How to Measure Drapes to Fit a Window
If you are moving into a new house or apartment, you may not have any drapes that are the right size for your new windows. As long as you have a measuring tape in your possession, you can take some measurements of the new windows so that you can acquire new drapes. Drapes are always listed by two measurements, with the first being width and the second being height. Drapes measurements are something that you can do on your own. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Use a metal, retractable tape measure to find the width of window. Measure from side-to-side within the window casing, which Best Home Improvement Trends describes as the inside of the window opening. This measurement tells you how wide you need the drapes to be to cover the windows. If you plan on using panel drapes and want them to overlap, add an additional half inch for each panel you will be using. If you plan on using pleated draperies or another window treatment with fullness, multiply your width measurement by two. The width measurement is the first measurement you will see on a package of drapes.
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Position your measuring tape four inches above the window to prepare to take the height measurement. The four inches is the space you need for the drapery rod.
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Measure down to the bottom of the window casing, and add four inches to the total, if you want your drapes to only go to just below the bottom of the window. This would make your measurement a total of eight inches longer than the window height due to the extra four inches above and below the window. Measure all the way down to just one inch above the floor if you want the drapes to fall to the floor.
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Tips & Warnings
If you want your drapes to actually clear the glass of the windows on each side, you should refer to the stack back guidelines on the Drapery Depot website (see Resources) to make sure you have the proper rod length.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit hanging curtain image by GeoM from Fotolia.com
