A simple plastic bag can make hanging lace curtains much less of a hassle. Before sliding a curtain rod through the rod pocket in lace curtains, cover the end of the rod with a small plastic bag. The bag will help the rod glide smoothly through the lace, as opposed to trying to slide a "naked" rod through and dealing with unhooking the curtain every time it catches on the edges of the rod.
By Marie from West Dundee, IL
This page contains the following solutions.
I found this unusual item in a collection of items left from the passing of my mother's aunt. It may look odd, but actually serves a purpose. The slim end slides easily into the end of an ordinary curtain rod and the larger, smooth end helps the rod slide easily through the curtains to hang.
While shopping for new curtain rods, I couldn't believe the prices, ranging from $10 to $29, per rod. I passed on that purchase and went to a local hardware store and purchased a 1/2" x 10 ft.
We have fancy metal curtain rods but the tabbed drapes did not slide easily across them. I put a coat of car wax on them. The curtains slide really easily now!
When running a curtain rod through the top of a curtain, place a plastic baggie over the tip of the rod. This prevents the rod from "catching" on the curtain and allows quick insertion and prevention of tears.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have new window curtains that need a 2 1/2 inch curtain rod to hang them. How can I make my regular size curtain rods wider so I can use them instead of buying new expensive rods?
Flatten a gift wrap tube and slide in on the rod and slide the curtain over it.
you can cut cardboard the width you need and tape to curtain rod
Cut a piece of corregated cardboard that will fit in the curtain pocket. Cut the cardboard to the size your rod will be attached. Gather your curtain on the cardboard then work with sliding your rods into the pocket.
At first this may be a trial and error, but with a little patience you will persevere!
Makes a cheap curtain rod!
If it's going to be covered you could slip a length of PVC over the existing curtain rod.
I've used this "convert-a-rod" product - I thought it worked great. Here's a link, but you can find it at Linens & Things, if you've got one locally!
www.lnt.com/
Use an old PVC Vertical slat. If you don't have one they can be bought in most vertical stores.""
Thank You all for your help with information on window curtain rods.
Can you put a lace curtain on top of the main curtain?
It usually goes on the bottom. Here is a video on layering curtains: videos.blinds.com/
I have black lace over red curtains in my bedroom but it has a double rod.
I have seen it done both ways. I have a sheer scarf over my curtains--I use one tension rod for each.
You could use the same principle for yours.
In curtains and decorating, it is all about what makes you happy!! Go for it!! There is no interior design jail that I have ever heard of!!
Who knows you could start a trend among your friends and neighbors!! Post pix when you are done!! ENJOY!!!
I've done it and it looked amazing..I head some white lace curtains with flowers and plain teal curtains I tookmy lace curtains right under the seam that makes the top border and the space for the curtain rod or the rings for hooks or rod I fabric glued the top of the lace curtain to the teal curtain luckily for me they were the same length so it worked out well and beautifully
So what I did was took my lace curtain and attached the top of it to the top border of my teal curtain with some fabric glue and let fall freely at the bottom and the reason I usedthe fabric glue was so that I could easily detach the two if I wanted to change it... hope this is a better explanation than my first attempt
I have a really large window with no area for middle support and the top part of the window is an eyebrow window (its actually about 7 windows filling up one very large wall space). I am having a difficult time with putting a sheer up. I have used very large tension rods, but they end up bowing and getting pulled down on occasion.
I have tried a long curtain rod only to have it bow in the middle without the middle support. I read these forums all the time, and I know someone on this board will be able to help. I can't be the only person who has had this problem.
By Kady from Portland
Well, I'm not sure if this helps, but our living room has three 30inch windows connected. I hung two sheer panels and a valance to match. I used just the regular cheap white double curtain rods, which I spray painted to match the color of the curtain. I believe the supports came with the rods, but there were two long pieces that had curves to support the curtain rods...those two pieces just screwed into the dry wall.
I've recently added a couple of matching darkening panels and I've had no problem with bowing.
You can attach all that wall stuff to the ceiling, or get creative with some tacks or deco pushpins. I have even heard of stringing the sheers on heavy clear fishing wire and securing it to a nail on each end that you hide with the end of the curtain.
What you can so is get a small bracket or what they call a middle bracket for the middle of the rod. My mom had a huge picture window in the living room and that's what she did, hope that helps.
I don't really understand the type of window you talk about but I have been known to resort to cuphooks to support long curtain rods - you can get them in plain silver look or the ones I like are a gold colour - they are quite easy to screw into a wooden window frame but I'm not sure how one would go about using them with an aluminium frame - you would need a drill to put the hole in (use a smaller bit)
I would like to hang curtains on one wall in my bedroom. I would like the curtains to look full on the wall, not skimpy looking. Can some one tell me how I can measure the wall and then find out how many panels of curtains I will need?
The rule of thumb is 2 1/2 times the width of the window for "regular" fullness and 3 times the width for really full. I've done both and find if I have a heavier weight material 3 times is almost too much.
It's a bit difficult to tell from your question if you are curtaining just a wall window or an entire wall with panels.
In the same vein as the info provided above, whatever the open width of your panels, you will need to have enough of them to measure a total of 2.5-3x the total width of your window or wall.
Custom panels are 3x the width for fullness (vs ready-made that are 2x for fullness). Fabric weight would account for differences in the amount you'd use, as would pattern, and fullness desired.
I really do appreciate this information because I can barely even sew a button.
The problem is this; I live in an old home and there is only one small window in the bedroom. However, it is not centered on the wall. This is the wall I want to cover with fabric; not just the window.
Our bed is in front of the window - but the window is not in the center of the bed. It's closer to the right of the headboard. It looks so weird. So I thought that I'd just put fabric on the whole wall.
This bedroom gets very little light anyway because it faces trees and another home. I hate dark rooms and will have to make it up with additional lighting, but at least I can camoflage the window so the bed will look centered.
BUT if anyone has any other ideas about what to do about my window/wall issue I sure would like to hear about them!
Thanks from Smoochie
I am replacing my pinch pleated drapes for the ones with grommets and am wondering if there is a way to still use the traverse rods I have.
You probably need a new rod for the clearance. Traverse rods are often installed pretty close to the wall. Grommet drapes typically need more depth since they have to accommodate the fabric that folds back to the wall.
An easy way to add car curtains is with rods, small hooks and semi-transparent kitchen window curtains. They can give shade without obstructing the driver's view. This is a page about hanging curtains in a car.
While probably the most practical window treatment solution for large areas such as sliding doors, they are not easy to cover with curtains because of the depth of their valances. This is a page about hanging curtains over vertical blinds.
If your new blinds are not mounted in the window casing it can make installing curtains a bit more of a project. This is a page about hanging curtains over wooden blinds.
College dorms and some apartments will not allow you to install curtain rods. Similarly, depending on the window's installation tension rods may not work. This is a page offers some suggestions for hanging curtains without damaging walls.
This is a page about putting curtains on a curtain rod. Securing the ends of the curtains on the rod can make it easier to hang.
