To think I should be able to return these made to measure curtains

[doodlydooo]

I ordered some made to measure curtains from Dunelm. They arrived today and I've just put them up and noticed there's a huge vertical seam running from top to bottom of one of the curtain panels. it looks like they've sewn two bits of material together to make up the width of the curtain as opposed to it being one large continuous fabric. They are a plain beige pair in quite a thick fabric and so the seam sticks out like a sore thumb.

Am I right in thinking this is not how curtains are normally? They cost £675 (for my garden patio windows) and so I was expecting something faultless. Feeling really sad and worried as they said made to measure means you can't return them. I am going to try and get them to either refund me or make a replacement.

That only looks visible because you're pulling it taught - what is it like when they're just hanging naturally?

Yes, you can reject the goods on the grounds of quality.

Aah, right, that's poor workmanship and finishing, there shouldn't be puckering like that at all. It should be smooth and pressed flat, and then it really would disappear into the folds.

I think that the main reason that you have to return them is that they are not the same.
The two curtains should be the same, there should not be a seam in one and not in the other, so they do not look balanced at all. They should be symmetrical.

If the window width is 240, then each curtain has to cover 120cm of window, but in order to have a gathered curtain over 120cm of window, each curtain needs to be at least 180cm or better still 240 cm. So they will need to be more than one width of fabric.
What is odd is that one curtain has no seam, which means they do have that fabric in extra wide, and so both could be seam free.

Most of my curtains are 228 x 228 and none have ever had a seam

Both curtains should be the same. If they aren't that's an issue and you can complain.
For a 240 wide window each curtain is going to be to cover in excess of 120 cm. Curtains aren't flat when drawn they are still gathered, issues 2 or 2.5 widths. You rotos expect to get fabric 240 or 320cm wide in on the whole. Curtains have seams. If they are pencil pleats have you correctly evenly drawn in the tape at the top?
It's normal to have dreams to join widths in curtains, if the dream is seen badly that's a different matter. Ask then to come and look if you are unsure or post a photo here.

I would complain. It’s not that they’re faulty, as such, and I know that if the width you require is more than the width of the fabric roll then of course you should expect there to be a seam… BUT the seam is not ideal and so if one curtain can be seamless then so can the other one. The curtains should match and if it’s possible to do it without seams, then it should be done.

They don’t look good, OP. IME Dunelm are the MFI of curtain making, cheap and cheerful and a bit shoddy really! I bought a pair of curtains with a repeating pattern and the pattern didn’t match - it was like they were two separate pieces but no one had thought that the pattern should match when drawn. Got nowhere with customer services. You need a proper, old fashioned curtain maker who knows fabric and widths and pattern matching, not someone like Dunelm trying to do it on the cheap!

yes I agree, patterns should match on the seam if there is one, and when drawn too.
But that does add quite a lot of cost. If the pattern repeat on a larger pattern is eg 70 cm, then on a pair of curtains you might need 3x that pattern repeat to accommodate those seams, which means 2m extra of fabirc. If the fabric is £30 per metre that is £60 of fabric which is wasted. If you use a private maker, or do it yourself, that fabric can be used for cushions if you want to.

Those curtains are badly made, the seam shouldn’t be visible like that and the seam is badly puckered. I’d email the store today, with photos and say you’ll be in on Saturday to return them.

Next time, try find a local, long established curtain maker as they will be more experienced.

If your window is 240cm wide I am assuming each curtain panel is between 240cm and 360cm wide with a drop of about 220cm?

Assuming the fabric is available in double-wide then good practice would be to use one continuous length of fabric. As it is a plain fabric this could be achieved even with a wider panel by rotating the fabric (I.e. using the fabric width for the drop).

Unfortunately it seems you might not be able to complain on the basis of the panels being joined because of the wording on their website (and presumably their T&C). However, it was bad form not to explain this to you.

What you can complain about is the fact the 2 panels do not match (utterly unacceptable) and the poor quality of the join.

Get them to replace both panels if possible to ensure both are from the same dye batch.

If they refuse, try gently steaming the join and then follow the advice up thread for hiding it in the fold. Assuming you have at least 2x width it will be possible to train the curtain to fold there even when closed to minimise the appearance of the seam.

It's completely normal! Any curtain you want which is wider than 130-150cm will always have to have a seam.

If there isn't a seam in the other curtain, that means there doesn't need to be a seam in this one.

(So on that basis you can reject it as faulty and something that wasn't mentioned to you and you didn't want and didn't ask for or agree to.)

If there has to be a seam in this one, that means there has to be a seam in the other one.

Best to check again to make sure there isn't a seam in the other one. Post a photo so eagle eyes on here can scrutinise for signs of seam.

I think you should be able to reject them because they aren’t a matching pair.
Having had a ridiculous argument in Dunelm recently trying to return a faulty item which cost £15 I suspect it won’t be easy to get them to sort it out, but I think you should be persistent.
The inability to return bespoke items only relates to change of mind, not when they are faulty.

No, that’s puckered and not put together correctly. Is there a seam in the other side?

There definitely appears to be something off with that join. Particularly noticeable towards the bottom.

A few things you might want to check when you get home:

It can be hard to tell, but try and see whether the grain line of the fabric is in the same direction on each side of the join. The grain line can run in either direction but should be the same on each fabric panel.

Measure the length of the curtain top to bottom down the central seam. Then measure the outer edges of the same panel top to bottom. All 3 measurements should be the same.

Are all pieces of fabric the exact same colour (in case from different dye batches) and/or react to light in the same way (in case of the grain line running in different directions) Check in different types of light

@doodlydooo if they can make one without a seam, then yes - they don’t match. I’d go back and ask them to re-make the one with a seam, from one piece of fabric. However, if the t&c for ‘made to measure’ says something about this, they may argue the toss.

Thank you again for all your very helpful replies. I took them back to the shop and asked if it would be possible to return based on a) seam being puckered and b) one side having a seam and the other not having one. They contacted their customer service but couldn't get through and said they would be in touch tomorrow for either a refund or replacement.
I'm feeling very relieved and very grateful to all your advice here. Thank you!

I've just looked at my patio M&S made to measure curtains, one curtain is in three pieces, the patten is matched perfectly I never realised they were joined.

Sorry SEVEN HUNDRED POUNDS for curtains from DUNELM?! That’s insanity

I have 8ft high x 6ft wide windows and the pattern is vertical; my curtains have always been made like that. It didn't occur to me it would be any other way.

That's excellent news OP