Opinions on these curtains please

[lollypoppy123]

These lovely curtains are too long and unlined.

Would it be madness to buy them and try to take them up myself (no machine and limited sewing skills!) and buy and attach blackout lining? 😬

Also, what about the top slot thing - will they be a pain to open a close? I suspect these are designed for curtains that don't get so much use but these are for a bedroom and I'm desperate to make them work as they cost a fraction of made to measure! Can't find anything readymade that works for our space. 😕

I think they’re lovely. No need to shorten… you can just have them puddling on the floor

Also John Lewis do ready made blackout linings that you just hook onto the back of the curtain ( so easy peasy)

I think they're horrible ... (Sorry.) They look like caravan curtains.

Ah, yes, I know what you mean and think this looks lovely but had not thought to do this. Thank you too for the blackout lining link.

What do you think about the top slot opening? Don't think they'll glide smoothly but is that a big problem?

I’ve bought ready made curtains that were the wrong size before. One pair I had shortened at an alterations place locally for about £30. The other were about 3 inches too long so I got the curtain rail put higher to the ceiling.

Attach the blackout lining to the hem at the bottom of the slot, no need to unpick. Hemming should be reasonably simple (measure many times before cutting!) but I love the puddling idea too.

Oh, you're all brilliant. Thank you so much. 🙂

Fair enough! I do think they have a caravan vibe but I actually like that. Especially as these are for a beach cottage. 🙂

The slot thing will be fine provided your pole isn't too big.

I have bedroom curtains like this and just have a separate blackout blind as well.

I second this^

I’ve not come across top slot openings, but as long as they actually go across, for the price it doesn’t matter if they don’t “glide”.

I bought some curtains that were way too long for puddling (was more like a small river!) so I shortened them with iron on hemming tape - super easy. Because they were quite lightweight curtains I added some lead weighting cord to the inside of the pocket created by turning them up, which helped them hang better.

If you want to add lining then I'd say the simplest thing to do would be to get ready made linings in the same width and then pin them together and stitch header tape to the top. Or add header tape to the curtains only and then hook the linings to the curtain hooks. With slot top curtains there will be nothing to hang ready made linings from unless you add header tape.

Another option would be a separate blackout roller blind in the curtain recess. We buy the cut to size ones from Dunelm and when they're fully roller up you can barely see that they're there and they block out way more light than linings IMO.

If you decide to take them up then this is your friend. Just iron instead of hemming.
https://www.dunelm.com/product/extra-strong-wundaweb-1000077621

I've got some top slot curtains that I made myself and, sorry, but they are a pain to draw. Luckily they are mainly decorative with a blind behind.

If you're set on this style, you can get curtain rings with little crocodile clip type things on them that you clip to the top of the curtain. IKEA do them. IKEA also do a curtain pole set up where you have two parallel curtain rails and can hang curtains in front and then linings separately behind. You'd need to look to see what I mean. If you attach blackout linings and then wash your curtains the two might shrink at different rates (most curtains will shrink a little bit when washed apparently) leading to puckered seams.

@lollypoppy123

if you're planning on actually using them as curtains (opening & closing daily) don't do it. Unless your pole has an incredibly small diameter. They'll just bunch up & 'stick' to the pole (angle you're pulling them at)

Dunelm do a huge range of ready made eyelet curtains, why not use those?

I love them!
If they are too long you could shorten them from the top and sew some curtain heading tape in place. You could then use pinhooks to hang them from a rail which has rings. They would then be easy to draw. You could add separate linings - I've been known to just pin them in place - or use extra hooks attached to the tape,

I would also shorten from the top, incorporating lining and then add curtain heading tape and use hooks and a pole with rings on. Much easier to draw open and shut. Might be worth investigating how much someone would charge to do this if you don’t have a sewing machine. You could supply the lining. It’s not a difficult or timely job to do but you would need a sewing machine to do a decent job.

I would buy the blackout linings and get an alteration shop to shorten the curtains at the top, join in the lining and finish off with heading tape - no need to attach lining at the sides. It's a cheap and cheerful solution and will give you curtains that work on a normal rail or pole. That detail with the pole straight through the slot will be really hard to open and close - impossible if it's a high window.

Another vote for shortening from the top and adding heading tape to make them "normal" curtains. I bought some dunelm curtains that were too long and took them up no bother - just borrowed mum's sewing machine. I also bought separate blackout linings from there for another pair of curtains - tacked them at the sides and bottoms and attached them onto the curtain hooks at the top.

Agree shorten from top and add the header or loops you prefer. You could also add a lining .

They are cotton so should shrink. Wash them two times hot wash . I did this with lenda ikea curtains and they shrank loads so didn't have to hem. Lovely curtains by the way!

Ohh my daughter has these in my GD's bedroom. They are really lovely curtains and super quality material. She's done the 'pooling' thing and it actually looks great...she's added a tie back hook and has the 'top gather thing' closed on the pole, then sort of 'drapes open' the fullness of the curtain with tie backs (hard to describe!) Ultimately, the top bit stays closed and she 'opens' them by gathering up the material and hooking it back. Looks beautiful actually!

I second the clip on black outs in the same size. Absolutely game changing! 👌🏻

Oh well that's fine then!

I saw these in Dunelm recently and thought they were really nice, great choice!

Get a sewing machine, then it will be very easy!! Plus you might find that you love sewing! 😉
My husband got a sewing machine (Lidl £100) as he wanted to sew lined curtains for his cabin in the woods.He followed an internet tutorial and they turned out fab. Since then we both have been making curtains for our past and recent houses. And I now sew my own and my children’s clothes too, and love it.
what I would say is to keep in mind that the lining comes in a certain width. All the lined curtains I’ve sewn, needed the lining being sewn together to achieve the required width. I wouldn’t want to do that by hand. It’s a large and stiff material. But you might find, that even with the lining your bedroom might not be dark enough. We have black out blinds which runs inside the windows, and (lined) curtains to look pretty.
if you want to change the mount to let’s say rings, you need to sew a ‘tape’ on the back. This is a 15min job for someone with a sewing machine. Then you need the hooks and rings.
Good Luck! 🤞🏻