Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Easy Curtain Fix

I’m in love with my new Ikea curtains for the master bedroom. However, had I known the trouble they would give me,  I may not have purchased them. That’s not true. I love them that much. Tell me if you can relate to the picture below.

Ikea anita

They are insanely wide, because they’re meant for pleat hooks (which I didn’t know at the time of purchase). I tried the pleat hooks. And then I tried the pleat hooks 4 more times. I ended up wanting to murder every pleat hook ever made. Sooo I went with the ring clips. After a few attempts at trying to figure out how to gather them so they didn’t look overly awkward, I thought I had found it. I didn’t.

Ikea Anita curtain

I didn’t like how much lower the curtains were. The ceilings are vaulted in this room, so the extra several inches really made a difference in the height. Bummer. Let’s try one more solution.

Ikea curtain

I laid the curtain out flat and tied a ribbon around a long screwdriver.

screwdriver ribbon

Using the screwdriver as the guide, it was incredibly easy to slide the ribbon right through the rod pocket—especially because the back portion was a plastic liner meant for the pleat hooks. The ones I want to murder.

feed ribbon through

Once the ribbon was through, I had to be careful not to lose one of the ends. I slid it back onto the curtain rod and gathered the ribbon.

How to gather a curtain

After moving it around to the width I desired, I tied a little knot behind the curtain. No one will ever see it—including my husband who nearly ripped the curtain off the rod trying to move it. Grr.

curtain solution

And the final product? Perfectly gathered curtains at the height I wanted! Yippee! I really wanted to use these as the light block for this room too (and get rid of the shades), but I’m completely happy with them staying gathered. For now?

gray curtains

I can’t possibly be the only one with all these random curtain problems, right? Well, just in case I’m not, hopefully this is a solution for you!

42 comments:

rachel said...

fabulous idea! I'm going to do that in my son's room!

Unknown said...

Girl.....I love you ;)

Jocelyn said...

You are just amazing! Thanks for the great idea! I'm off to do that to my bedroom curtains that do exactly the same thing!

Donna S said...

Brilliant idea! Perfect!

wrensnest said...

Hey Chris!
Another easy solution is double sided tape: wrap it around the rod where you want the panel to stop, and then press!
Easy-squeezy.
Lee

AmyD said...

You are so darn tooting smart… I mean, really… I cannot think on my feet that clearly. I love the way the final look came out. Much better than the rings. Your posts always inspire to fix things or improve things around my 41 year old house.

Kate Riley said...

Well aren't you the most fabulous problem solver! Love this clever hidden solution!!!
xo
Kate

RNSANE said...

How creative you are! I'm not very good at figuring things like this out!

SplendidlyImperfect said...

I was having the same problem and just used a bit of double stick tape on the back of the rod. The curtain is stuck to the tape and now will not un-gather at the ends. :)

SplendidlyImperfect said...

http://splendidmissm.blogspot.com/2010/12/tip-for-curtains.html

Handy Man, Crafty Woman said...

oh, I have curtain issues all the time! thanks for this idea, it's great!

The Yellow Cape Cod said...

Great tip! I have always used double sided tape, this tip is much better. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Unknown said...

Hi Chris,
Thanks so much for figuring this out for us. I have exactly the same problem with my family room curtains and will be threading ribbon through them this weekend. Now why couldn't I have thought of that???
Cheryl

Marie said...

what a great tip!!! i have this problem in my dining room and to make it worse, if the curtains won't stay gathered, they cover the a/c register on the floor under the window (which, in my opinion is the stupidest place ever for an a/c register vent thingy). thanks!!

Kathy said...

What a great fix!

Suzanne said...

A fabulous fix for an age-old problem!Thanks for helping me (and my curtains) out!

Holly said...

SHUT UP!! It can't be that easy. I've been living with my ungathered curtains for two years. Now you tell me!

Anonymous said...

