Going the Distance

You're moving to a new home or changing the look of a room. Don't toss your existing curtains -- find them a new home with these creative adaptations from Fort Worth, Texas, designer Deborah Reed. She offers some innovative ways to make existing window treatments work in a variety of new settings.

Scenario #1

The bedroom in your old house had 8-foot ceilings. Your new ceilings are a glorious 10 feet tall. Your pinch-pleated drapery panels with matching valances are perfectly good, but way too short. What to do?

Reed suggests lengthening the panels this way: Open up the drapery panel headings. Dispose of the crinoline used to stiffen the pinch pleats, and salvage the double hem of fabric sewn around the crinoline. This hem can provide 8-10 additional inches of fabric -- a fine start, but it may not be not enough.

See the following illustration and more instructions.

Next, sew new drapery lining to the top of the old hem fabric to create the additional length. This lining fabric will be hidden by a revised valance. Cut off the old valance heading, and stitch the top of the valance to the top of the lengthened panels.

To get the final inches (and to make sure the lining used to lengthen the panels -- and the old stitch holes -- remains hidden), attach the valance to a new decorative wood or metal rod with fabric tabs or ties. The ties can provide 4-6 inches to keep the lining well-hidden and make the panels reach the floor.

If you're feeling thrifty, use fabric from the old valance heading to make matching drapery tabs or ties. If there's not enough fabric or you'd like to add contrast, tie the curtains to the pole with ribbon bows or with ties made from new fabric in a complementary pattern or solid color.