swag in the ceiling pieces so they are all equal. Use small safety pins to attach the fabric to the lines and to the fabric pieces around it to close the gaps.
- Add uplighting
While this step isn’t required, the uplighting takes the whole space to another level and highlights the beauty of the draped ceiling and walls.
DIY Ceiling and Wall Drapery Step-by-Step Instructions
Step One – Get Clearance from the Event Space
Whether you are using your church’s gym, or renting out a local party center, you have to get clearance from the owner to install DIY ceiling and wall drapery. Because there needs to be a few eye bolts drilled into the walls and ceiling, you can lose your deposit without first getting clearance. If you are lucky, they already have some installed.
Step Two – Determine Eye Bolt Locations
If eye bolts already exist in your space, measure their location and mark them on your plan. If you need to install eye bolts, find the studs you can drill them into. Again, measure and mark them on your plan. Don’t use wall anchors. They will not be strong enough to hold the weight of the fabric combined with the pulling from the fishing line.
The one stipulation I had from our church before taking on DIY ceiling and wall drapery was that I needed to use the eye bolts that were already there. They did not want any more added, which is completely understandable. With this restriction, we had to ditch our plan to use a ceiling ring hoop and instead used a tent design for our ceiling and two walls. For the open ends of the tent, we attached the fabric to the walls using straight pins.
Step Three – Select the Fabric
You need to use lightweight fabric that will be easy to hang and not too heavy. You also need to decide if you want a sheer or opaque fabric. If you are in a smaller space, I highly suggest something sheer to keep the area from feeling too closed off. Organza, chiffon, gauze, tulle, or muslin are all great options.
The material I used for the ceiling draping was a shimmer white organza that I bought from Gifts International. It certainly wasn’t the highest quality organza I have ever seen, but that didn’t matter to me. I wasn’t making a dress. I just needed the effect! So, I bought 460 yards and only paid $250. For those who don’t know, that is a killer deal.
Step Four – Plan the Location of Support Wires and Direction of Fabric
Now that you know where your eye hooks will be and which fabric you will be using, it’s time to put pen to paper and plan out the specifics, along with measurements. Where will your support lines run? Which direction will the fabric run? Can you use single lengths of the fabric so you don’t have to sew anything? Double-check all your measurements in the space so you can confidently move on to the next steps.
For a tent design, we only had to run three wires. One wire that was a high middle wire across the width of the center of the gym. The other two were lower wires along each end of the gym. Be sure your middle height is at least a couple of feet higher than your ends.
Step Five – Calculate How Much Fabric Needed
The amount of fabric you need will depend on the effect you are looking for on the walls and ceiling. Do you want a solid tent across the whole ceiling and walls or just strips of fabric scattered around the room? If you have a sheer fabric, you will want to install it folded over on itself so it isn’t too see-through. This is what we did. So our bolts of fabric were 60” wide, but we only got 30” of width since we installed it folded in half.
In your calculations, don’t forget to include the amount of swag or droop in your ceiling by adding 30% of extra fabric to your ceiling measurements. I would suggest adding an extra 10-20% to your final fabric amount to cover any “surprises” that will come along when the plan doesn’t go exactly as planned.
Step Six – Install the Eye Bolts
Measure and mark the location of the eye bolts, confirming with the stud finder that there is a stud where you need to install the bolt. Use a drill to predrill the hole for the eye bolt, using a drill bit that is smaller than the size of the bolt so the threads will have something to grab onto once installed.
Step Seven – Install the Wire and Turnbuckles
Purchase turnbuckles that have a hook on one side and a loop on the other. This allows you to tie the fishing line onto the loop end and then the hook goes onto the eye bolts. Install a turnbuckle on each end of the line and attach them to the eye hooks. Adjust the turnbuckles to make the line very tight.
Step Eight – Hang the Fabric
Run the fabric up and over the installed fishing lines. If possible, do not cut the fabric until the rest of the fabric is in place. This gives you the freedom to adjust as needed. If you do need to cut it, leave a few extra feet to make adjustments at the end.
