Curtain sewing help PLEASE!

[Taurusa]

Hi all, i am about to sew my curtains for babies room. I am a novice sewer but have done some before... many years ago LOL
I am very much in need of some guidance!

We have bought 100%ployester backed curtain material, with the 'stuff' up the top for the curtain hooks (yes i am very technical)

What needle will i need to use?

How much Hem on the sides do i leave?

And If you have full length curtains, how far from the floor do you hem them? DH was thinking around 10cm off the floor, but i am not convinced!!!

Also(if you look at my photos) What would you suggest for the small window, we are also undecided about what to do there!!!!

Thanks!

[kalinka]

I know it's late - you may not need any answers here but maybe you'll find them helpful regardless.

Hi all, i am about to sew my curtains for babies room. I am a novice sewer but have done some before... many years ago LOL
I am very much in need of some guidance!

We have bought 100%ployester backed curtain material, with the 'stuff' up the top for the curtain hooks (yes i am very technical)

Usually called curtain tape, specified as various types - pencil-pleat tape, lining tape, tape for normal weight curtains versus sheer curtains etc. If you go somewhere they sell tape and look at the boxes, it'll show you the kind of effect the tape can produce. Most commonly it's a choice between pencil-pleat (standard pleats, like |||||) or triple-pleats (3 pleats-flat space-3 pleats, like ||| ||| |||).

When it's pre-stitched to the curtain fabric, it is almost always pencil-pleats.

What needle will i need to use?

Machine sewing, standard needle. Hand sewing, sharps in a size you're comfortable working with.

How much Hem on the sides do i leave?

Side hems are usually around 1.5cm But you can do wiser or narrower as it suits you. Wider can give the side of the curtain more weight and 'stiffness' which can help it hang neatly and not be blown around quite so much if the window is open and the wind comes through.

And If you have full length curtains, how far from the floor do you hem them? DH was thinking around 10cm off the floor, but i am not convinced!!!

Whatever you want. Floor length is usually considered 1-4cm from the floor. Standard process is to hem the sides, hang the curtain and them pin it to the length you want - this also helps you get it even and be sure it is the length you want.

[HotI]

Thought i would add to this thread rather than start another.

How many 'widths' of material is common to use (to get the gathering) when making curtains?

The window is 1.8m wide, and the material i am looking at 1.2m wide. If i do a total of 4 widths (2 per side) this gives total 4.8m which is roughly 2.6 times the width of window.

Is this enough? too much?

ta

Kate

[Floweryfields]

They say at least 2.5 times for nice full curtains, so yes, that would be enough - as long as the joining and side hemming doesn't take up too much. The more you use the 'lusher' the curtains look I suppose. Nothing says home made curtains more than a stretched out curtain that just fits the window when pulled out straight with no gather!!
Yours will be fine though.

[melbel]

If the material is 1.2 wide i would probably go for 3 widths per side especially if it is a lightish weight fabric....it will give a more lush finish. By the time you take all the seams into account 2 widths per side is only just going to get there. They say an absolute minimum of 2.5 times the width for gathering and 3 times the width for lush gathers. Also dont forget the curtains may need to be wider than the window width as the curtain track, if done correctly will actually sit wider than the width of the window to allow the curtains to pull back exposing as much of the window light as possible, if that makes sense. For example our tracks are 40cms wider each side of the window on our 1.8m windows to allow for curtain pullback. hope that heps Kate.