Custom window treatments can instantly elevate the look of a room, but the possibility of going custom-made often comes with a hefty price tag. Fortunately, there is a brilliant solution that allows you to achieve the same high-end, tailored look without breaking the bank. And that, my friends, is training your readymade curtains to look custom.
And training your curtains is easier than it sounds! I’m sharing the two simple steps below!
the before:
Here is how my drapes looked straight out of the package after we hung them up.
Let’s back up for a moment.
If you choose the triple pleated header like mine, your drapery panels will come with hooks you use to attach the drapery rings. You can see the clips below.
You will slide these clips into the little pockets on the top of the drapery, and then you will attach your drapery rings to them.
These are the Drapery Rings I used, and these are similar to my Drapery Rods, which are no longer available.
You can shop my drapery panels here.
how to train your readymade curtains:
1. Steam your curtains
After hanging the drapery, I used my steamer to get all the wrinkles out. This part is super important and takes the longest. But be patient, it is important to do it right. Not much worse than wrinkly curtains, am I right?!?
You can shop for my trusty little steamer here.
2. Tie Panel Folds Together
I then used 3 ribbons to loosely tie the panel folds together on the top, middle, and bottom.
3. Let them hang overnight
I let them hang like this overnight, and they were perfect the next day. I did have to steam out a few areas where the ribbon was tied.
And that is it, my friends. I told you it was simple!
Now they hang perfectly straight!
And even when I close them for an evening, they are perfect again after opening them the next morning!
Okay, now that we have trained the curtains, let’s talk about exactly what you need to order to get the look of my home office drapery.
My curtain panels:
- product name: Liz polyester linen curtains
- color: Ivory white
- header style: triple pleat
- single panel width & length: 72″x96″ (2 panels)
- liner type: white cotton darkening lining
Our windows are 70″ wide, and we have 9″ ceilings. I ordered my panels to be roughly twice as wide as my windows for extra fullness.
By the way, there are 1,000 different ways to customize these curtains by color, length, width, header type, lining type, etc. These curtains come in over 40 fabric shades, blackout lining, light filtering lining, rod pocket header, grommet header, pinch pleat, and several other options.
In our home, we have these readymade curtains in our primary bedroom and office. They are perfect for a living room too!
You can read more about my drapery in this blog post: Luxury On A Budget: Custom Drapes Without Breaking The Bank
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FAQ
Price! Ready made curtains cost a fraction of the price of custom made. I would consider my drapery on the high end of readymade, and they were still 1/3 of the cost of custom!
A widely followed guideline for correctly hanging curtains suggests that the curtains’ final width should be at least twice the width of your window to achieve the desired fullness.
For example, our office windows are 70″ wide. I went with 144″ total width for both panels.
Regarding length, I recommend hanging most curtains at least 4-6 inches above the window frame. This will create an allusion of a larger window.
If you have the space above the window to do more, the rule of thumb is to hang the curtain rod 2/3 of the distance between the window and ceiling.
For our room, our curtains are hung 13″ above the window molding. The distance between the molding and ceiling is 19″.
You will want your curtains long enough to brush the floor lightly, but not so long that they bunch up in a pile.
For me, it took just one night of leaving them tied together after steaming to train them.
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