Room dividers can provide privacy or romance, depending on the material used.
Dividing curtains separate one area of a room from another. A well-made dividing curtain allows you to pull a rod to slide it toward a wall for times when you want the space to be more open. This curtain type should be lightweight but opaque. Making it and installing the ceiling track can be accomplished in a day or two. Be sure you launder and iron the fabric before sewing so you can wash the curtain without shrinking it later.
Instructions
1. Measure the distance across the room using a tape measure. Cut a ceiling curtain track 2 inches shorter than the length using a hacksaw. Install an end cap on one end.
2. Move a stud finder along the ceiling in the area where you want the curtain. Locate a ceiling joist either running parallel with the drape or perpendicular and spaced evenly apart. Mark the location of the single or multiple joists with a pencil.
3. Hold the track up to the ceiling along your mark. Position mounting brackets so they will screw into the ceiling joists. Place a bracket every 4 feet along the track. Mark the screw holes with a pencil. Screw the brackets to the ceiling using screws and a screwdriver. Attach the track to the brackets based on the directions provided by the manufacturer. The track typically screws into the bracket.
4. