How to Make your Curtains Longer

Thank you so much for your generous comments on the dining room reveal!  We are really enjoying this room.  Since I changed it, we've been having all our dinners there, so far we had use it more than we did all last year, it's like being in a different home!

One of the new things for this room were the curtains, I bought two sets of Ikea - Merete Curtains $24.99/pair.

Even though they are 98" long, they were still short by 3"!  I didn't like that :(  They had to be fixed.

This post is about how to make your curtains longer when they are a bit too short for your windows. Remember, my sewing skills are pretty lame, if a true seamstress sees my work he or she is going to cringe big time, but hey, it works for me and I think nobody is going to come and check up close how this looks.

So, in case you need to do the same, and don't have the curtain police around, this is what you have to do:  

Calculate how much material you need too add by first hanging the curtains. Then, measure from the very end of the curtains all the way to the floor, and that will be your number.

This next picture shows how the extra piece of fabric is going to be attached at the last ½" of the curtain, that will bring the total panel ½" up from the floor which is good anyways, you don't want your curtains touching the floor.

Find the fabric you want to use, the width should be the same as the one in your curtains plus 1"(for seams).

For it's height I doubled my measurement 3½" x 2 = 7"  and added 1"(seams) for a total of 8".

Here is why.  Each strip of fabric gets folded ½" on each side

Then the whole strip of fabric gets folded lengthwise.

The curtain panel is then placed, aligned with the ½" seam, placing it in the middle of the strip of fabric (sandwiching it).

Pin it in place and sew it. Close both ends too.

The front and back are going to look finished.  Do you see those lines?  They are far from straight, but well, you're the only one who knows!

That's it, ready to be hung up again.

In place.

Some more projects you might like:

Make Curtains Longer - 

When they are way too short 

How to Install Window Trim

Repair a Curtain Rod Anchor that got 
Ripped Out of the Wall

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