How to hem curtains manually and by machine?
When hemming curtains, it is better to use a sewing machine. The work will be done much faster and more accurately than by hand. However, you can do without this device and bend the fabric with an ordinary needle.
- A sharp needle;
- sewing machine;
- scissors;
- measuring tape;
- ruler;
- crayon;
- pins;
- Thread in the color of the fabric.
The first thing to do is to establish how long the new curtains will be. To do this, use a measuring tape to measure the distance from the end of the loops on the curtain rod to the floor or window sill, and record the resulting value.
From there, you can follow the following instructions:
- The canvas is laid out on a flat hard surface with the wrong side up. Under the silk or satin fabric, it is better to put a sheet of cotton, so as not to slip.
- Measure the length of the curtain with a chalk mark in three places: at the sides and in the middle. Connect the marks you have made with a straight line using a ruler. Dashed fishing line. the bottom edge of the curtain.
- Step back from the mowing line by the width of the hem and cut off the excess material. Leave at least 15 cm for hemming curtains of heavy fabrics. When hemming organza or kapron, it is enough to leave 5-6 cm.
- The fabric is folded along the bottom edge and ironed on with an iron to fix it. Then the fold is wrapped inside by 2-3 cm and stitched or stapled with pins and ironed from the wrong side once again.
If you decide to sew by hand, you should take a needle and matching thread, make yourself comfortable, as this activity will take more than one hour, and start working. You can use a hidden stitch or machine stitch. In the first case, neither the seam nor the threads will be visible. But when you do machine stitching by hand, you need to make sure that the stitches are of equal length and the seam went in a straight line. Sloppily executed work spoils the look of the finished product.
Hem the curtains with the sewing machine, of course, much faster. And you can use both normal machine stitch, and various decorative stitches. If the hem is high (more than 5 cm), first stitch the side from the bottom edge of the fabric to the end of the hem. Then turn the fabric by 90 ° and sew a hem, leaving 2-3 mm from the top edge. At the end unroll the fabric again and sew the side of the hem.
The threads remaining at the beginning and end of the stitch should be tied in pairs with a double knot and cut off, leaving 2-3 mm tails.
Now you only need to steam the bottom of the finished product and hang the new curtain on the curtain track.
Tulle netting: how to cut and hem the fabric
Mesh is the most common type of fabric, from which curtains are sewn. It is a very beautiful, light and stylish fabric, but it is not quite easy to sew from it. Since this material is very delicate, thin and quite capricious.
The difficulty of working with it is that the mesh is very stretched and it is badly visible, as it is transparent.
The method of pulling the threads is considered the best way to cut the tulle net, because it is the easiest and the best way for this type of fabric.
We make a small incision along the bottom edge, then we pull the thread out of the incision and carefully cut the excess fabric along the thread.
Cut the mesh with the help of deferring on the ruler is not possible, as the fabric is very slippery and pulls.
A good way to hem the tulle net at home is to use a Moscow stitch on the edge. For this purpose you need a fleece tape, which is pressed to the edge with an iron.
Please note! The work is done from the wrong side.
Using a sewing machine, finish the edge with a straight stitch, 2-3 mm from the edge of the tape. Then cut the remaining tape together with the tulle. Then repeatedly hem and stitch by even stitching.
Always steam the ready product.
Trim the top edge of the net with webbing, on which you place the loops for the curtain rod.
Cut the bottom edge of the net tulle as follows.
- Steam the edge of the curtain.
- Turn it on 2-3 cm and stitch with an even stitching.
- Then fold them up a second time and again stitch them flat.
- The finished product is steamed with an iron.
Pay attention! When working with a net, you should consider the probability that the material will crumble, so it is better to leave an allowance of 0.5.1 cm more.
Preparations
Before working, cover the table with a cotton cloth. this will reduce the sliding of the curtain on the surface.
It is recommended to hem very thin material with tissue paper. After the stitching is done, the paper simply tears off.
How to Hem Curtains by Hand
Before you start the sewing machine, stitch a little on a small unwanted piece of tulle. Adjust stitch length and thread tension if necessary. The stitches are straight stitches with a medium step length (3-4 mm).
How to make without cutting or hemming, the secret of housewives how to make the necessary length.
In life there are cases when there is no machine, and sewing by hand well, well, well do not want. Do not worry, housewives, and you can find a few simple ways “for the lazy” that do not require any additional cost and a lot of effort and time.
It is more convenient to work on fitting the bottom by hanging the curtain in its intended place.
For those housewives who do not really want to form draperies and pleats on the tulle, there is a very simple and effective way to shorten the curtains. It should be understood that this method is only suitable for thin, flowing fabrics. This number will not work with heavy curtains. It is worth warning that this method is very extravagant and will not suit every interior.
Best used in children’s and playrooms.
DIY DECOR: IKEA Curtain HACK | DIY Curtain | No Sew Hem
- Place the tulle on the curtain rod and leave it overnight, or for 24 hours, so that the fabric takes the desired shape.
- Thread a thick thread of wool or kapron through a gypsy needle with a wide eye, preferably with a minimal difference in color from the curtain.
- Roll up the tulle with the thread from the middle of the curtain coming up to the edges.
- Fasten the resulting tulle roll with threads tied in knots. They can be of any color.
And here is the variant that is universal and will suit any interior shortening of curtains with the help of curtain magnets.
They are relatively inexpensive and allow you to shorten the length of the tulle without hem or trimming. There is a large selection of curtain magnets on sale, they can be in the form of butterflies, animals, flowers, and can be ordinary and almost invisible. But hostesses who have decided to use this method, may encounter a problem. Some magnets may be too weak and not hold the curtains. So be careful and always check the magnets before buying. It will save you from unnecessary costs.
