Curtains and How to Shorten them

Ok this is going to be written step by step today while I am doing the second curtain because I forgot to take pics as I was doing the first one.

See we bought a house a year ago.  The curtains are those LONG LONG ones that drag the floor and are all bunched up because they are still to long.

Now the problem here is mine are even to long to be on the windows because my vents for air and heat are below my windows in the master bedroom.  Sooo the delima   do I cut them off a tad and leave them long or cut them off short to the bottom of window sill. Well I have thought about this for over a year now.  Finally today I was done looking at the long bundled up mess.  

This is what they looked like before I touched them.  The lighting is not the greatest because the drapes cut out the light in the room.

This is what you will need to do the job.

Now this is what I did next.   I figured what length I wanted my curtain to hang and put a pin woven into the material before taking my curtain off the rod.  So I grabbed a box (I'm to short to reach the curtain rod.) and pushed up on curtain rod until it gave way.


 I laid the curtain out on the bed.  Back side up....Took my LONG 60 inch sewing cloth like Tape Measure.  

And Measured to where I had put a pin in my curtain.  It so happens it came to 59 inches, so I went with 60.  At 60 inches I put a pin.  Try not to pin to your own comforter or bedspread.  Just don't panic if you do.  Take another pin and work in a 2nd one that is NOT attached to your comforter and pull out first pin.  I had to do this several times.  LOL  I lined my tape measure up with each pleat that way I know I had it straight.  

Pic to be added

After I had pins all the way across from one side to the other.

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I needed a Yard stick, but couldn't find it.  So I improvised and used a Tinker Bell Picture.  I laid it down putting the edge on each Pin.  And used my BLUE sewing marking pencil to make a line all the way across the curtain.  I'm not sure if it was because my curtain was kind silky, but I had to keep licking the pencil to make it draw a darker line.

Pic to be added

Next once your line is drawn measure from that blue line 9 more inches.  Pin the same as you did up above.  All the way across.

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Once you get that done draw a line across just like you did your first line.  Then cut on that line.  Save the cut off material.

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Now take the smaller sewing measure stick.  Fold over the edge toward the back side (1) inch and pin on the outside.  Once you have measured all the way across and pinned all the way across go to the next step.

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Now fold the edge up to your FIRST drawn line.  That will make your fold (4) inches.  Pin down the fold and you are now ready to sew across.


Note====I made sure my pins were facing so that the point will face away from me when I start sewing.  And the biggest part of the curtain material will be off to my left.  Much easier that bunching it all up under your sewing machine.

Pic to be added

Easy Peasy.  Ready to do the next panel.   I will add the other pics once I get back to my second panel as I forgot take pics on the first one.