I was worried that double sided tape would take the finish off my rods (I had spray painted old bronze ones to be black) I found that I could use a dot of "booger glue." You know, the stuff that holds credit cards or gift cards to the paper backer? It's just enough to grip the rod and provide resistance to the fabric.

stefanie.ann said...

i have the same curtains! i didnt have a problem at all. good job though! http://excusemeatthetableandplease.blogspot.com/2011/05/house-tour-bedroom.html

Julie {Angry Julie Monday} said...

So smart. I think I have those same curtains in an off-white color. My only problem is that I need them hemmed.

Katie @ JK Homestead said...

I had the exact same problem with my Master Bedroom curtains. I was able to just stick a straight pin in the back of the curtain to keep it bunched. You can't see the pin at all. Then if I ever want to move the curtain, I can just pull the straight pin out.
~Katie

Comeca Jones said...

Alot of work for a perfect ending!

Megan said...

Um Brilliant!!! I've had the exact same problem with curtains I made for our bedroom and living room. What a great solution! Thanks for sharing! <3

Julie said...

Great Solution! I had the same problem with my panels in the master bedroom. To solve my problem, I used a safety pin. I pinned one end from the back and gathered it a bit, about 1 inch and clipped it from there. Has the perfect gathered look and stays in place. I'll definitely have to try your idea the next time. Thanks again! Your windows look great!

Stacy CUrran said...

Great idea....I've always used double sided tape, and I'm QUITE sure your way s better!
Stacy

Unknown said...

Those curtains turned out fabulous...love that color BTW!

Julie said...

Great idea! I have this very same problem. I tried to tackle it with tape but it just won't hold! Thanks for sharing!

Bossy Betty said...

Great idea! Thanks!

Jackie said...

I have the SAME curtains and the SAME problem... they make me crazy!! I will definitely be trying your trick!!!! :)

Sharon-The OKI StampQueen said...

Glad you found a solution! I have drooled over a Blue Waters shower curtain. LOOKED light and pretty with calming blues, greens, some tan. Finally ordered it. It came yesterday. Is anything but what it looked like online! Soooo disappointed!

Barb said...

I like the rod pocket look better than the rings. Looks really nice honey. I took down some curtains in my office that would not stay gathered. I should have consulted in you! What was I thinking. Wow, can't wait to visit you. You have so many new things to look at. Love you! Mom

ShareandRemember said...

Good idea, that bothers me too!

Amanda said...

genius:))

Jen @ The Decor Scene said...

What an awesome idea. I have had this problem before, but I don't have those curtains anymore. But now I know what I could do to fix them the next time I have curtains with this problem. Thanks for sharing.

Andrea S. said...

I ordered one this week too. My Lightscoop will arrive tomorrow! I'm glad to hear you've enjoyed it. Can't wait to try it out!

Jen xo said...

clever, ive not seen that done before...... the problem is the pockets too big, if it was tight on the rod it would stay gathered on the pole...they look lovely in your room....

House of Smiths said...

Okay smartie pants... this is genius! :) Wouldn't expect any less from you, girly.
~Shell

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Katherines Corner said...

Well done I've used that technique in the guest room. ( great minds)I always enjoy my visits to your lovely blog.I hope you'll stop by Katherines Corner. The new giveaway is up! xo

Traci Michele said...

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO creative! Thank you for sharing.

On another note, will you vote for my blog? It only takes a second. Thanks, Traci

http://www.circleofmoms.com/blogger/ordinary-inspirations

Anonymous said...

Great solution if you don't need the curtains to close!

Since I DO need to close mine, I used the rings, but clipped them on the back of the curtain, about an inch below the top. Can't see the rings, the curtains stay pleated, and can be pulled shut when needed.

Wish I could take credit for that bit of cleverness, but thriftydecorchick talked about it several months ago. :)

-Gelft

Lynett said...

I always have problems with Ikea things...love the prices but they're quite the mission. Looks great though!

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