A cheap and lightweight fabric to line curtains for winter?

[poppingin1]

I am on a very tight budget to line the curtains in my home. They are huge bay windows and even though they are double glazed it still gets very cold in the house and the windows seem to be the source.

I need a lightweight fabric that will help insulate and won't cost the earth.

Any suggestions?

Something from the charity shop. I used old sheets.

I looked in my local charity shops and they didn't have fabric in large enough sizes or any bedding type sheets

I was going to use fleece until I found out it would make windows extremely dangerous in the event of fire!

You can buy sheeting by the metre online, try fabricsonline or do a search. Also the usual places like ebay etc sell fabrics. I found tartan was very cheap per metre and lovely warm fabric but that wont go in many houses.

I would purchase another pair of curtains , lots of places are selling 'summer curtains' in the sale as theyre too thin to be used in the winter. Home bargains and argos all have thin curtains in their sale at the moment. Maybe ask a family member if they have old curtains you can borrow/use or try a charity shop. If you dont like the colour you can always dye them.

Another option is a blind as well as curtains. Some blinds are very reasonably priced.

You're so right to use linings or extra curtains for winter, plus a heavy door curtain at entrance, but it's probably a bit late for second-hand shopping.
I do have fleece on a wire in one room, behind velvet curtains with blackout linings, and it makes a difference, but never occurred to me it might be dangerous. Excellent idea to ask friends and family to join in search - good luck.

I was going to say use old curtains too, when we redecorated our bedroom I kept the old curtains and put them back to back with the new, makes a huge difference to the cosiness and warmth in the room and also acts like a blackout blind

I've recently put some interlining in my curtains. It was pretty easy to do, and now they are so cosy and thick. I used this www.merrick-day.com/acatalog/Interlining.html

They look far better than before and feel amazing when I draw them in the evening. I just hand sewed it in at the top seam, the weight of it meant I didn't need to sew the sides as it hangs so nicely.

I have interlined and would say sell your youngest buy good interlining. It increased the temperatures in our rooms by 3 degrees and cut any draughts which made a massive difference.

I bought mine on a roll and it cost about £35 to do three big windows.

You can just interline to below your windowsill if you want to save cash. ( they also tuck behind radiators better.)

Ah thank you so much!

Interlining looks just the job and well within budget.

I am learning to sew and a complete novice and was clueless as to what to buy for the job.

I would sell my last born Gracie except I only have the one DD at the moment I'm probably going to have to settle for this el cheapo one.

I'm quite looking forward to the cold weather now when I can test it out!

Think carefully about the el cheapo. The bump lining from Merrick is so unbelievably lovely and cosy. I think if you went for a cheapo version it might not be in the same league. It isn't like fabric at all, more like a blanket, which I think makes it easier to sew.

I might ask for some samples before I decide then Ariel.

The easier it is to sew, the better

They had three weights when I bought mine, I did mid weight as top weight was very bulky. They also did a cotton one which was lush, but more expensive.

I have thermal linings on the back of the interlining In addition to thermal blinds in the north facing rooms.

We also hung the curtains well above and to the sides of the windows to seal the window.

I think the flat fitting curtain poles ( swish) are thermally superior but I didn't want them.

I know Terry's Fabrics do samples as I've bought fabric from them before. Not sure if Merrick do. If not, let me know and I can send you a sample of my leftovers.

Thank you Ariel, I'll contact them tomorrow and see what they say. A sample would really help me understand what I need to be looking for in terms of fabric density.

I have Swish curtain tracks and they are not the prettiest. They didn't do me much good last winter as my curtains are so thin anyway.

Gracie I thought interlining would suffice for insulation. Would thermal lining be a good idea to look at as an addition?

Do you know which of the two is a better insulator when used alone?

I looked at the u (?) values a few years ago. freezing Victorian house the interlining is better sandwiched between two layers as you get lots of air pockets.
If it was a choice between interlining and thermal lining the interlining is probably a bit better.
I'm not sure it would be that aesthetically pleasing to look at it though.

You could always interline and then line with super cheap material if you want it look pretty.

The thermal blinds can be cheap as chips Argos thermal rollers again they just add an air pocket.

It made a huge difference to our house, all curtains are tucked behind rads before the sun goes down. I know that it's money well spent.

Oh great, a thread in my area of expertise!

We live in an old (but beautiful) house - many windows single glazed - previously lots of draughts.

Interlining is most definitely the way to go - you can either use interlining, sandwiched between the lining and the curtain, such as this or use bonded lining, which is a fleecy interlining already bonded onto a lining, so you only need to sew one lining on, like these ones.

Instead of ordering online, you can get really good bargains if you have a curtain factory shop nearby - I generally manage to pick up interlining at about £2 a metre, so long as I am prepared to buy roll ends and join them.

If you are only going to go for a lining, black out lining is more effective at keeping out draughts than any of the so called thermal linings.

Once you decide which you want to go for, I am happy to advise on how to do it.

One of the other things I would suggest is to ensure that your windows are properly sealed - no point having double glazed windows if there are huge gaps either side of the frames.

Also doing things such as insulating the loft makes a huge difference, and if you buy those space blanket rolls from B&Q when they are on offer, it reduces the cost and hassle of laying them.

Draught proofing doors helps, as does a heavy curtain over the front door.

Searching out gaps and holes and using expandable foam (you would not believe the gaps that we have found, after a bit of detective work - again, usually around window frames and behind skirtings.

We are almost 10 years in our house now, which when we first moved in was unbelievably cold - now I would venture to say it is actually quite cosy. Am thinking of chaining my MN name to TheDraughtDetective!