For our space, we started on one end on the floor, fed it up and over the wire, across the middle wire, and then down to the other end wire, then down to the floor. We got lucky because we used bolts of material that had 23 yards on each and that was the perfect amount to go the whole length. It also gave us a bit of material for a draping effect from point to point on the ceiling. No sewing is required for this DIY ceiling and wall drapery!
Step Nine – Make Adjustments to the Draping
It will be difficult but don’t make adjustments until all the fabric is hung on the ceiling and walls. You’ll only end up having to go back and adjust it all again later. Use small safety pins to attach the material to the wires so they don’t slip. And then to pin together any strips of material that were gapping
Our theme for the day when we were hanging this massive amount of organza on the ceiling and walls was “It doesn’t have to be perfect. It is going to be dark.” It is easy to obsess over every little seam and bump, but the reality is, once the party started and the overhead lights were turned off, and the uplighting was turned on, it was nothing but a glittery, magical space. Even I didn’t notice the not-so-perfect sections.
Step Ten – Add Uplighting
This last step certainly isn’t required but makes such a massive difference to a DIY ceiling and wall drapery job. It adds softness and drama to all your hard work. And believe it or not, helps hides the imperfections.
During the day and with the overhead lights on, we were a bit frustrated with how see-through the organza was. But again, once the lights were off and the lighting scheme going, it was perfect. The shimmer in the organza did a great job of reflecting the up-lights around the room and the lights from the DJ. It was a pure winter wonderland!
DIY Ceiling and Wall Drapery FAQs
To keep the drapery from becoming too heavy for the support wires and bolts, be sure to use lightweight fabrics. Organza, chiffon, gauze, tulle, or muslin all work very well to drape ceilings or walls.
The amount needed depends on how you want the finished ceiling to look, and the type of fabric you are using. If you choose a sheer fabric like organza, you will want to drape the ceiling with two layers of the organza so it isn’t too see-through. When calculating the amount of fabric needed to span the ceiling with a bit of droop (or swag) between the connection points, add an additional 30% of fabric to the ceiling measurement.
How long does it take to DIY ceiling and wall drapery?
So how long did all this draping and wall covering take? There were 6-8 of us working on it and it took us about 7 hours. Now, having done this once before, I think I could easily do it again in 4-5 hours. Luckily for me, my next oldest child is only 17. I have some time before having to whip up this skill once again!
If I would have had a detailed tutorial on how to DIY ceiling and wall drapery like this one, I know it would have taken us significantly less time. But like all big projects, you go in with a detailed plan. Then, spend most of your time troubleshooting all the unexpected problems that pop up along the way.
Looking for More Great DIY Wedding Ideas?
I have a whole series on throwing a wedding on a budget that is simply gorgeous! You can see all 16 different articles by clicking here.
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shakia says
This is awesome. I am trying to use material in my church for my wedding to drape from one end of the church to the next. I measured and it is 24 feet. Do you know what would be sturdy enough to hold the material up so I can use and create a middle entrance for myself (bride) in the church.
Carole says
We used wire attached to eye bolts to hold up the material. We also tried a heavy duty fishing line, but it stretched too much and eventually broke. Good luck! – Carole
Yannta says
Hi. Cam u tell me the wire and eye bolt. Or a pic
Rae Ramos says
Thank you so much for the tutorial. It looks awesome,
Carole says
You are welcome Rae! I hope it was helpful -Carole
Danielle says
How big of a space did the tent make? Thanks
Carole says
Danielle- I don’t have the exact measurements anymore but about 50 feet wide is my best guess.
Eboni says
Hello I purchased this organza material as you instructed. The left and the right side are folded I notice as I unroll the bolt. Did you leave those ends folded when hanging the material or you laid the material totally flat? Did you double up or single layer?
Carole says
We left it folded because the organza was thin. Good luck!
janie says
please tell me exactly the type of wire and turnbuckle you used. I’m not sure where you used the turnbuckle. I never even heard of a turnbuckle!!! i love what you did, but i need some more specifics in order to do it myself for my party. Can i send you a photo of the room so that you can get an idea?
Carole says
Janie- a turnbuckle was attached to one end of the wire and then the other end of the turnbuckle hooked onto the eye bolts already in the walls. The turnbuckle then turns so you can tighten the wire to make it tight enough so it doesn’t droop. If you don’t use a turnbuckle, you will never get your wire tight enough across the span of the room.
