Customize The Look Of Your IKEA Curtains With TikTok's Brilliant No-Sew Idea
IKEA is a holy grail for many DIYers. It offers an incredible number of products at affordable prices to fit anyone's budget. Even though they carry similar items in many of their stores, folks can easily customize their products to suit their space better. For instance, IKEA's SILVERLÖNN curtains are an excellent sheer, elegant style. They're only $25 and give your living room, bedroom, and home office a stunning elevated look. However, when they're hung, they can be too long for the height of the wall. They end up dragging on the floor or look shapeless without any pleats. Many advanced crafters will think of sewing the curtains to make them shorter, but if you don't have a sewing machine or sewing skills to spruce up your curtains, you can still customize them with hem tape.
Hem tape is straightforward to use, meaning that even a beginner will have successful results. Instead of having to measure, fold, iron, pin, and sew each section, you simply iron on the hem tape to the curtains. This technique reduces the number of items needed and cuts the amount of time it takes to alter your curtains in half while still giving you curtains that won't trip anyone walking past them. All you need is a rotary cutter, ruler, iron, and hem tape.
Hemming your curtains without a sewing machine
TikTok user @blissfullymy completely transformed their IKEA curtains by hanging them from IKEA's VIDGA track rail. It makes opening and closing the curtains more effortless because the IKEA VIDGA hooks on the rail glide seamlessly. The content creator stressed the importance of ironing the curtains as a primary step. Then, the TikToker created pleats in the curtains using IKEA's RIKTIG curtain hooks. The curtains have loops that you can slip onto the rail hooks. Essentially, you insert the left side of the hook into the first loop, then count 10 loops and hook the right side of the hook into the 10th loop, leaving you with a middle hook and the first pleat. Repeat the step with all the hooks until you get a customized pinch-pleat look. Then, hang your curtain on the rail hooks.
Once your curtain is hung, you'll see how much of it touches the floor. Ideally, you want them to just hover over the floor. Measure how much you want to hem using a measuring tape or ruler and make a mark or put a pin. Then, measure the distance between the original hem and the mark. Subtract two inches from the measurement you made for your new hem and cut off the excess with the rotary cutter. Finally, put your ironing board under the curtains, make a one-inch fold with your iron, and secure the fold with hem tape. Repeat until you reach the end of your curtains.
Tips for hemming your curtains easier
When hemming your curtains without a sewing machine, measuring precisely to get an even length across your curtains is crucial. You don't want one side to be shorter than the other because it will be noticeable when you walk into the room. As you're measuring your desired curtain length, make multiple marks along the measurement so that you know where to cut. However, you want to use a light pen color since the hem fold will be behind the curtain.
When you're ready to cut and iron the hem tape, double-check your measurements. You can choose how wide you want your hem to be regardless of the hem tape's width, but you still need to add the hem tape's width to your desired hem length. For instance, if you want a sizeable 4-inch hem and your hem tape is ½ inch, the overall hem length will be 4 ½ inches. When you're cutting fabric, subtract the hem from the excess fabric. If you want to reduce the size by 10 inches, you'll need to subtract 4 ½ from 10 to get 5 ½ inches, which you will cut to get your preferred length. The hem tape will take up ½ inch when it's ironed on, so your curtains will have a 4-inch hem. While there is still some labor involved, you don't need to sew to customize your curtains this way.