Curtains. What would you do?

DD2 says it is about half a centimetre gap. Not 2 cms. It does show up a lot though. It looks wrong.

Length:

First choose how long you want your curtains and what heading type you're after
If you have a pole, measure pencil & pinch pleat curtains from the top of the eye of your curtain ring and eyelet curtains from the top of the pole.
If you have tracks, measure from the top of the track to the required drop length
Sill length curtains should hang to about 1cm above the sill.
If you prefer your curtains to hang below the sill, we would suggest allowing an extra 15cm
Floor length curtains should finish 1cm above the floor but if you prefer a more opulent look, add an extra 20cm or so and the fabric will be 'puddled' on the floor

from www.curtaincraft.co.uk/helpadvice/index.htm

I would say about 1cm is fine, so the curtain does not keep picking up any dust from the windowsill (if there is such a thing in your DD's house).
They may drop a centimetre (fingers crossed).

I have just moved a curtain from the patio door where it was about 1cm above the carpet to the front door where it looks half-mast (divorced its ankles and married its knees).

www.fivestarcurtains.co.uk/measuring-up-your-curtains.html
Here's another site that says 1cm above the sill

It's you!
Don't say anything
She's happy

Jalima love the last bit in brackets!

As for DD1's curtains jings I think I would recommend contacting JL to register the concern and query just in case the curtains don't drop sufficiently to even them up. £600 is a significant sum of money and her investment should be protected. If she forgets that will mean she can live with it or it is fine but if not the odds are on it eventually getting to DD1 now that this has been brought to her attention.

I'm wondering what you mean by 'in the middle' jingl. Is it that the curtains touch the windowsill apart from a bit in the middle where they sort of 'go up'?

So, when they are drawn together, do they touch the sill at the sides but not in the middle?
In which case, when they are drawn back the centres of each curtain will be too long.

Tricky

It is a lot of money; I didn't have my new ones made by JL because the ones I wanted would have been £1,600 and I may have ended up not liking them anyway.

I read it that the gap between curtain and sill is only in the middle? If the rest is OK that must mean that either the curtain rail isn't level or the curtains are not the same length all the way across.

That could be sorted by taking out the centre support to the rail and adding a centimetre of padding under it - OK if there is a pelmet to hide it - or by redoing the whole hem. Either of these is up to JL.

She could try attaching something heavy to the centre lower corners to see if that would make them stretch a bit and pull down a centimetre. Time might do that anyway.

Is it stiffish material that refuses to drape?

I think I would mention that they seem to need to drop a little in the centre.

Three X posts!

Should not JL have taken the drop measurement at the sides and in the middle to check for any difference? For that money I should hope so!

Can she alter the height/angle of the curtain pole or rail?

The first thing I learned from living in houses that are 'slightly crooked' is....do you want it to look straight or be straight? All the tape measures and spirit levels in the world won't help when you're looking at something you know is out.

When it comes to interior design, 'jiggery pokery' is my middle name

Minimouse that's what I think TBH.

jalima plenty of dust

It might not be quite so bad if it was the same all along, but it's just the middle bits. I think the sill must dip in the middle.

I think I'm gonna mention it.

merlot I thought about that, but jobs aren't always "got round to" IYSWIM.

Thanks all.

I agree with minimouse about drop measurements.

The mini gap would drive me crazy. Regardless of the cost, wrong is just wrong, as you say J

I would get back to JL .

Of the two pairs of curtains made by JL for us, both had to be remade, with one pair having to be remade TWICE! We ended up having the manager of the department coming out to our house with an assistant who both admitted that the curtains had been badly made, different lengths, designs not matching and the linings not straight. I wouldn't use JL for curtains again (or carpets but that's another story). Jings, tell your DD to complain. It's a huge amount to pay for curtains which do not hang properly.

Thanks Franny and fffin. Will do it.

How long have the curtains been up? They do drop after a while.
That doesn't help the gap only being in the middle though.

Perhaps curtain weights in the hem of the inside edges would pull the curtains down by 1 cm

Complain , it`s not acceptable for £800 .
I personally would faint at the thought of paying that but that's just me I expect

You could drop the centre of the rail a centimetre.
Or take out the whole window sill and get it replaced with one that is straight

Or, for that price, phone JL and get them to sort it out.
A friend paid a lot for JL curtains to be made and fitted, and she said that they are not right.

Or say nothing as your DD is happy. Just give the centre of each curtain a little tug every time you go there while she has gone to make you a cuppa.

Have used JL for 3 sets of curtains in the last five years. I did the measuring and hanging .All perfect .I'd certainly have them back

Thinking about the curtain tape at the top which is used for gathering.
We're talking basic standard pleating tape. There is generally at least two different levels on the tape, sometimes 3 levels. On each level there are several threads (about 4) going across each section making the bit for the hook to catch.

I'm thinking choose the level for the hooks, which has already been done.
Now, coming to the 'threads' making up the bit that the hook goes onto.
At the sides choose the suitable ordinary full thready bit...... then going towards the centre could the hooks work their way up the threads eventually at the centre just catching onto the top of the thready bit.... giving just a tiny bit of more length.

Just a thought....

If the curtains are heavy fabric then just catching the top of the threads at the centre might not be strong enough, but if the idea worked, it would be a start.

Or complain to JL.

The thing is, if the curtains are altered so that they're slightly longer in the centre, where they meet, then when they are pulled back those centre edges would drape on the sill and then that would look wrong. If that is the case, perhaps the main consideration should be: when do you want the curtains to look right? In the daytime when they are open? Or at night when they're closed?

I think your DD should get JL back. They must surely have come across 'crooked' houses before!

That is a good reason for adjusting the curtain rail, not the curtains.