bearisgray

are these ready-made curtains that are too long?

if so, i would hang them up with the rod where you want it and let them hang for a few days .

then i would place pins along a "line" where i want the bottom of the curtain to be.

(so let's say for the purpose of this explanation that the row of pins is 48 inches from the top and 18 inches from the bottom and that i will make a new four inch deep hem on the bottom)

( i sure miss being able to draw a picture and attaching it!)

i prefer the look of a double hem, so - assuming that i still think that the bottom of my curtain should be at the pin line, i would cut 10 inches off the bottom.

at this point, i would do some practice sewing on the "excess" to see how this fabric will handle on my machine. i do not *like* sewing on sheer fabrics because my machines tend to not do their best stitching on them. after i get the stitching looking acceptable, i would go back to the curtains to hem.

i would turn up a four inch hem. sew it down - using a thread that will not show much - yes, i am planning to sew this hem twice - because i feel it keeps the fabric in place and minimizes a chance of that fabric shifting unattractively when the curtain is washed.

then i would turn that hem up the second 4 inches and sew it down.

momsbusy

I recently hemmed a sheer overlay on a dress. I found a washout 1/4-inch magic tape helpful. It was double sided. I used it to hold my hem in place. When I sewed through it, it did not gum up my needle. I did use a ballpoint needle. The tape was clear and stiff, but it softened and went away with water.

Rose_P

For me the difficult part would be sewing the sheer fabric. A water soluble stabilizer between the fabric and the feed dogs might help with that. Use a fine, sharp needle. I saw a suggestion to use a teflon presser foot or a walking foot, but haven't done it myself, so can't say what's best. I would use a scrap to practice. If your machine can change the amount of pressure on the foot, experiment with that also. If they're washable, maybe use a washable glue stick to baste it, ironing with a dry iron to set as you apply it. That would allow you to see how they hang before you sew. Good luck!

SusieQOH

I am positively allergic to making or hemming any kind of curtains so I have no advice

Jane Quilter

To get the sheers to lay perfectly straight and remain square forever, I "pull a thread" at the exact measurement and cut on the pulled thread mark. To stitch the side hems, and the bottom hem, I use a tailor's blind-stitching hemming machine, where the sheer always lays flat and you never have to fold the fabric back, stitch, and fold back.