The art of lining curtains

[speedymama]

I'm planning to make some curtains for my living room. I have made them before for other rooms in my house. However, I have never been satisfied with the way they hang with regards to the lining.

I attach the lining as follows.

The lining is cut to be about an inch narrower in width than the curtain material.
The edges of both the curtain and lining are hemmed (length).
The lining is laid on top of the curtain material (right sides facing) and the hemmed length of the curtain material is folded over in order to tack to the lining.
They are are then sown together.

The problem is that when I complete the curtains and hang them, the outside edges that come together when the curtains are drawn, alway turn outwards so one can see the lining. The curtains never lie flush together, iykwim.

I would be grateful for any tips that I can employ to improve my skills at lining curtains.

TIA

are you pressing your seams?

Yes, I steam press the seams after hemming and after joining both sides together.

I would turn more of the fabric in on the sides - at least 1".

When you have made the cutains and hung them, fold them vertically into pleats (like you want them to hang when drawn back) and hold in place - use an elastic band or string tied near the hem.

After a day or so they should naturally fall into these pleats

that's at least 1" on each side

weights in teh corner of the hem are also good ( I have used a penny before now)

are you mitring the hem corners and stitching them down?

I have not mitred the hems before so I will do that this time. I was wondering if I needed to turn more of the fabric in on the sides so I will do that too.

Many thanks.

don't forget the hanging and folding into place

I got these tips froma friend who used to curtains professionally BTW - hope they work for you

used to make curtains

Thanks. I plan to start next week.