Carole says
As far as the type of wire and turnbuckle, it all depends on how big of a span you have. Talk to your local hardware store and they can help you pick an appropriate size for both.
Haley says
Looks great!
What type of material did you use?
Carole says
Haley – I used a very inexpensive organza fabric. In the post, I have a link to the online store I bought the material from. -Carole
Roberta says
Hi,
This looks stunning. I’m in desperate need of transforming a hall into something great for my daughters 21st birthday. It’s coming up real soon and I’m keen to know where you purchased your rolls of organza from.
Thanks!
Roberta
Carole says
Roberta- there is a link in my post directly to the website I used!
Lillian says
I can’t find the link that your order your organza.
Can you post it again?
Thanks a lot.
Carole says
It is in the post….Gifts International was the company I used.
Lisa says
Hello Carole. I LOVE this! And it’ll really help me to decorate the tent for our wedding on our tight budget! If we get a tent that is 20’x40′ how much material do you recomend me purchasing? Thank you so much.
Carole says
Lisa- that really all depends on how much material you want hanging down and how much you want to bunch it together. My measurements are listed and I ordered three extra bolts, which we used! If I would have had more, we would have used it. Order more than your calculations say you should
Daydra says
Hello I also have a 20×40 tent rented for my wedding in June and want to do this so bad to decorate it! !! How much fabric did it take u???
Carole says
Hi Daydra! Good luck with your wedding. The article has the amount of fabric I bought
Frankie says
This is wonderful! Well done, you did an amazing job! Thank you for the clear instructions. Your daughter had a beautiful wedding reception 🙂
Carole says
Thanks Frankie! I really appreciate your kind comment -Carole
Geri Sims says
How did you get away with drilling eye hooks in someones walls?
I have never been able to do that when I have hung drape and I hang lots of drape for weddings.
I have always been asked to stay away from the walls and not to use hammers or drills in someone else’s venue.
Carole says
Hi Geri! The church already had some eye hooks into the ceiling and walls, then we got permission to add two more for our needs. And it wasn’t into the walls. It was a strip of wood trim that ran all around the walls, which made it quite sturdy and they didn’t worry about us damaging dry wall.
Bradlee says
There’s currently a sale on their organza on the website you linked.. Is that about the price you paid for yours? I saw that you said you spent a little over $200 for the kind you got but the pricing on there is different now so I want to make sure I get the right kind.
Carole says
I bought mine two years ago so I’m not sure. Any organza will work! Good luck
Connie says
I could have written your remarks “awake every night at 2am”! Our daughter also agreed to use our church hall but wants the ceiling hidden. We settled on a centered circle with 12 rays of fabric going out. I ordered 250 yards of 108″ tulle. I found a formula for multiplying each length by 1.3 to get the right drape. I’m starting tomorrow on unrolling those bolts, cutting and sewing a casing on the end and feeding them onto a stuff wire circle of about 18″. Will suspend that with wire from the center hook that is already in place. For the ends of each ray I purchased Clik system magnets that will stick to the metal frames of the suspended ceiling tiles. Keeping fingers crossed but it all looks good on paper and in my head! :). We are borrowing cafe lights too to hang from these super strong magnets. Thanks for your ideas!!
Carole says
Good luck Connie! It was so much work but the end result was worth it all.
Nerell says
I was wondering about the magnets. Are you using the Cultrual Hall?
Carole says
I’m not sure what magnets you are referring to Nerell.
jen says
So much work!!!! How wide was your organza and do you remember how many widths you ended up draping?
Carole says
It was a ton of work, but the end result was so gorgeous! We used the organza doubled over on itself like it came off the bolt of fabric just to make it a little less opaque. We bought 60 inch wide and 460 total yards.
jen says
Thanks! I am sorry to bug ya, but one more question…Did ya buy 10 yard bolts or 25 yard bolts. It doesn’t really matter except it would be easier to have the right length so I won’t have to cut and sew any of them. Thanks for your help.
