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I'm making some small curtains with both sides facing inside the house (they're for a cabin bed). Normally the inside (fancy) fabric would be folded over and slightly larger than the lining fabric, so the edges are the nice fabric, the lining is smaller, and the seam on the lining side away from the fold.
When lining with the same fabric, should I do the same, or cut both pieces the same and have the seam at the fold?
(Apologies for poor terminology; I'm new to this)
If you will mostly view the curtain from one side, handle that as the 'side you look at in normal curtains', do have that side a bit bigger and fold the edges over to seem them.
On the other hand, if you will see the whole of the curtain from both sides and you will want both to look nice, two pieces of fabric the same size, put the good side on the good side and sew around the outside, I would leave either the top or the bottom open for now. Turn and top stitch just inside the edge.
Most likely you will do something in the top seam to hang the curtain. If you have the skills to do that with the two layers of fabric finishing it nicely at the same time, keep the top open. Otherwise, close the top and keep the bottom open and 'only' top-stitch that closed. (You can even seam both sides individually and leave them open at the bottom, your call, if will fall better but is more likely to get out of shape.)
If the side seam is shorter or more out of sight you can use that as the last instead. You can play around quite a lot, as nobody but you will judge your quality of work.
Another alternative is to intentionally make the outer fabric more visible on the inside.
Normally the inside (fancy) fabric would be folded over and slightly larger than the lining fabric, so the edges are the nice fabric, the lining is smaller, and the seam on the lining side away from the fold.
This is the way to go for most lined pieces of clothing. Now, if you make the lining - let's say - 2 inches smaller and the outer fabric 2 inches longer, your seam would be on the backside of the curtain and show a strip of outer fabric next to the lining fabric. Depending on the colors and patterns of the fabric, this could create a very nice and decorative accent.
To assemble this:
Align one long edge of both fabrics, right sides facing each other.
First sew the long seam and either press it open (if both fabrics have the same weight) or press it over to the side of the lightweight fabric (if one is much lighter than the other).
Then align the top edges of the fabric, still right sides facing each other. Add your solution to hang the curtain at this stage. For example, if you want to add loops to hang the curtain, you put each loop between your both fabric layers and align the open end of the loop with the open end of the curtain.
Pin the short edges into this position and sew both sides, while leaving an openig to turn it over. Clip the corners, turn the curtain over (right sides out) and press the side seams. If the side seams don't lay flat, you might need to top stitch over them.
Lastly, if everything looks fine and straight, press the crease into the bottom edge of the curtain. This should be the last step because (depending on the fabric) it might be impossible to remove the crease again.
From what I read in your question, since both sides are the same fabric, “cut both pieces the same and have the seam at the fold”. It might be easier and will look solid once pressed. Tip: prewash the fabric it can shrink. And it will be easy to wash in the future. Also, Folding the fabric in half makes sewing easier (like making a pillowcase) or sewing selvage to selvage, that makes it even easier.
!
If you use clips to hang them, construct them as if they were a pillow case. Make the bottom hem, press, Pin the fabrics right sides together, sew up the sides, then the top. turn it inside out, press. Have fun! close up curtain clips
