“Measure twice and cut once" is a familiar rule of thumb. How about "measure twice and install once"? Recently Precision Draperies had the opportunity to work on a project that used an iron bracket and rings to hang the drapery treatment. With this type of installation your challenge is to find the correct horizontal position of the iron bracket so that once the rings are added your draperies will hang as desired. Depending on the design, the drapery will hang off the floor (clearance) or it will break or puddle on the floor.
The method we used will work on all rods that have rings with the saddle type bracket. We also show how the concept will work for key-hole type brackets. First we determined the finished length of the drapery, or the length of the drapery from the top of the drapery to the bottom of the hem. Our drapery finished length was 85".
Next we added an adjustment to our finished drapery length to incorporate the distance between the iron rod and the bottom of the iron ring, as it hangs on the rod. This added 1-1/4" inches to our total measurement height for the draperies, clearance and ring.
Based on the type of design you are installing, the bottom of your drapery may break, puddle or have a designated clearance from the floor. If draperies are to have clearance, add how much you want the drapery off the floor (in our installation we wanted 1/4" ) which brings the total to 86-1/2". In the case of a break, subtract what you need for a break (typically 1" to 3"). For puddle, subtract what you need for a puddle (usually 4" to 30").
For a detailed description with photos of each step of this process, visit our on demand mini-lesson store, or join our membership area as this lesson is free to our members. We are constantly adding new lessons, so take a look now and keep checking back to see which lessons are of interest to you.
This lesson is available in a printed version, click here to learn more.
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Thank you
Kirk Axelson
Precision Draperies Education
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