They are very easy to use: pick up the edges of the tulle with magnets and pin in several places.
As a result, you will get beautiful and unusual draperies and folds.
If you could not find curtain magnets in your city, then use hairpins, crabs, pins and needles instead. But be careful, they can easily damage the fabric or prick yourself.
On sale you will find a large selection of magnets, both almost inconspicuous, which will not stand out and attract attention, as well as bright and original.
The decoration of the window opening is the final touch that completes the whole idea of interior design. Therefore, the window decoration and the choice of curtains should be approached in a balanced and responsible manner.
First, decide on the “complete set” of window decoration. Tulle is an out-of-season element. Dense curtains are used more to perform a protective function: in summer. to regulate the light, and a shorter model (in winter) is used to increase heat conservation of the interior space.
In addition to the correctly chosen style and color palette of transparent curtains and drapes, on the attractiveness of the window decoration affects:
- The saturation of the drapery.
- The presence of decorative details: lambrequins, garter strips.
- The correct size of the product. Designers recommend not limiting the length of the curtain rod, and decorate the window from one side wall to the other, increasing the space in width. The length of the product can be different: up to the floor or up to the window sill. Short models in different interpretations are used in the kitchen or as a seasonal option, opening the surface of the batteries.
How to Hang & Hem Curtains Without Sewing | The DIY Mommy
Most of the fabrics are sold with a length reserve, so you can adjust the size of the curtains to the height of the ceiling. You will have to hem the curtains-buying the material for the curtains without adjusting the length can not do.
You can go to a tailor’s shop, but in fact, the whole dressmaking operation will take you very little time.If you are planning to hem curtains at home, the result will be better: in the process you will be able to make necessary adjustments to the length, correcting, as necessary, inaccuracies in the measurements.
Using a sewing machine: even a beginner can do it
To properly hem the curtains with your own hands, you do not need to be a super-specialist and professional seamstress in the field. It is enough to know how to turn on and tuck the thread in the needle, guide the fabric under the presser foot. Each sewing machine has its own instructions for this. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with it before you start.
So, the thread is inserted in place, the spool is ready to work, let’s start shortening the length of the curtain:
- the fabric must first be twisted as required. To do this, you need to measure, then sweep the seam with large stitches;
- Then proceed to hemming;
- the length of the seam is from 0.3 to 0, 7 centimeters, more is not necessary, as well as less, it will look unaesthetic;
- At the beginning and end of the stitching do not make any treatments and tacking, threads are simply tied together, and unnecessary ends are cut.
Important: some experts advise that before you quickly hem the curtains, hem and trim the edges with an overlock, if such a function is available in the machine. This is not necessary, but desirable, then the threads will not begin to crumble, and the master. to be nervous.
With the machine to trim curtains easier and faster. you will get no worse than in the atelier
Selection criteria and length calculation
Parameters that pay attention to:
braid material: for transparent or dense fabrics; number of rows with loops (1 or more): with this it is necessary to take into account the length of the curtain, if it is necessary to hem the product, fix it on the bottom row of loops, otherwise. to increase the length (fix on the top row); the width of the braid. from 2 to 10 cm, a wider variety is used for heavy curtains, narrow. for light, transparent, take into account and the width of the edge on which the tape will be fixed; when selecting must take into account the assembly factor. one of the characteristics of the tape, to calculate it, you need to know the width of the curtain in the initial form and after assembling the material, the range of values is quite wide, in most cases take as a basis the figure 1.5, for complex drapery. 3.
In addition, you can study the marking of the tape. This will determine the intended use of the product. For example, if among the characteristics is the letter “Z”, you need to use tape for. For the light ones choose the variant marked “F”, for transparent. “/Z”. The universal variant. “U”.
First you need to sweep the hem with small stitches.
It is worth paying attention to such a good way to shorten the fabric as edging.You need a strip of fabric of similar color, you can buy it in a specialized clothing store, or you can cut it out of the same fabric by your own hands to the full width of the drape. Tape is folded in half in width, put the edge of the curtain inside and sew by hand or with a machine.
If you are using a sewing machine, then adjust it, the smaller the pitch, the stronger your seam will be.
If you are using light and weightless fabrics, you can buy a special band to weight them, which is sewn between the bends.
With the bottoms a little bit sorted out, now move on to the top. Now we need to sew the curtains edges to the curtain tape with fasteners.
Curtain tapes. fasteners vary in several types:
- The material (transparent or white),
- the number of loops and rows (this will determine its width),
- type of assembly, characterized by an assembly factor of 1.5. 3 (this allows you to adjust the number and size of the folds of your curtain).
For dense and embossed fabrics, it is better to take a small value for the factor of assembly (1.5-2), for airy and thin fabrics it is better to take a larger value. 2.2. 3, it will give additional volume.
Sewing curtains with your own hands without a machine. Instructions
But not every housewife will have a sewing machine at home, and this device is relatively expensive to buy it at one time and just to shorten the curtains, especially it can be done manually and even in several ways!
For the easiest method you need only a needle, thread and some manual dexterity.
- Take all necessary measurements before you begin. Use a tape measure, a piece of soap or chalk for this purpose. Then spread out the fabric on the floor, or on another flat, hard surface.
- When all the necessary marks are made, tuck the edges of the curtain.
- Secure the obtained bending with needles or pins.
- Use thin needles that do not leave behind large holes.
- Take your time and sew as evenly and carefully as possible.
- At the beginning and end of the stitching, leave small ends of thread, literally two to three centimeters.
When you are finished, bind the ends of the threads firmly.
