Drapery Tutorial Update - Hems

The cabinet in the Home Office Redesign is heading off to Houck's, to be stripped of all traces of lead paint. I know, it will lose all its aged character...but I have two kids, a dog, a husband and my own health to consider. So that trumps all. After it is returned I will attempt to paint it in a way that has a bit of patina, so the finish doesn't look oddly new on such an old piece!


Now let me revisit the drapery panels which were made for this room and their tutorial. I've gotten a few emails asking about the final step, hemming the panels, a step I didn't cover. You are a bunch of sharp readers and I am busted. Here's the deal, the panels never actually got hemmed, until yesterday. And even then I only hemmed one panel, and did so only to be able to get photos for this final drapery tutorial post!

Once the panels were hung on the rods I simply pinned the hems into place. I usually don't wait this long to get around to hemming drapes, but once you move on from a project it is so hard to return... right?! However, I do recommend you pin the hems in place and wait just a few days before stitching the hem, which allows the panels to fall into place. This ensures they don't get hemmed too short or long.


I personally like drapery panels to stop just above the floor, with approximately 1/2inch clearance. When the panels end here they won't 'break' and will have a clean tailored appearance. This is just my own preference. Allowing the drapes to hit the floor or even puddle creates a more luxurious look.


This is how I finished the lower sides and hems. The sides of the panels are turned back 2 inches, with the lining stitched down this edge stopping about an inch above the point where the turned up hem will be stitched. The remaining length of lining will be stitched down after the hems are sewn in place.


The hem is shown pinned in place. For these panels the hem is 2.5 inches wide with the cut edge turned under for a clean finish. For these panels I didn't add any weights, I've actually never added weights. Just one more step which for my application has not seemed necessary!


Starting at the bottom side edge the layers are stitched together, moving up to the top of the hem, continuing along the width of the panel. The hem is stitched into place using a slip stitch.


The hem height may not end up being the same across the width of the panels. I typically find the hem gets a bit wider through the center of the drape, probably due to the edges of the panels becoming slightly shorter after getting sewn. To make the hem height look even across the width of the panel, (this may be important on lightweight or solid panels) simply increase the amount of fabric which is turned under to create the clean edge.


Additionally, if the floor is uneven the hem itself may not be straight. By hemming the drapes in place you can account for this issue and the end result will look even, with the hem ending at approximately the same distance from the floor across the width of the panel. To avoid all this exacting work...I'm starting to see the advantage of letting drapes simply puddle onto the floor!



The final step is to stitch the last bit of the lining into place.



So there you have it, drapery panel tutorial: done. Of course, there are endless ways and variations to make drapery panels...this is a just a method I've gotten used to that tends to result in the look I like.


I wish I could also say the hemming is all done, along with this tutorial. The three remaining panels are still only pinned in place. I have to say there is limited motivation, they actually look pretty good as is. In fact, tell me, does the above photo show a finished hemmed panel or a panel that is simply pinned?