Why do my expensive-ish curtains look crap

[Sickofhousestuff]

Hi, I’ve bought my first house so a newbie to house stuff. Unfortunately, my mum is not good with this sort of thing so hoping for some MN advice.

Why do my curtains look crap? Yes they will look better after a steam but I’m not loving the way they look. We have huge windows so had to purchase made to measure which wasn’t cheap.

Im thinking I need more hoops. DH wanted the curtains to hit where they do but I think it’s a shame they don’t hit just above the window sill. Tempted to get my sewing machine out and watch some YouTube videos!

Please help. I’m gutted. They look really different to the image on the website as well :’(

Definitely need gathered at the top, measure your pole and gather to fit, I personally like lots of gather but everyone is different.

if you look at the tape at the back you will find 3 strings, tie them together at one end (the end that’s in the middle of the window when pulled on) then go to the other end and tie those, then pull and adjust the gathers when you’re happy tie them off as well but don’t cut them you will need to take gathers out to clean the curtain.

when hanging look again at the gathering tape, you should see three options on where you can put the hooks, play around until you get them how you like them.

I made and hung these today, they need more rings on the pole and they could do with pressing but I didn’t want todo that until I had checked the leg th, but I’m quite pleased with them

As per PP, iron / steam

Pole directly through the top as opposed to using hoops? Can then do the trick with foam padding in between each loop to make them look fuller!

Or more hoops.

Im about to change mine from full ceiling to floor to cafe style ones to allow more light and not cover half my walls, so we will see if I end up in a similar dilemma

Made to measure from where? And what type of heading did you get - pencil pleat? We have just had made to measure from Dunelm - had to pull the string ourselves to make the proper pencil pleat.

@Hoogieflip thank you!

The only way for curtains to look good is to hit the FLOOR. This length is hideous

Oh what pretentious rubbish

Floor length curtains look dirty to me - and over a radiator they say style over substance

which just goes to show that different people like different things

I think if you want curtains to look expensive they need to hit the floor, I've had shorter 'more practical' curtains & never loved the look of them

As everyone else has said: Tape at top needs to be gathered. Do not cut the string when you gather the curtains. You can get YouTube videos on this.They also need to be steamed. You could also look up A YouTube video on ‘how to dress curtains’. This involves pleating them and then tying with tapes. You then leave them for a week or two and after that they will hang naturally in those folds. I occasionally redress my curtains when I go on holiday.
Definitely don’t shorten your curtains. It is total rubbish to say that made to measure curtains need to come to the floor. You can have them to whatever length you want. I usually make my own curtains but I have had 3 pairs made to measure: 1 pair full length and 2 pairs to hang just a bit below the windowsill.

I just got made to measure curtains that cost over £600, local fabric company who measured and fitted them for me, put up new curtain rail etc and didn’t leave until leave until they knew I was happy with how they looked and hung. Did you order made to measure on line? It probably would have been worth getting someone to fit them for you to get the hang and gathering right.

Come back and post when you've gathered the header OP. That and a steam and it'll look lovely :)

It's quite a tedious job I think, pulling the tapes, figuring out which horizontal line to use, then getting all the pleats even. Once you've done it then it's not something you have to re-do, so it really is worth spending a bit of time making sure it's just right.

With some more gathering and extra hooks if you have any as well as a press, they’ll look fine OP.

I've got lined and interlined curtains at my front windows that sit between the sill and radiator. It would be ridiculous to cover the radiator up! I'd also add I work in interiors.

If your windows are 9.5 feet wide, you need 19 feet width of curtain material for pencil pleat heading - the heading should stack like a row of pencils sat together like the image I've added. I'd say you've seriously undermeasured and you haven't gathered the tops at all.

Some very good advice already. Steam them, gather them. Remember you can also raise or lower the actual curtain pole if the length isn’t quite right.

They would look much nicer with some pleats at the top to give structure.

Some people are just such dickheads aren't they?

The curtains just need a steam and they need to be gathered. They will look lovely.

We are renting atm but the curtains are full length and constantly look shit because they are tucked behind the bloody radiator! Absolute nightmare

But why don't they cover the full window?

Why are there 2 radiators right next to each other? Was it 2 rooms originally?

It looks to me like they haven’t been gathered at all, just the weight creating random folds.

Of course, we can’t see the top - since you mention hoops, I take it they are pencil pleat?

Providing they are, you need to take them down and gather them properly (as illustrated by the poster who has put up a picture of her new curtains).

It’s easy to Google online how to do it - just make sure you tie the threads at one end before pulling (if they aren’t already tied) so you don’t yank them straight through.

Hopefully the curtains are long enough that you can put proper pencil pleats in and still have them wide enough for the window.

Once you’ve got the folds right, then steam.

Also, ignore people who say long curtains look better. I do agree and if I ever build my own house (only if I win the lottery), I’m putting the radiators in locations where they won’t be covered by curtains but until then, I have sill length curtains that don’t stop heat entering the room.

I like the fine pinstripe on them.

They haven’t been gathered properly but have you bought the right width? They should be double at least the width then you gather them to make them structured using the strings at the top. If that’s them at the width that closes, they are thr wrong size op?

Large Windows can be a pain. I always buy two pairs from Dunelm or somewhere in that price bracket off the shelf. Once they are hung you can't tell it's not one pair. As any made to measure I see and like are at least £1000.00 .

The more fabric the better generally, if you don't have enough fabric it can look like you've hung a tea towel.

The problem with that length curtain is it looks a bit like the bottom has been chopped off. Can you add more rings? The curtains in pic are made to measure and I think pinch pleats can look better. Edited to add these curtains are almost 15 years old, I wouldn't spend the equivalent today.

I’m also a bit concerned you haven’t got enough material looking at the photo.

How wide is the window (including the bits you want covered each side) and what width of material did you go for? With pencil pleat, you need at least twice the width and possibly 2.5.

Some people are just such dickheads aren't they?

Why is someone saying "they'd look better if they touched the floor" a dickhead? The OP has literally asked for opinions on why they don't look good. For the "curtains to the floor" posters, that's a big part of why they don't look good surely?

OP, who measured the windows for the curtains? I am a bit concerned that when you gather those curtains at the top, they are no longer going to stretch across the width of the window. Also, what kind of lining do you have in them? It takes decent lining for curtains to hang properly.

I think you should move the hooks up a row so that they are on the middle part.