Lengthen curtains using one straight seam

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Lengthening curtains using exactly one straight seam.  You betcha!  This short cut helped me lengthen curtains, ALL my curtains in a weekend.  That’s a tall order, but when you just moved from a house with 8-foot ceilings to one with 10-foot ceilings, you have no other options.  I don’t believe in buying new curtains for an entire house when you have a lot of perfectly good (although woefully short) curtains on hand.  Plus, they already match my furniture and décor—so to the sewing machine we go to lengthen curtains.  Need curtains?  I love the selection on Houzz!

[bctt tweet=”It is possible to lengthen your curtains with only one seam…” username=”@BlowingAwayWest”]

Why this project is made for the beginning seamstress

Lengthening curtains is a home improvement dream project—especially for beginners.  “But highly visible curtains need an expert’s touch,” you say.  “Let me start with something small,” you say.  No and no.  Small sewing projects require more precision than big ones—trust me on this one.  Plus, have you ever examined a new pair of curtains?  Unless you buy designer brands, those curtains feature some of the worst sewing I’ve ever seen—crooked stitches, uneven liners, and puckered hems.  Trust me, you can sew that well using only your Home Ec (now FACS) experience.  Besides, I’m only asking you to sew one straight stitch per curtain panel—you got this, girl!

Where can you use this skill?  Everywhere!  Lengthen your shower curtain to make your bathroom into a spa retreat.  Lengthen your bedroom curtains, and then check out our DIY guide to turning your bedroom into a suite.  Make yourself some curtains with a metallic accent, a must have from the 2018 Design Trends!

The key to making lengthening curtains nice and easy is to use a second set of curtains for the extra length.

It’s often waaay cheaper to buy a second set of curtain panels for your add-on material.  Plus, it saves you so much work! Curtains are already hemmed on the sides and they have a bottom hem!  If you want to be a rebel and buy fabric for the length—I’m not stopping you. But you’ve just added three more seams you must sew to each panel.

Full Tutorial:  How to Lengthen Curtains with One Seam

STEP 1:

Determine how long your new curtains need to be.  If you’re not sure, use this guideline.  Always hang your curtains between 4”-6” below your ceiling.  Yes, that high.  It draws your eyes up, making the room look bigger.  We all want bigger rooms, so let your curtains do the work.  Then hang your curtain rod so that it’s ready for your longer curtains.

Next, decide if you want your curtains brushing the floor, or pooling on the floor.  No pooling curtains in bathrooms or kitchens please.

If your curtains are going to brush the floor, then measure from the rod to the floor.  That’s the length you’ll need.  If you’re pooling the curtains, I add 4 inches.  You can add more if you want a more dramatic poof at the bottom (cute in nurseries and little girl’s rooms).

STEP 2:

Measure your curtains.  Twice.  There’s a story here about curtain packaging labelled wrong—trust me on this.  Measure twice.  For this featured set, my curtain measured 86” and I needed 116”.  But wait!  I need more than that because my curtain rod pocket is 4” down from the top of the rod.  I need 120” curtains for everything to look right.

So, my added length needs to be 34” plus the seam allowance.

STEP 3:

Cut the second set of curtains for the added length.  Make sure you measure up from the bottom hem (in my case 34” plus a 1” seam allowance- so 35” total) and then cut.  We’re saving tons of work by using the finished hem on the second set of curtains as our final hem.

STEP 4:

Fold the cut end of the second set of curtains over twice (fold down ½” and again ½”) and iron.  Then pin it to the bottom of the original curtains.

STEP 5:

Sew a straight seam across where it’s pinned.  That’s it!  Repeat for your second panel. 

We all love to save time and money.  This project hits all the right notes. If you want a printout of the instructions, be sure to subscribe for access to our Freebies Library–it’s filled with project sheets, and free printables for the holidays.  We add new stuff every single week!  Let me know what you think after you try this—was it easy to lengthen curtains using one straight seam?

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