Hang your curtains with the right-sized drapery hook attached to the top back of your curtain with ease. There are many ways on how to use drapery hooks on regular curtains, but let’s look at some basic techniques.
Hanging your drapery using old-fashioned hooks can seem a little outdated. But it is a rather fundamental skill that you need to master. Luckily, the concept behind using drapery hooks is relatively easy to understand.
Drapery hooks
A drapery hook looks like a regular hook made from a single wire folded against itself. It has a curved end on one side, while the other looks like a sharp prong. You can either hook it through a curtain ring or the fabric eyelet on the curtain itself to hang the drapery.
Step 1: Choosing the right size
Drapery hooks can come in many different sizes to accommodate differently weighted curtains. Obviously, larger drapery hooks can hold heavier pieces of fabric such as velvet and other similar drapery. If you have medium-weight curtains, a regular-sized drapery hook should do just fine. Make sure that the straight section of the pin is not longer than the hem.
Along with your drapery hooks, you should also get yourself a curtain ring with a built-in metal or plastic eyelet to make the hanging process easier. Customize plain curtains rings using spray paint or by covering them with ribbons.
Step 2: Mark the curtain
For regular curtains, we are usually referring to any curtain that you have at home. Whether we are dealing with rod pockets or back tab curtains, they all should have a seam at the bottom of the hemming. Now we can move on to how to use drapery hooks on regular curtains.
Lay your fabric so that the front is facing towards the table. Look for the seam near the bottom of the hemming at the top edge of the curtain. Get your measuring tape and mark the placements of every drapery hook. The space between each hook is essential because it adds stability to the curtain.
Note: If you are working with back tab curtains, you can attach the pins on the fabric tab itself. It can save you time from marking the pin placements and fabric measurements.
Step 3: Insert the pin.
Grab your drapery hooks and pin the straight edge onto the fabric. You can increase or decrease the natural length of your fabric by simply moving your pin hooks an inch below or above the standard height attachment.
Pin the drapery hook onto the back layer of the fabric. Be careful not to push it all the way to the front. Otherwise, the pin will become visible and ruin the curtain’s look. Secure the pins in place and make sure to attach them at the same height throughout.
Note: If you want to secure your drapery hooks, attaching a pleater tape to the hem before you pin the drapery hook will make a big difference.
Step 4: Hang the curtain
The beauty of drapery hooks is that you can pull them in and out of the fabric to rearrange their placement. If you think you pinned it at a much higher height than necessary, then remove it from its original place and relocate the pin.
Once you have secured your drapery hooks in place, get your curtain rings. Supposing you did it correctly, your drapery hook curve should stick out from the fabric while the straight edge secures it in place.
Hook the drapery pin on the eyelet of your curtain rings. If you don’t have an eyelet, you can hook it on the ring. Just make sure that the circle is neither too thin nor too thick to hold the hook in place. Slide the rings onto the rod and hang them on the bracket.
Curtain weights
Some people like to add curtain weights to their drapery to make it flow and appear straighter. It gives the curtain a more tailored look and can reduce the fabric’s constant swinging or swaying.
You can quickly add in some curtain weights to hold the bottom seam of your curtain in place. This technique is perfect for sheer curtains or lightweight materials. However, you have to be careful when adding curtain weights to drapery hung on hooks.
Drapery hooks can only hold a particular weight, especially those that are smaller in size. Luckily, you can get yourself many medium-sized hooks if you want to add heavier drapery weights to avoid curtains wisps.
Install them using a seam ripper. Open the bottom hem of your curtain, add in the weights, and make sure to put them at even placement throughout the seams. You can try making small pockets at the back of the curtain so that the weights stay in place.
Why use drapery hooks
Using drapery pin hooks to hang curtains is probably one of the oldest and most traditional ways of hanging drapery. However, despite its long and historical presence of hanging drapery, it is still a long way from going out of style. Luckily, drapery hooks are rather easy to install but are still as effective as other curtain hardware.
Overall, learning how to use drapery hooks on regular curtains is pretty basic. Just get the right tools and equipment for the job, and you’re ready to go. You can use it to hang gorgeous-looking drapery without worrying about other difficult curtain hardware that can be an absolute headache to figure out.