Carole says
It was 25 yard lengths but it will all depend on the size of the room you are using if that will be long enough on its own
Lo says
Hi, I’m trying to drape an unfinished ceiling. The material I’m using is satin. I’ve read your comments but I’m still clueless as to what materials I need and the installation process. When you mentioned wire is that fishing line? Please what type of wire? Do I need to tack the wire to the rafters? I’m in need of some help!!!
Carole says
Hi Lo! With using satin, it is considerably heavier than the material I used. You will need to do more than tack the wire to the rafters. You will need to screw some eye hooks into the rafters and feed the wire through it. Do not use fishing line because it will only stretch or bake. You can buy metal wire on a spool from a hardware store
Lo says
Ok…. So I screw the eye hooks and then feed the wire. But how do I put the fabric up? Is it fed on top of the wire? Won’t the rafters be exposed? I’m trying to hide it. Ugh!!! I’m so clueless!!!! 🙁
Carole says
The wire acts like the poles of a normal tent and yes, the material drapes over the stretched wire. run wire along all four walls. You then run the fabric up and over the wire on one wall, across the span of the room then over the wire and down the opposite wall. I worry about the weight of satin doing this if you have a large room. That much material will be heavy. Also, you will need a bunch of small safety pins to keep the material in place and slipping
kim says
You realize that is a minimum of 40 man hours plus material costs which equals approx a minimum of $1150. and you could hire a professional to do this for you for maybe $100-$200 more and not have to deal with it.
Just saying DIY is not always worth it!
Carole says
Very true Kim but when you live in the middle of nowhere Minnesota, there are zero professionals to hire to do it :). It was us or no one!
Rynnae says
Thank you so much for this! We’re having our wedding in a church gym as well.. and I really want something pretty for pictures. A church gym, to me, doesn’t seem like it would be very photogenic. This gave me a few ideas of something I’d like to try (and hopefully my fiance will go along with it!).
The link you gave to the fabric website is fantastic with the prices. So thank you again!
Carole says
You are very welcome Rynnae!
d. says
If you already answered this I apologize in advance, but what were the gym dimensions you were dealing with
Carole says
It was about 50 ft x 55 ft
Angie says
You haven’t mentioned how you reached the top of the gym ceiling…did you have to use a cherry picker or scissor lift?
Carole says
We never had to reach the gym ceiling Angie :). That is the beauty of this design. We ran wire along all four walls and draped it across the gym. The gym ceiling was easily 2 stories high but the draping was only one story high.
Jeanae says
Thank you so much for this! It is exactly what my daughter wants to hide the fact that her reception will be in a cultural hall! I really appreciate all the detail that you included. It is so helpful to not have to reinvent the wheel! Now she just needs to pick which building, so we can measure and check for eye bolts!
Carole says
Good luck Jeanae! It is a lot of work, but the end result was so worth it!
Monique says
How did you attach the organza to the wire? I found the turnbuckle, eyebolts, and fabric, but Im not sure how you attach the fabric to everything? My venue has 3 hooks that look similar command hooks at a focal point and chain attached around the perimeter of the venue. I am looking to attach 4 panels of organ from the focal point on the wall (not the ceiling) and drape across the chains on the perimeter of the venue. Please help!
Carole says
The way we had it draped, we didn’t need to attach it to the wire but you could certainly use some small safety pins. We did use some of those in certain places where the organza didn’t want to hang correctly. Good luck Monique!!
tierra harrell says
Hello! Was it the sheer organza or the crystal organza that you purchased and what is the details o the table covers?
Thanks
Carole says
Hey there Tierra! We used crystal organza which was beautiful with the up-lighting. For the table covers, I purchased some inexpensive white tablecloths since our church had some but they weren’t in the best condition.
Ross says
Hi if we have a tent 30×80 how much material do we need for draping the top?
Carole says
Hey Ross! My head is still swimming from doing all the math from our own wedding. It isn’t ready to figure out yours 🙂 There are tips about how much material we ordered compared to the room measurements in the post. I always suggest ordering extra because too much is always better than too little! Good luck
Sherlita says
How wide was the 460 yards of fabric that you used to drape the ceiling?
