Anyone shortened curtains?

[cakecakecake98]

Despairing after buying a pair of curtains for about £80 and finding they’re too long. They’re 54inch and I need 43inch (no I didn’t just grab the shortest ones they had)

I’ve shortened trousers before and have a sewing machine but haven’t used it in a long time. Is this a fairly easy job or should I really just return them and get custom made?
They’re eyelet curtains. Photo of hem below

If they are not lined it’s just a matter of cutting off the excess and making a new hem. Just be careful to cut them straight and turn them up evenly.

Hi, thanks. Sorry to be an idiot but what do you mean by lined?

If it helps any they are thermal curtains

OP that beige material, is that a lining? When you cut them will that be a separate piece of material? If so it’s a bit more tricky but still perfectly doable

I would cut the liner a little bit shorter than the curtain, and make sure there are no creases in the liner when you sew it

Honestly not as hard as it sounds

If the top of your curtain is normal header tape, (not the ring ones) it maybe a easier job to cut this off and sew new header tape on taking off the desired length

This is what I would do. It's the easier fix if you're not fussed about the eyelets.

She said they are eyelet curtains. OP lined curtains have two separate layers of fabric, the coloured/patterned one and an inner layer of usually cream coloured thinner fabric. I don’t think your curtains are lined, from your picture.

My sewing skills leave a lot to be desired and I just wonderwebbed mine with the heavy duty stuff - still fine after 7 years.

More photos - I don’t think the curtains are lined, I’ve tried pulling at the cream coloured part and I’m not feeling a second layer of fabric?

If they are lined then it will be easier to shorten them by reducing from the top rather than the bottom.

There is a seam where your eyelets are attached to the main curtain. I'd look at unpicking this, removing the amount of fabric you need from the top, and then re-attaching the eyelet line. That way you aren't having to mess about with re-hemming the lining material, which is a bloody nightmare.

I shortened some curtains with the iron-on hemming stuff recently and it worked well. If there's a lot of excess fabric I'd consider cutting some off and tucking under to hide the raw edge.

100% the easiest thing is remove the header tape (unpick the stitches carefully), fold and iron down the raw edge by the amount you need to shorten, and re stitch the tape back on.

Curtains are shortened from the top and a new header is put in place. Take them back and get them made to measure.

I have those curtains, they are not lined. I just folded mine up and sewed them leaving the original hem in place without cutting (lazy) but you will get a neater finish if you cut them off and turn up a hem.

It's not a difficult job, but if you aren't confident with sewing then I'd return them and get the length you need. Or if custom-made is too expensive (likely!) then look for a dressmaker in your area - quite often you'll find someone who can alter them for you and it shouldn't be too expensive.

Just cut, fold up and secure in place with Wundaweb (iron-on hemming). Ignore all the people talking about cutting off the top, these are eyelet curtains!

You just need to make sure you get the new hem straight, and with the backing being blackout material it is VERY important not to touch it with the hot iron. Iron touches the folded up hem only.

I did think this.. I definitely won’t be cutting off at the top! Glad to hear some people have used iron on hemming, too. Think I’ll have a look on YouTube and give it a go!

Really easy job. You can either use the sewing machine or else chop what you need to off (leaving a decent hem amount in case you need to lengthen a bit). Pin and iron and then you can hand tack the hem up. I've done both (machine and hand tacking) and both looked good.

I prefer wundaweb as (a) quick and (b) no stitches to show through the front of the curtains.

I’m an experienced sewer and very proficient with a machine and at hand sewing, still would favour wundaweb for this.

It does not look like they are lined just that the material has a thermal backing. If you shorten from the bottom make sure you leave a big hem to weigh the curtains so they hang correctly. Pin or tack and rehang before final sewing to make sure they are the correct length. Hand sew with a catch stitch- it will take less time than you think. Maybe consider getting some clear nylon thread.
Dunhelm are pretty good about swapping stuff though

Would it be an option to move the curtain rail up a bit instead?

Hi thanks for all the replies. The curtain rail was as high as it could go and the curtains were still far too long - they’re for the kitchen window so do need to be quite short.
Like the idea of wundaweb, never used that before but think I’ll look into it. Would swap if possible but Dunelm doesn’t do any shorter curtains than that, and the made to measure are a bit of a fortune!

Looking into wundaweb and I’m completely stupid..

Do I just pull the hem up the 11 inches I need and then wundaweb it, or do I cut off however many inches minus the hem and then wundaweb the hem back on? 🫣

11 inches will be too big a hem.
Using a tape measure, fold up to the length you want, going all the way along making sure it's 11 inches each end and I. The middle.
Now press that crease in using an iron.
Cut 9 inches off
Wundaweb the two inch hem

This is along the lines of what I was thinking but it’s hard when you’re not really a seamstress 😂 thank you. I will get some wundaweb tomorrow and attempt this!

i really would not wundaweb for something you intend to keep use longterm.

1. it is difficult to get right to the edge so you get bulging
2. your curtain has thermal backing which might not be compatible with high heat for wundaweb
3. if you have steam in the kitchen it will come underdone