Let’s start from the beginning:
Ladders: Make sure you have a couple of steady steps that aren’t too short for you to overdo it. His arms will fall before he has taken his first lesson in hanging curtains. Not so high that you can’t reach the window comfortably without leaning to the side to hang curtains that throw you off balance.
Curtain Hooks for Standard Pencil Pleat Curtain Tape
curtain hooks Again, before you begin, make sure you have enough drapery hooks of the correct type.
light curtains it will be fine with standard plastic hooks.
medium weight curtains use nylon hooks, stronger than plastic ones. They will flex without breaking.
heavy curtains use nickel metal hooks, they are a bit fiddly to handle, they all hit the box. Like the Chinese puzzles I had as a child.
Curtain hooks for bucram head curtains
You will need so-called “pin hooks” simply because they have a sharp pin that goes through the fabric and bucram at the back of the curtain header. This type of heading makes the curtains look better. As always, the best in every way costs a little more.
an extra pair of hands
When you are learning how to hang large or heavy curtains, it is very helpful to have someone standing at ground level holding the curtain and supporting the weight. This allows you to hang the curtain on your rail or rod with ease.
How many hooks will you need?
Well, for standard pencil pleat tape curtains, you’ll need a hook every 4 pockets.
For the bucram head curtains, you will need 1 for each pleat or cup and one for each end.
Preparing your bucram head curtains before hanging them.
The good news, aside from placing the hooks, placing them 1/2 inch from the top of the curtain. there is no more preparation to do. You just have to learn how to hang curtains and dress them correctly.
preparing pencil pleat curtains before hanging:
Standard Shades with Pencil Pleats To start, you will need to gather the tape at the top of the curtains. To do this, pull the 3 wires at the back of the curtain tape. To get started, pull the cords from both ends of the curtain tape and tie them in a tight knot.
There are 2 reasons for this
one. It prevents you from fully pulling the cords out of the tape (not a good start to learning how to hang curtains).
2. It holds the strings together at the end where you pull the strings together to gather the curtain.
Then continue pulling the wires. Simple tip to gather the curtains. Take a set of knotted ropes and hook them over a door handle or some other fixed object. Then use one hand to hold the curtain tape, and with the other hand begin to remove the tape from the door handle. You will see the curtain header start to fold down.
How wide should the curtains be?
Next, check what measures half the width of your track or bar. Let’s say your track is 100 inches long. Cut this in half to 50 inches, then add 2 inches to allow your drapes to meet comfortably in the middle when you hang them. So the final width you want to put together for each pair of curtains is 52 inches. The more you learn how to hang curtains, the more it will become second nature.
Before you hang the curtains… stop and check!
Before you start hanging the curtain, you need to place it on a table or the floor and check that the ruching width is correct. Then if it narrows, pull the tape back a bit. If it is too wide, gather the tape a little more.
What happens to the excess cable?
Finally, sort through all that excess cable and even out the folds of tape. DON’T CUT THE CORDS! The best solution is to tie the cords by wrapping them around all of your fingers, and then tie a slipknot around the bundle. This allows you to modify the header ribbon in the future if you wish.
Once the wires are neat, flip the shade over. You need to look at the folds and try to even them out. Just do it roughly at this point because when you come to hang them, the folds will shift a bit.
Last job before hanging the curtains
All the more there, before you can hang the curtain, you have to put the curtain hooks in the pockets on the back of the tape. On most standard pencil pleat tapes, there are 3 pockets on the top, middle, and bottom.
How to hang curtains from a rod or pole
If hanging below a rod or pole, place the curtain hooks in the top pocket. Also keep in mind the number of rings on your rod or pole. This determines the number of hooks you attach to the curtain tape. As a general rule, fewer hooks are used on a rod or pole than on a curtain track. On a track, place a hook every 4th pocket and on a ror or post every 6-8 pockets.
Hanging from a track?
If hanging from a curtain rail, place the curtain hooks in the center or bottom pocket. this allows the curtain to cover the track when closed. To decide which pocket to use, try one on and see how your hanging curtain looks. If you’re happy, great, do the other curtain. If you are not satisfied, move the curtain hooks up or down as appropriate.
The first step in hanging
Many people say that you should always start hanging your curtains from the ends of the track or rod and work toward the middle. I don’t agree, I say you should always start from the middle and work towards the ends. The reason why I advise you to 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 to the middle, any leftover gliders or rings get locked in the middle of your track or bar. Which means you have to unhook the curtains to remove them. Not much more now and you’ll have the basics on how to hang curtains.
Why do some advise starting from the middle?
The reason is in some tracks and rods, but mostly the wired type. They have what are called overlapping arms. These are short arms made of metal or plastic with holes for the last pair of curtain hooks on each leading edge of your pair of curtains (edges that meet in the center of your window). These overlapping arms allow one shade to pass through and overlap the other shade by 2-3 inches. Thus giving you total privacy.
So what’s the big deal?
So where is the problem? the problem is that these arms are not very strong. This means when you start hanging a medium to heavy curtain. Especially without someone to carry the weight, they sag and spin or break completely.
Avoiding the problem!
So how do we avoid that when hanging from the center of the track or bar and working out? Really very simple, if you need 2 hooks to go on the overlapping arm, count up to the third hook and hook it on the first actual glider or ring. Leaving the first and second curtain hooks to simply hang in the space. Continue hanging your shade working from the middle out. This is how to hang the curtains my way (the best way, obviously, “wink”)
Then once you have reached the ends of your track or bar (remove any excess gliders or rings). Go back to the middle and hook the last pair of curtain hooks onto the overlapping arms. So avoid putting too much weight on them.
Well, I hope you have picked up some “Tips” on how to hang curtains. This is only the first stage. Next is the “Dress” of your curtains.