Wide window problems

DWhite · 1 March 2019 at 1:06PM

I have a long/wide and short window in my bedroom.
I can’t find curtains or blinds in the right size without looking at £150+ for made to measure curtains and blinds I’ve been unsuccessful with at all so far!
I’m trying to find a solution that won’t cost the earth. It’s been suggested I use 3 curtains, has anyone tried this? How would it look realistically?
Or if anyone has a good place to try for bespoke curtains/blinds I’d be grateful!

PasturesNew · 1 March 2019 at 1:13PM

Without the measurement it's hard to visualise that. But, "use 3", I'd say I'd rather use four because then, at least, you could "open" them and have equal amounts hanging either side.

If you hang curtains on the inside of the room, not the window recess, you're not constrained by cheap/ready-made curtain drops.

I've had to "dress" windows cheaply recently, and the cost of curtains can be super daft. I kept an eye out at car boots for the right size (90x90) and after a year I finally spotted some (still in the packet) "that'd do" - then got them home and realised that in my excitement at finding curtains the right size, they were the wrong sort as I'd been after eyelets and these needed rings/hooks (cue another quick spend online for £9 of rings/hooks just to get the darned things up).

I put up nets on expanding curtain poles within the recesses (175cm wide), then bought the "nicest nets that Dunelm had that were one of their three cheapest" - and, as the drop wasn't right, I simply "put up with" the fact that I had to jiggle where I put the curtain pole for the nets so it looked right - and is only noticeable if you're really looking/have an eye for these things.

If you want to do it all "on the cheap", then you might find it takes 1-2 years to finally nail it, with a lot of checking/looking/hoping along the way to get what you want at a price you're prepared/able to pay.

-taff · 1 March 2019 at 1:53PM

what's the drop? what you can do is buy some fabric, hem on the straight edges [ you can use lining or linen or some kind of inner lining if you like , then sew some curtain tape at the top, hey presto, easiest curtain ever.
You can buy in different widths to suit you, so all it takes is a sewing machine, some pins, an iron, some thread and tape.
Honestly, give it a go, you can hide any wonky sewing with the curtain tape.

CRANKY40 · 1 March 2019 at 5:30PM

I was going to suggest similar to Taff, but being lazy was going to suggest plain curtains, remove tape from top, turn them side ways. Buy new tape and stitch it along what would have been the draw together edge of the curtain and you're done.

Shropshirelass · 1 March 2019 at 6:37PM

If after measuring you decide that 3 curtains will do the trick, you may find a local seamstress who will cut-and-sew them into 2 curtains for a reasonable charge - I'm assuming you don't sew yourself.

I'm very much an amateur with a sewing machine, and have managed to do this, it's a really quick job just have to line up the material to get straight top and bottom hems. You can adjust the tape to gather as 2 separate sides.

Good luck.

-taff · 1 March 2019 at 6:49PM

When I saidbuy the fabric, i mean using the selvedges as top and bottom so there's no need to cut the length, just the width to make two.
Forgot to say hem the sides too, and also forgot to say usual rule of thumb is each curtain is one and a half times half the width of the window. You can do as wide as you like though, depends how you like your curtains to look.

rosie383 · 2 March 2019 at 8:31AM

If you don't want to DIY then you could try curtains2go (same people as blinds2go).
No idea what you would be paying for the size you need but they are a damn sight cheaper than any other made to measure service and customer care is great. We have used them for all of our awkward windows.
Not sure if they can make the size you need but it'll take a few sections to get a price on their site.

VfM4meplse · 2 March 2019 at 12:00PM

The voice of my personal experience means that I will ever buy MTM or even BN ready made again. Curtains can be a thing of beauty, but that does not mean that you need to spend hundreds or thousands on them, as I did years ago.

I'd always go for the chazzer option, you can always find good quality and hardly worn curtains to match your decor for a very low price, just make sure they are bigger than your windows and any patterns can be matched. Then you won't mind paying a home-sewer to adapt them to size. If there's a lot of excess material, you can also ask that matching cushions be made up. Always handy to add some comfort to the room

rach_k · 2 March 2019 at 1:06PM

Just get 4 so you have two either side of the opening. You can sew them together if you want, but I normally don't bother and it's fine. Occasionally I have to fold the outer edge of a curtain towards the window so you can't see it from inside but it's not a big hassle and doesn't really need doing, I just prefer it.

I would make sure not to go for an obviously patterned curtain as you'd want the pattern to match up where the curtains meet and I don't know how likely you'd be to get that! The same goes for making your own - to do it properly, you can't just chop a length in two and sew it into a wider curtain, you need to get the bits matched up so may need more fabric than you'd expect.

timehastoldme · 2 March 2019 at 2:01PM

We've got four in our bay, they were from a charity shop, which reminds me I pinned the hems when I bought them (3years) and I've forgotten to sew them &#55357;&#56900;

phoebe1989seb · 3 March 2019 at 4:30PM

timehastoldme wrote: »

We've got four in our bay, they were from a charity shop, which reminds me I pinned the hems when I bought them (3years) and I've forgotten to sew them ��

Tell me about it, lol, we have some curtains that I made for our last-but-two house in 2008 and I still haven't hemmed them

Since our most recent house purchase last year I've been gradually getting round to this!

Many of our curtains (mostly made by me) have been eBay fabric finds - I've found some great bargains over the years - also large remnants from the likes of C&H Fabrics. We've had some very high - and wide - windows and have often had to hang two each side or even two and a half widths to get the correct fullness.....

There's plenty of bargains out there if you persevere. We have very specific tastes decor-wise and have always found the right thing eventually.

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Wide window problems

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