Making Curtains Longer Without Sewing

Most department store curtains are not long enough to reach the floor.  In my boys rooms, I  don’t want them dragging on the floor, because it just makes it harder to clean.  That being said, my 10 year old’s curtains were waaay too short.  Like high-water pants on the wall.  The moment that I put them up, I knew I would have to lengthen them.  Lengthening meant sewing, because it’s not like I was going to use tape…hahaha….that’s crazy…  Ok, I used tape.  They actually have a product for people like me that can’t/won’t/shouldn’t sew.  I found that making curtains longer without sewing was possible with heat and bond adhesive tape.

Here are the high-water curtains before.  Too short, right?

My son’s room is decorated mostly with grays, with pops of yellow and I found this solid yellow curtain, which was a good match.

I took the existing curtains down and gathered my supplies.  The heat and bond adhesive, a yellow curtain I found on clearance, scissors and a small iron.

And Rocky Balboa training music, which is the soundtrack for all my projects.

I cut a yellow piece of the curtain for both panels.  Be sure to measure.  In my case, I didn’t want it too long, but you may want yours kissing the floor, if it’s for a more formal area of the home.

I placed the iron-on tape where I wanted to adhere the new cut piece to.

Then I ironed over it, which is what makes one side adhere to the existing curtain.

Once it cooled, I pulled the film off and placed the new yellow piece over the tape.  

I ironed once more to make sure that the other side of the tape adhered to the new fabric I was adding.

I did the same thing to the second panel and I was done!  It was so easy and I wondered why I didn’t do it sooner.  I seriously had this tape in my closet for months because I thought the process was somehow more difficult.

Maybe I will add another thin piece later on…maybe a black or gray but for now, this length is good.

Here is the before and after.

So I thought I would share this with you just in case you have a pair of curtains that you love, but are a tad short.  Adding another color band at the bottom, not only adds length, but a bit more style, and in kids rooms it’s another opportunity to add a pop of color.  Which is something Rocky Balboa would care about.  Not really, but he would totally avoid sewing if he could.  I am sure of it.

If you have curtains that you love, but it bugs you that they are so short, give this a try.

Maria