I took on the challenge of installing stocked drapes for someone close to me. I made them semi-custom by hemming the curtains. My talented seamstress AKA my Grandma helped me on this special project..... and boy, was this task an adventure!!! It started with me buying the curtains from Bed Bath and Beyond. Due to the various ceiling heights, 84" was the best option. The issue I came across was that the one side of the room was significantly shorter.... which means I had to take up the curtains at least 12"+
"Not a problem!" I thought.
I installed the curtain rods and put the curtains up. I grabbed my pins and folded up the fabric to mark where the new hem should be. After I finished pinning, I took the curtains down and headed to Grandmas.
My grandma whipped out her sewing machine (which is older than me) and she got right to work! Until we realized, one of the curtains was sewed the wrong way. The hem was facing on the frontside instead of the back!! So what did we have to do? We had to take the stitch-ripper and re-do the entire thing..... It's ok, one small problem right?
No.
We hung the curtains up, and they weren't laying right - still too long in some areas. How did that happen?! We repinned and went back to the work room AKA my grandmas guest bedroom. We laid the curtains on the floor.... "Wait, these are crooked.....is it suppose to be 74" or 76?"
Before we sewed anything, we went back to remeasure. Turns out that the floor is slighting slanted!! Instead of sewing crooked curtains, we decided to hem at an average height.
After heading back and forth numerous times, we were completely drained. Staring at those curtains was the last thing we wanted to do. We pushed through tho! We finished the project, the curtains are installed. They look fabulous and you would have never known the blood, sweat and tears that went into them without this story. haha :) --- Ok, no blood but definitely sweat and tears happened....
FUTURE ADVICE: If your going to DIY, measure first. If not, hire a professional window treatment installer.