How to Drape Curtains

Keep your home fashionable by staying on top of current decorating trends. One of these trends is draping fabric over rods, creating soft, fashionable window treatments. The curtain must drape correctly in order to achieve the desired effect.

Things You'll Need

• Fabric
• Curtain rod
• Tape measure

Instructions

1. Hang a wooden or metal curtain rod above your window. Make sure it is strong enough to accommodate the weight of a curtain or swag scarf.

2. Measure the width of your window with a tape measure, then triple that measurement to find the length of the curtain needed for one window. If you are making your own curtains, hem both ends of the fabric to elminate frayed edges.

3. Start on the left side of the curtain rod and wrap the fabric around the rod twice. Leave about three feet of fabric hanging down.

4. Drag the fabric 1/3 of the way across the curtain rod and wrap it around the rod once. Pull the loose fabric nearest the rod together to create gathers.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have three swags.

6. Wrap the fabric twice at the right end of the curtain rod. You should end up with three feet of fabric hanging from the right, making it even with the left side of the curtain.

7. Adjust the fabric between the areas you've wrapped around the rod, creating gathers and folds. Once you have the fabric adjusted to where you like it, pin the wrapped areas together.

Tips & Warnings

• You can use swag scarves over furniture and doorways for extra flair.

• You must use pins to hold the fabric in place. Not using pins causes the curtains to sag in the wrong places.

Resources

• Alternative Windows has good information on curtains and drapes.
• Smith and Noble shows varied ways of draping curtains.