Carole says
Hey Sherlita! We bought the 6 foot wide panels and used them folded over into 3 foot wide panels
Marie says
Hi Carole,
Do you still have the organza?
Do you live in Utah?
And would you rent it out?
Carole says
Hi Marie! I do have the organza, but I am a Mormon who doesn’t live in Utah 🙂 We are in Minnesota.
Michelle O says
Hi,
I have been wracking my brain watching DIY tutorials on how to hang ceiling draping and figuring out the measurements. We are currently planning my son’s wedding and I feel like I wanna try ceiling drapery. I saw that you put the dimensions of the room at 50ftx55ft. Was the crystal organza doubled up for the entire room?
Carole says
It is overwhelming for sure Michelle! We did double it for the whole room just to keep it from being so see through and it worked perfectly, especially since it came already folded in half from the store.
Leslie says
Hi Carole! First I would like to say thank you for this amazing tutorial, idea and the resource for materials. My question is out of the 460 yards order was all of that used on just the ceiling or was that ceiling and walls? Do you know approximate height you created with the tent? I plan to do this to drop the ceiling and I need to cover walls as well. Thanks!
Carole says
Hello Leslie! This amount covered both the walls and the ceiling. The height of the tent was about 10 feet.
Sarah says
You have saved me from trying to think hard for two wedding receptions that I will be doing this for. Luckily, we are using the same material, so, yayyyy for sharing!! My daughter and I are both getting married this year and I will be testing this on her reception and perfecting it on mine. Hehehe. Thank you for sharing this information for people who don’t or can’t pay per hour for someone to come in and do this draping.
Carole says
You are welcome and good luck with TWO weddings Sarah!
Christina G Oliver says
Hello! First I want to thank you for this amazing tutorial. You have helped me so much! I am looking to just drape the ceiling, but no walls. If I just used the wire in the center to drape the material (following the vaulted ceiling) how would you recommend attaching the material to the corner, where the vaulted ceiling and wall meet? Thanks for any advice!!
Carole says
Hi Christina! What if you ran a wire along with corner of the wall and the vaulted ceiling and attach it again to that wire?
Rebekah Peterson says
Can you tell me what gauge wire you used and how you fastened it to the turnbuckles? My sweet girl announced ten days ago that she is getting married at the end of the month, and I’m frantically trying to get everything ready.
Carole says
Congrats Rebekah! The turnbuckles were attached by simply twisting the wire around one end. I don’t know what the gauge of the wire was. We actually tried fishing wire first but it broke ever time we tried to tighten it.
Donna Barwick says
Thank you for all this wonderful information. Would you mind telling me how many bolts of this material you buy for that amount of space?
Carole says
Hi Donna! This was 6 years ago so I’m not sure exactly how many bolts but according to my post, I purchased 460 yards.
Erin says
Hi!
I love this idea! If I understood correctly, you used 23 yards from one end to the other. Does that include walls as well or just the ceiling? Also, how wide was each panel?
Thanks!
Carole says
Hi Erin! That includes the walls and ceiling.
Tammy says
I will be draping the ceiling in the culture hall. I read that clothes line worked well for strength. I will be running it from backboard to backboard of the basketball nets. Then draping it like a tent. There are only sound boards that I can attach the other end to so I will be clipping the material ends to that.
Same as the light strings..
Haven’t done it yet !!!!
The space I’m working with is 67′ long x 42′ wide.
I’m using tulle
Carole says
Good luck! I’m sure clothes line will work as well. I was just looking for something a bit thinner when we did it.
Zaiya says
Hello! I’m very impressed with your decorating! I am also trying to do a similar design and want to order from the site you mentioned, but I am running low on time. Do you by chance remember about how long it took to ship the fabric to you?
Carole says
It was about 2 weeks!
Susan says
Did you get the wire with the turnbuckle already on it or did you cut the wire to measurement and then install the turnbuckle on it yourself? If so how did you do that?
Carole Jones says
Hi Susan! Everything was purchased separately. Since we used braided fishing line instead of wire, all we did was tie quality Boy Scout knots to attach the turnbuckles to the line. When you cut the line, leave about a foot extra on each end to cover any variations and then you can cut the extra off after you have it installed.