With adding curtain rings and lengthening the bottom edge of your curtains, you can add several inches on length to your short curtains. Remember those short blue curtains from the first picture? Check out how much length I was able to add by attaching curtain rings and redoing the bottom seam!
Short Curtains
Visually speaking, high-water style is not the most appealing way to hang curtains. The shorter length can appear dated. Also, it can cut the visual height of your room in half. From a purely practical standpoint, however, short curtains are sometimes the best option.
Short curtains are typically only used when long curtains are unrealistic (such as when a radiator, the bed headboard, or some other object would interfere with the curtains). In addition, long curtains provide a better aesthetic and can make the room appear bigger, especially when hung higher than the window frame.
The answer to this question is important because it can affect the way we do our decorations. Yes, curtains should be long enough to touch the floor. With a few exceptions, the longer the curtains are the more stylish and elegant it will look. This is why most standard ready-made curtains are lengthy.
When curtains appear too long, try sewing a hem, which can allow you to shorten curtains without cutting curtains to length so you can retain the fabric if you want to. Another way of shortening curtains is to incorporate a folded design with buttons as fasteners. Folding the curtain hem up creates a double hem.
Tiebacks slightly shorten curtains. This is why they don't work well with short bedroom curtains. Since shorter curtains form a small bundle when compacted, they look less appealing with the use of tiebacks. So, if you want to pull off short bedroom curtains, push them to the side instead of tying them.
To hem your curtain without sewing, you will use Heat'n'Bond Tape, which is essentially heat-activated, double-sided tape that holds strong on fabric. As I mentioned before, for a wide, thick hem, I highly recommend using the Ultra hold. NOTE: The Ultra Heat'n'Bond Tape usually results in a permanent hem.
Shorten the Top
You can shorten these without a permanent hem by folding the top over toward the back of the curtain. Use safety pins to secure the fold down to create a new pocket to slide the rod into. If you pin only into the lining of the curtain, the pins won't show on the front of the curtain.
Lay the curtain panel flat on the table, the wrong side of the fabric visible, the bottom edge toward you. Turn the hem up the by the allocated hem allowance and press the bottom edge. Pin the hem in place across the width of the panel. Typically, curtain panels have a 4-inch double hem.
If your drapes have polyester content, don't turn your iron up too hot or you'll melt your fabric! And that's it! Your no-sew hem is complete. This is a simple way to hem your drapes without a sewing machine and in no time at all.
Sill Length
These are the shortest of the standard curtain lengths, which makes them a good opportunity to have some fun with pattern or color. Since they take up less visual space, you won't get tired of a bold choice.
Cut Your Curtains
Once you have measured your new hem and pinned it out, cut off the excess curtain using fabric scissors by following the pinned line.
Place the tape at the bottom of the curtain with the glue side against the wrong side of the fabric. Iron, then remove the protective paper. Turn down the fabric at the desired hem length and iron again. Turn down the fabric at the desired hem length and iron.
Do curtains typically drop after hanging? We've researched this to get the answer for you. Your curtains may drop right out of the box, but more than likely, they will flare at the bottom. You need to train the curtains for three days to two weeks after unboxing them, so they take on a more appealing shape.
Drapes may stretch. Fabric is made of threads woven together, and there is no glue holding these threads in place. Knowing how the fabric may react after hanging will help you choose fabrics that should not stretch.
Your best move is to hang curtains within 8 inches of the top of the window frame. For very tall windows, which are popular in many modern homes, that means placing the rod as close to the ceiling as possible—in fact, you might want to install rods designed to actually hang from the ceiling.
Hemming tape works especially well for lightweight curtains with a narrow hem to fold up. Take the time to measure the preferred length from the top of the curtain to the bottom edge to help you calculate the new hem depth.