So we have had these bedroom curtains for like a month now. I love them, I really do: for the price they are decent quality and the right color that I wanted for the bedroom. But I had been dreading the notion of having to hem them… having to hem six curtain panels.
And so this is how our bedroom looked for the past month:
Just slightly embarassing.
Ewrgh. Not great. And with our two dogs and all of their hair everywhere… it just wasn’t gonna work for much longer. So I finally sat down and came up with the perfect plan: iron-on adhesive hem tape.
This stuff is my jam. It is very easy and quick to use when done properly, and I will be able to easily re-hem these curtains if I ever need them a shorter or longer length.
So neat and pretty now!
Here is my DIY method on how I used the tape. I am sure there is a more professional and exact way to do this, but I just wanted something that was fast and easy 🙂
Materials:
- Curtains of your choice
- 3/4″ iron-on adhesive hem tape
- Scissors
- Pins
- Measuring tape
- Iron
- Ironing board
Instructions:
1. First you should measure how much of the 3/4 inch iron-on adhesive hem tape you will need before making a trip to the craft store (or Amazon.com). Measure the width of your curtain panels (mine were 56 inches each) and then multiply by the amount of panels you have (I have 6 panels, so 336 inches or 28 feet total). I add a few inches extra just in case.
2. The concept is that you will fold over the extra fabric at the bottom of the curtain and the iron on hem tape will secure it so that your new curtain hem will be at the exact length that you want. So before you begin, you need to decide how much fabric you need to hem. To do this, I just let the end of the curtain fall naturally to the ground and put a pin where I wanted the hem to fold over (i.e. the full length of the curtain). This will depend on your preference: some people like curtains with a hem that falls right at the ground and some prefer curtains that pool more on the ground. Because I do not want dog hair getting constantly stuck in the curtains, I opted for the first choice. Use a pin to mark this point at one edge of the curtain.
3. Heat up your iron to the appropriate setting depending on your fabric and set up your ironing board. Lay out your curtain wrong side up, starting at the side with the pin. Measure the length from where the pin is inserted to the end of the curtain. This is going to be the length that you will fold up through the width of this entire curtain.
4. Fold over your fabric at the pin and remeasure the length to ensure it is the same as you previously measured. Pin this end in place and iron. Continue to fold up and measure the same length through the entire width of your curtain panel at intervals of every 8-10 inches. My method was to fold the fabric, quickly iron it flat, measure to ensure it was the correct length, pin the fabric in place, and then use the iron again to do a hard press into the hem so it would not move during placement of the hemming tape in the next step.
5. Once you have pinned up the whole width of the curtain panel, it is time to use the iron-on hem tape. Cut a piece of the tape to equal the length of your curtain panel plus 1 extra inch just in case. Working from one end and with just 2-3 pins at a time, remove those 2-3 pins and insert the iron-on tape between the two pieces of fabric right at the edge. Be sure that the top piece of folded over fabric is completely covering the hem tape because if it is not, the hem tape will fuse with your iron and you will have to cool the iron and clean it off. (Not fun.) Run your iron over the top layer of fabric for about 10 seconds in each area, moving slowly but constantly.
6. Continue as in step #5 throughout the width of the curtain panel, removing just 2-3 pins at a time, until you have completed the curtain panel.
7. Repeat these same steps with your other curtain panels. I recommend not using the same measurement for each curtain, but remeasuring how much you want to hem using the method described in step #2. This way, even if there are minor indiscernible differences in your curtain rod placement, the curtains will still all appear to fall to the same length on the ground.
And voila! Your curtains now appear as adult curtains should. Professional and perfectly tailored! It is also very important that you have a helper who loves to be in the spotlight:
“Is it time for my photo shoot now, mom?”
What a silly girl.
“Mom. Come on. Photo shoot, now. Let’s go.”
Okay, now I’m done, I promise! Please comment below if you used this method and tell me how it went! Or, if you have a favorite method or product that you use for easier hemming, please share in the comments below!
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Sarah is a food blogger from Metro Detroit who believes that gourmet food should be accessible to all home cooks. 
This is just perfect. I had completely forgotten about iron adhesive! My complex has these ugly blinds I’ve been wanting to cover/replace them for over a year. But I DREAD busting out my ancient sewing machine these days. I ordered new curtains some time ago, and they have been sitting folded in my closet since they arrived. I’ve been afraid my cats would use them as a climb post if I didn’t hem them. Thanks a bunch!
I’m glad this tip helped! Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
I love anything that’s fast and simple. For the longest time we had curtains that were too long, hanging on the floor. I tried to convince myself that it looked good that way. But when the kids started using them as a hiding spot, I knew i was in trouble. Wish i had this quick fix at the time. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you for your comment! Yes, it’s so much faster than sewing – the thought of having to sew a hem on six panels was just exhausting. You’ll have to try this next time you need new curtains (and post pics )!