How to hem your curtains with your own hands

It is rather difficult to imagine comfortable housing without curtains on the windows. They will bring comfort, keep warm, give beauty and chic appearance to the rooms. You can hang natural, combination or non-natural fabric. It is also possible to purchase ready-made curtains in a special store. But if you need original and unique curtains on the windows, then only one solution will do - pick up the curtain fabric and hem the curtains with your own hands.

Curtain Shortening Technology

To understand how to correctly sew curtains, you must first select a binder method:

• Manual;
• Mechanical;
• Glued.

The manual method is the most difficult and long. However, it only requires a thread with a needle. As well as free time, a bowl of patience and a willingness to be pricked. Before you start the procedure, you should find out what seams and stitches exist.. The lightest include:

• Estimated;
• Machine;
• Old;
• Basting;
• Looped;
• In a twist;
• Secret.

To hem the curtains, you need a basting, machine or basting. There will be no need for the rest.

The mechanical method can be carried out using a machine. In modern devices, there are a large number of useful functions, among which there are also those that allow you to easily and easily make curtains of the required size, precisely shorten the bottom.

If at home there is no sewing machine, then you should not purchase it only for the sake of curtains. Especially if after it will not be used. After all, a good machine will cost about 5 thousand rubles, and in the cabin the curtains will shorten the rubles for 500. And the difference is quite noticeable.

The mechanical method is suitable for those whose machine is not idle, and from time to time is used for different things.

A quick way is to purchase a special adhesive tape. There are two options for these devices:

• The end of the curtain is placed in a kind of pocket tape - for this it is stacked in half along its length;
• The end of the curtain is bent, and an adhesive tape is placed inside the bend.

It’s hard to say which option is the best. For different types of curtains - your own method. Unfortunately, such a tape also has some disadvantages. As time passes, it detaches. The hotter or wetter, cooler in the room, the sooner the ribbon will become unusable. And in order to restore the curtain to its previous form, you will need to remove the tape completely, purchase a new one and place it on a new one.

Some housewives argue that for the detached part, you just need to hold the iron, and it will become like new. But in reality, if the glue dries, it will be almost impossible to regain its former abilities.

Needle in hand

Not many people know how to hem the curtains manually. But for this there is a specially created step-by-step instruction:

• It is necessary to prepare all the necessary tools in advance: a needle, thread, scissors and a thimble;
• First of all, curtains are measured. To do this, use a sewing meter or tape measure, and to make marks, you can take a crayon or piece of white soap. Next, proceed to the process. To do this, it is better to place the tulle on a hard smooth surface, and clamp the corners with something heavy and stretch so that bends and folds do not form. Waste parts are cut off;
• After the marking is completed, carefully tuck the edges of the curtain. If the matter is thick, then only one bend should be made. About 3 folds are performed on a tulle or organza, otherwise it will come out too voluminously;
• The resulting bend is fixed with pins or needles so that it does not divert during flashing;
• For dense synthetics, only thin needles should be used, while the fabric should not be pierced through, otherwise ugly holes will appear that will remain forever. The same applies to organza;
• No need to rush, since it is important to make the stitch as even as possible and any fluttering of the hand will be very visible - this will not add curtains of beauty and style;
• At the beginning and end of the line, the ends of the threads are left, they are simply tied together, but they are not tightened very much, otherwise an ugly bend will come out. The residues after nodules should be trimmed, there is no need for them.

Using a sewing machine

To properly sew the curtains on a typewriter yourself, you do not need to be a specialist and a professional seamstress in the field. You only need to know how to turn on and thread the thread into the needle, to advance the matter under the foot. For any device in this case, different instructions. So you should study it before you get started.

After the thread is put in place, the spool is ready for use, you can begin to hem the curtains:

• First, you should tuck the matter as needed. To do this, take measurements, and then sweep the seam with large stitches;
• Then they begin to hem;
• The length of the seam can be from 0.3 to 0.7 cm, it will not take more or less, it will look ugly;
• At the beginning and end of the line, they do not do any processing or fastening, the threads are simply tied together, and the excess ends are trimmed.

Some experts recommend that before embarking on a rapid shortening of the curtains, hem and overlay the paradise with overlock, if this function is in the machine. It is not necessary to perform this, but it is desirable, thanks to this the threads will not crumble, and the master will not be nervous.

Glued tape instructions

It is easiest to hem the curtains using a special adhesive tape. Instructions for use:

• The length of the tape should be equal to the length of the border of the curtain, if it is less or, conversely, nothing else works out, measurements should be carefully performed;
• First, they form a bend at the end of the curtain: for reliability, a hot iron is passed along it, so the bend is firmly fixed in one place;
• An adhesive tape is placed in the bend or at the end of the curtains, and then they are passed along the entire length of the iron. High temperature will start the work of the adhesive composition, which will adhere to matter and will soon freeze in the air.

This shortening method is not suitable for all types of matter. For the glue to work, the iron must be very hot, not a little warm. In addition, organza or thin tulle will not withstand heat treatment, so that adhesive tape is not suitable for them.

Features and subtleties of hemming

The hemming process cannot be called difficult, it is rather energy-consuming, it will take a lot of free time to execute, in such a situation you should not rush.

There are some recommendations of specialists who will help to complete the work sooner or rather, and most importantly beautifully:

• Before shortening, allow time for the curtains to hang. This usually takes about 3 days. Thanks to these actions, the curtains can slightly stretch, and then they will need to be cut even more;
• Before hanging the curtains on the hood, they should be held in water and not squeezed. This will make matter harder and help it develop;
• If the fabrics are thin and airy, then the threads for hemming should be selected lightweight, inconspicuous, in the color of the material itself, the lines below will hardly be noticeable;
• So that the edges of thick matter do not bend after shortening, a weight, for example, a metal plate, is placed in the middle of the bend. It should not be visible to outsiders;
• Do not tighten the threads at the end and at the beginning of the line, the fabric will change, and this will look careless;
• Sometimes organza or thin tulle is not shortened, but seared, as if sealing the edges of matter. Here dexterity and dexterity are required - otherwise the fabric can burn out in literally seconds;
• To the edge, instead of a fold, you can sew a lace ribbon - it looks original and very impressive;
• Sewn curtain tape on a typewriter or by hand, glued tape cannot withstand this load;
• Any oversight can be decorated with braid - for this they use bright products, master assembly.

You should not be lazy and afraid to shorten the curtains and light tulle yourself - the procedure is simple, although not fast. It is important to take measurements correctly - for these purposes it is advisable to call an assistant. It is better to bend thick fabrics once, thin ones at most three times. The ends of the stitches are tied together, but do not tighten, otherwise a bend will form.