Your windows are not in standard UK size? It can be a small challenge when comes to buying curtains. But what if I tell you that you can hem curtains without sewing machine?
I heard you. We also couldn’t find a proper sized ready made curtains after moved to the UK. Either it’s too short, too long, or in right size but unconvinced quality and design, or pay more but wait for 6-8 weeks for a tailor-made one.
While we almost tried out every option, sent back two curtains, finally this problem is solved!!!
Yesterday, under a lovely sunshine, I took out the sewing kit, iron and iron board, hand-sewed the lying-floor curtains drop in less than 2 hours.
182cm or 228cm Length Drop? Eyelet or Pencil Pleats?
In our case, we first measured roughly with a soft measuring tape (we thought we’d lost the right tool). It looked like minimum 200cm and maximum 218cm is required. However, in the UK, the standard curtain drop length are 137cm, 182cm and 228cm.
Obviously, 228cm will be too long. What about 182cm? Any chance? We kept telling ourselves: ‘There’s no way this kind of flat’s window is irregular! Perhaps 182cm would work too!’
So, we did buy a pair of 182cm drop length curtains!
Ta-da! It’s Too Short!
From the above picture, you can see both curtains are too short. The left one is eyelet, and the right one is pencil pleats. For the eyelet curtains, a few centimetres is above the curtain rod, I was trying to measure, if we use pencil pleats, would there be a chance that 182cm drop is ok?
The answer is way too clear: NO! It’s too short!
Then our mind shifted to another option.
What About Tailor-made Curtains?
Well, for sure you’ll get the correct size and you gotta pick whichever fabric you want, if you’re happy to pay. I’m sure it won’t be a budget-friendly price, but actually, how much does it cost?
We headed to John Lewis. We were curiuos.
‘How much is a tailor-made curtain?’ We asked straight to the staff.
‘It depends on which fabric you’d choose.’
‘No extra cost?’ (I wanted to know this part)
‘You can pick a fabric first, then I’ll show you the rest.’
Then we picked a lower price range fabric, £35/metre.
Here the staff made some calculations.
My eyes were wide-opened. £569.75!!!! A pair of curtains???
Wow.
Maybe It’s Time to Compromise on the Design…….
While murmuring the £500 curtains, we turned to Amazon. We did find some curtains with 213cm drop, which was perfect size, but the design was so-so, rating was good though. I was not 100% convinced with the pattern , yet it’s not that bad. What else can we do?
I tried to convince myself with that right-sized but not-my-type curtains. When I was starring at it, and looking closer, OH NO! It’s DEFECT! Some parts of the thread were not properly weaved.
How on earth would we pay £50 for a defect and not good-looking curtains, just for the sake of right-sized?
Screw It! I Buy 228cm and Hem by Myself!
We went to Dunlem and found this curtains lovely. Yes, it’s too long, but at least I like the design!
Hem Curtains Without Sewing Machine (or Cutting)
Actually, it’s not that difficult. I can say it’s easy too!
You don’t need sewing machine, or even cutting any fabric, all you need is a needle, some thread, some pins, an iron and iron board.
Watch this video: How to hem curtains
Easy peasy, right? Then I bought a sewing kit from Amazon, just £3.99.
To quickly get this task done when my mood lasts, I skipped the unthreading, just folded the excessive curtains drop and started hand-sewing.
Viola! It’s Done!
This curtain is a pair, each panel is 168cm wide. I finished sewing one panel in around 30 mins, including all the measuring work and ironing, the whole task was done in less than 2 hours.
Let Go, Perfectionist.
Now, if you look close, there’s no doubt you would see all those amateur mistakes – wrong colour thread, uneven sewing, some wrinkles caused by tightened thread. But at the same time, I also felt relieved, satisfied and happy with the work I’ve accomplished!
Let go, perfectionists. Look at the white, not the black dot. 🙂
