Hanging your curtains

Curtain hanging takes time but is worth the effort to ensure your finished product looks beautiful. If you decide you need some help we can provide a complete fitting and hanging service in Scotland. Here we concentrate on hanging your curtains and have assumed your pole or track is in place.

Pencil pleat

  • Your curtains may arrive flat and need to be pulled up.  Firstly ensure that the cords in the tape are secured at one end (this is your leading or centre edge).
  • From the outside edge start puling the cords so a gather forms.  With a 3inch heading you should be able to pull all the cords together.  With a six inch tape you may need to pull the bottom two cords and then the top two.
  • The gather should be evenly spread across the curtains.  Keep pulling the curtains until the curtain fits your track or pole plus a little extra to allow for bounce back.  When you have reached the desired width tie the cords loosely.
  • Count the runners or rings on your track/pole to work out how many hooks are required.  Connect the hooks across the tape at at an even spacing.
  • The curtains are now ready to be hung by connecting the hook to the glider or metal eyelet on the ring of the pole.
  • Make any adjustments to the cords required and then tie securely. You may find it helps to use a cord tidy to secure the ends or just neatly tuck up and under the secured cords.
  • Do NOT cut the cords as if you ever want to clean your curtains you may need to take down and remove the gather, clean and then repeat the above process.
  • When arranging your curtains try to create even folds in and out using both hands to run up and down the fabric.
  • Once happy with the way the curtains are hanging loosly tie in three places (tip: use some of the plastic packaging the curtains have been delivered in) to hold the curtain with the folds in place.  Tie tight enough to keep the folds in place but not so tight that the fabric is marked.
  • Leave for a few days to help the curtain establish the folds.

Pinch pleat curtains

  • Pinch pleat curtains are easier to fit than pencil pleat.  If not already in place fix a stab hook into the back of each pleat taking care to catch the buckrum but not to let the hook go through to the face fabric.
  • You need to fix a hook in every pleat and in addition one on the leading edge and one on the outside edge.  Then hang the curtains.
  • The flat section between the pleats should be pushed the back so the pleats neatly line up in a uniform row.  It can help to make a slight crease in the back of the flat section of buckram to help the curtain fold in this way.
  • If you are hanging pinch pleat curtains in front of a track the flat section is likely to have to come forward.  This does not impact on the curtain but will mean the pleats dont look as regimented when the curtains are open.
  • Arrange your curtains as detailed above for pencil pleat.

Wave Curtains

One of the many advantages of Wave is that it is comparatively simple to dress (assuming the curtains are hooked correctly!). When hanging the curtain pull the first fold towards you and push the second backwards. Continue to the end of the curtain. The outside edge of the curtains should neatly fold back towards the wall so at no point the tape would be showing. Dress your curtains by running your hands down each wave/fold in the fabric to create neat columns.  Then tie as detailed above.