Lets
start right at the beginning:
Step
ladders: Make sure you have a
steady pair of steps not to short so you over reach. Your arms will drop of
before you have taken your first lesson in how to hang curtains. Not to tall
that you cannot reach the window comfortably without leaning out to the side to
hang curtains throwing you off balance.
Curtain
hooks for standard pencil pleat curtain tape
Curtain
hooks Again make sure before
you start that you have enough of the right kind of curtain hooks
Light
curtains will be fine with
standard plastic hooks.
Medium
weight curtains use nylon
hooks, stronger than plastic. They will flex without breaking.
Heavy
curtains use metal nickel
hooks, they are bit fiddly to handle they all stick together the box. Just like
the Chinese puzzles I had as a child.
Curtain
hooks for bucram headed curtains
You
will need what are called "pin hooks" simply because they have a
sharp pin which pierces through the fabric and bucram on the back of the
curtain header. This kind of heading makes for the best looking curtains. As
always the best all ways costs that bit more.
An
extra pair of hands
When
you are learning how to hang curtains large or heavy it is very useful to have
someone standing at ground level holding the curtain taking the weight. This
enables you to hang the curtain onto your track or rod with ease.
How
many hooks will you need?
Well
for curtains with standard pencil pleat tape you will need a hook every 4th
pocket.
For
bucram headed curtains you will need 1 for every pleat or goblet and one for
each end.
Preparing
your bucram headed curtains prior to hanging.
The
good news other than putting in the pin hooks setting them down 1/2 inch from
the top of your curtain. there is no more prepping to do. You just have to
learn how to hang curtains and dress them properly.
prepping
your pencil pleat curtains prior to hanging:
Standard
pencil pleat curtains to start
you will need to gather the tape on the top of your curtains. You do this by
pulling out the 3 cords in the back of the curtain tape. To start pull the
cords out of both ends of the curtain tape and tie them together in a firm
knot.
There
are 2 reasons for this
1. It stops you pulling the cords completely out
of the tape (not a good start when learning how to hang curtains).
2. It keeps the cords together on the end that you
pull the cords out to gather your curtain.
Then
continue to pull the cords out. Simple tip on gathering your curtains. Take one
set of knotted cords and hook over a door handle or some other fixed object.
Then use one hand to hold the curtain tape and with the other hand start to
pull the tape away from the door handle. You will see the heading on your curtain
start to pleat.
How
wide do you curtains need to be?
Next
check what half the width of your track or rod measures. Lets say your track is
100 inches long. You half this to 50 inches, then add on 2 inches to allow your
curtains to comfortably meet in the middle when hanging. So the finished width
that you want to gather each of your pair of curtains is 52 inches. The more
you learn how to hang curtains, the more this becomes second nature.
Before
you hang curtains...stop and check!
Before
you start to hang your curtain you need to lay your curtain down on a table or
the floor and check the gathered width is about right. Then if to narrow then
pull out the tape a little. If to wide then gather in the tape a little more.
what
about the surplus cord?
Finally
sorting out all that surplus cord and evening up the pleats in the tape. DO NOT
CUT THE CORDS! The best solution is to bundle the cords up by wrapping them
around all your fingers then tie a slip knot around the bundle. This allows you
in the future to alter the header tape should you want to.
Once
the cords are sorted out turn the curtain over. You need to look at the pleats
and try and even them out. Just do it roughly at this time because when you
come to hang them the pleats will move a little.
Last
job before hanging your curtains
All
most there, before you can hang your curtain you have to put the curtain hooks
into the pockets on the back of the tape. On most standard pencil pleat tape
there are 3 pockets top, middle and bottom.
How
to hang curtains from a rod or pole
If
hanging under a rod or pole put your curtain hooks in the top pocket. Also note
the number of rings on your rod or pole. This determines the number of hooks
you put in the curtain tape. As a rule of thumb you use less hooks on a rod or
pole than on a curtain track. On a track put a hook ever 4th pocket and on a
ror or pole every 6 to 8 pockets.
Hanging
from a track?
If
hanging from a curtain track then put your curtain hooks in the center or
bottom pocket pocket. this allows the curtain to cover the track when closed.
To decide which pocket to use try one and see what your curtain looks like
hanging. If your happy then great do the other curtain. If not happy move the
curtain hooks up or down to suit.
The
1st step when hanging
A lot of
people say you should always start hanging your curtains from the ends of the
track or rod and work towards the middle. I Disagree, I say you should always
start from the middle and work outwards towards the ends. The reason I advise
you do it this way is because if you have
too
many gliders on your track or too many rings on your rod you can easily remove
them from the ends of your track or rod. Where if you start from the outside in
to the middle the surplus gliders or rings are locked in the middle of your
track or rod. Meaning you have to unhang your curtains to remove them. Not much
more now and you will have the basics on how to hang curtains.
Why
do some advise to start from the middle?
The
reason is on some tracks and rods, but mostly the corded kind. They have what
are called overlap arms. These are short arms made of metal or platic with
holes in for the last couple of curtain hooks on each leading edge of your pair
of curtains (edges that meet at center of your window). Theses overlap arms allow
one curtain to pass and overlap the other curtain by 2 or 3 inches. Thus giving
you total privacy.
So
what's the big problem?
So
where's the problem? the problem is that these arms are not very strong. This
means when you start to hang a medium to heavy curtain. Especially without
someone carrying the weight they sag and twist or break completely.
Avoiding
the problem!
So how
do we avoid that when hanging from the center of the track or rod and working
outwards. Very simple really, if you need 2 hooks to go in the overlap arm then
count in to the 3rd hook and hook this into the first real glider or ring.
Leaving the 1st and 2nd curtain hooks to just hang in space. continue hanging
your curtain working from the middle outwards. That's how to hang curtains my
way (the best way obviously "wink")
Then
once you have reached the ends of your track or rod (removing any surplus
gliders or rings). You go back to the middle and hook in the last couple of
curtain hooks into the overlap arms. So avoiding putting to much weight on
them.
Well I
hope you have picked up a few "Tips" on how to hang curtains. This is
just the first stage. Next is the "Dressing" of your curtains.
Lee
Stevens has been involved in the making and fitting of all kinds of window
treatments for many years. He now writes "How to" articles on this
subject to help others create the window treatments of their dreams.
