How to choose and sew the tape to the curtain?

To refresh the interior, it is not necessary to start a full-scale repair or replacement of furniture. Decorating with new textiles - curtains and curtains - will help give completely different accents to any room. Many housewives, buying new fabric for drapery windows, prefer to design them on their own, including filing a special ribbon. To do this correctly, you must:

• calculate the length of the curtain tape;
• adjust the sewing machine taking into account the density of the curtains;
• sew the braid without landing.

And if it is not difficult to complete the first two steps, the third - the right seam - assumes experience in sewing. Therefore, before sewing on your own curtains from expensive fabric, it is advisable to practice on a simpler tulle, taking into account the tips outlined below.

How much and what kind of braid do you need to buy?

The calculation of the length of the curtain tape depends on two parameters: the width of the window opening and the type of braid itself. The type of braid is also taken into account when buying curtains, since it will depend on how much it gathers and what width it will turn out as a result. There are many styles of assembly: cylindrical, uniform, triple, bow, "puff", "butterfly" and others. To figure out which fold will result, you do not need to know all the names. Simply pull off the tape and the assembly pattern will immediately appear. It will look the same on the curtain.

Choosing the type of assembly, you need to consider its coefficient. It can be 1: 1,5, 1: 2, 1: 2,5 or 1: 3. If the first number is taken as 1 meter, then the second will indicate how much fabric is needed to close 1 meter of the window opening. For example, buying a ribbon for curtains with a bow fold and a 1: 3 coefficient on a three-meter-wide window, you need to purchase 9 meters of tulle and the same amount of lace.

If the curtains are already purchased, then you need to select the braid with a suitable ratio. To do this, it is necessary to divide the width of the fabric by the width of the opening. For example, if you have a curtain 4 meters wide and a window opening 2, then you need to divide 4 by 2. As a result, we get 2, which means the ratio should be 1: 2.

Tip

When calculating the length of the braid and the width of the curtains, take into account not only the opening itself, but also the space near it, which is supposed to be closed. In addition, you need to consider that some fabrics are slightly stretched when sewing, so you need to buy braid 10-15 cm longer than the estimated length.

In addition to the coefficient and type of assembly, the tape differs in the following parameters:

• width
• density
• transparency
• the number of levels for hooks.

For curtains - tulle, organza - or for curtains made of light, translucent fabric, transparent braid is suitable. The wider it is, the more effective the assembly will look after hemming. On the contrary, opaque is only suitable for dense fabrics.

Customize the sewing machine

To properly configure the sewing machine, it is advisable to use a piece of the same material on which the tape will be hemmed, and the threads that will be used in the work. Having folded the fabric in half, you need to make a test line and see the result. If the seam is even, no loops are visible on one side, and the fabric is not tied up, additional adjustment is not needed - you can get to work. Otherwise, you need to adjust the thread tension or the degree of presser foot.

If the fabric turned out to be gathered during construction, this may indicate excessive or insufficient pressure of the foot on the fabric. Most often, this problem occurs if thin tissues such as organza are used. To eliminate the trouble you need to set the adjustment lever to the desired position.For tulle, it is set to "1", for thick curtains - "3".

Too loose a seam with tangled threads along the bottom of the fabric indicates that the tension of the upper thread is too weak. In this case, tighten the tensioner. If the nodules are visible along the upper seam, adjust the same tensioner, but weaken it already. The bobbin tensioner (lower thread) must not be touched. It can only be adjusted by a master or a person with great experience.

Tip

It will be easier for beginners in sewing to understand what the problem is if you use threads of different colors that differ from the color of the fabric. Then the finished seam will show which thread is “problematic”.

Ribbon Hemming

After setting up the machine, you can begin to work. If threads of different colors were used for the test seam, they must be changed. For hemming curtains, threads in the same tone as the curtains themselves are ideal. But in their absence, you should not be upset either, you can pick up any ones that are similar in tone. The main thing is that they are not lighter than fabric. The number of threads is selected according to the type of fabric, and a needle is set according to the threads.

After threading, to properly sew the tape, you need to perform actions in a certain sequence.

• From the wrong side of the fabric, a bend of 1.5-2 cm is made and ironed.
• A tape is placed on the prepared fabric (on the wrong side) so that it is not visible from the front side. That is, it needs to be sewn 0.3-0.5 cm below the edge of the fabric. If you want the curtain to close the curtain rod, the tape goes down even lower. A margin of tape is left at the edges, and the cords are secured with a knot so as not to “run away”.
• Then you can sweep the ribbon and tulle, and if you already have experience in sewing things, you can do without this step. Instead, you can pin the tape with sewing pins.
• The next step is to sew the upper seam. It should be located a few millimeters below the edge of the braid. In the process of building up, you need to ensure that the fabric does not stretch and wrinkle.
• After this, the pins must be chopped along the line of the lower seam - a few millimeters above the edge of the tape.
• When stitching the bottom seam, you need to carefully ensure that it is without landing. For this purpose, pins are pinned up - they serve as a guide and in time will show that the fabric, stretching, “moves out”. To avoid this, it is necessary to evenly feed the tape and fabric under the needle.
• The final stage is tucking the edges of the tape. If the fabric is not stretched, and the supply of tape remains, it is cut off. The edges of the tape need to be tucked and sewn along the side seam of tulle or curtains.

After all sewing operations are completed, the cords are tightened. As a result, the ends of the cords hang almost the entire length of the curtains. Cutting them off is undesirable: when washing, they open up so that dirt does not collect in the folds. In addition, if suddenly the circumstances are such that it is necessary to shift the curtain to another, wider window, the screed will have to be loosened, and then the length of the cords will not be enough. A good way out is to sew bags for cords along the edges of curtains from curtain fabric or from a piece of tape. Another option is to wrap the cords on pieces of thick paper and pin them to the braid.