Curtains! So expensive.

[shellye40]

OK, please help. I have 2 similar quotes. I need 17 metres of fabric to make a pair of curtains and a couple of small Roman Blinds. I know it depends on cost of fabric. But a pole, fit and make curtains how much should I be paying? The quotes are coming in at £1500+. My husband is still in shock!

You could possibly do a sewing course and make them yourself for quite a bit less, including the cost of the course! How much is the fabric costing? If it's expensive fabric making up most of the cost then there's your answer: choose something cheaper.

I bought IKEA curtains and paid for someone to hem them. Grey velvet curtains were £39 and it cost about £30 and four days to get them hemmed.

Oh my gosh I feel your pain! I still occasionally faint when I think about the cost of my dining room curtains. Our problem is that none of our windows are standard size, and if you want them lined etc and a good sturdy fabric they can cost the gdp of a small country. You can shave the price somewhat but they are still astoundingly expensive.

What are the window sizes? What heading are you putting on the curtains? Usually, makers charge per width of curtain and you'll pay more for eg french pleats than pencil pleats. Is that 1500 just for the pole, make and hang or is it including fabric?

I have had one quote with and one without. I found a material I liked at £38 a metre! Forget that! Went down to 3rd choice at £18. I have considered doing a course! Pleats appear to cost more yes! One charging 550 to make the curtains with pleat and lining, extra for material and £260 each for RB x2. Again, no material. Think I might buy the Times and stick that up! If it was just one set of curtains I would try and buy ready made, but wanted matching blinds at the side! Back to the drawing board.

I had curtains made for our large patio doors and the adjacent window in our open plan main floor - so lots and lots of fabric.

They were about GBP 1200 (I'm in forrin parts) so not dissimilar. Another company quoted $1800. The sticker shock was considerable

They are absolutely GORGEOUS and look a thousand times nicer than the other off the shelf curtains we have upstairs.

In my main living area I'd have professionally made curtains again in a heartbeat.

If you live anywhere near a Curtain Exchange, it is worth a visit. We bought 'second hand' curtains that were completely unused. They were a fraction of the cost of brand new and way better quality than we could have afforded new. They tend to be located in posh areas where households change their minds and decors more often than most of us change our knickers. We went to the Fulham branch.
www.thecurtainexchange.co.uk/

sorry should read GBP 1800 for the other quote

There's an ebay seller who tends to deal in extra large/long curtains and they are exceptional quality, sometimes new sometimes second hand. I've both bought from and sold to her and she knows her stuff. Look up bearswithattitude and you'll find a large selection of really good curtains at a fraction of the price of your quotes.

I think there's a Curtain Exchange in Farnham, too.

I remember my parents paying over a grand for bespoke chintz curtains (pencil pleats, heavyish lining) in a large bay window in our front room about 20 years ago - I'm not a particularly thrifty person but I nearly had a heart attack when my mum told me that

We had a great experience with this company: they do lots of non-bespoke sizes which (considering you could adjust the curtain pole height) may work well. www.naturalcurtaincompany.co.uk

Won't ready made ones fit? I got mine at Laura Ashley in the sale and my in laws put up the curtain rail for us, bay window, several sizes to choose from.

They do blinds in the same fabrics on some materials.

My Windows have 3 metre drops and I have managed to get brand new blanket lined curtains on eBay for a few hundred pounds.

Our lounge is similar, one big window with curtains and two small windows with matching Roman blinds. If you can sew even a tiny bit and liberate a couple of weekends you can save a lot making them. I made ours, I think it was around £400-£500 all in for kits and materials including linings and main fabric (£12/metre from ebay). It's probably a day's work each blind and 2-3 days for the curtains, there's a lot of hand sewing involved. I can see how it adds up. If you have any other rooms in the house that need curtains it's a useful skill to have!

curtains and bed covers are the easiest of all sewing projects- including roman blinds , which take so little fabric. Ask at a fabric store as they hire people who sew. You will be astounded at how much $$ you will save and be hooked on sewing for ever!- at least i am!

I got some ready made curtains from Dunelm recently. It cost an extra £30 to get them rehemned to the right length, so they will look made to measure.

To save fabric, OP, consider having eyelet tops, rather than pencil pleats. You can get away with using a lot less fabric then.

I've bought fabric from a factory shop and had a 'wee woman who sews' make up the curtains. Also bought really good ones with blanket linings from car boot sales and charity shops. Bought great Laura Ashley ones off eBay for £40.

My mum made ours....two 3m wide bays plus one 2m wide window and a small one. Plus she had enough left to do a big floor cushion for ds1's room and our sofa footstool. We bought three different fabrics from Ikea but all about £5/m. And we needed so much it still all cost £300 or so! Learn to sew is the best idea....curtains are one of the easiest things to make.

Tuiss are usually quite reasonable. Or buy ready made and have them altered if necessary.

Many years ago (another house) I bought curtains from here:

www.thecurtainexchange.co.uk/secondhand-curtains.html

They were just about as good as new & fitted the windows brilliantly.

Do you have a sewing machine or could you borrow one. Curtains are really easy to make, roman blinds too. It might be worth having a go yourself?

www.allmadeup.info/

I second Natural Curtain Company. I think they may still have sales on. Their made to mesure service is second to none, I used them when we moved house 2.5 years ago and I've just bought some ready made curtains recently which look far more expensive than they actually are. I don't work for them btw!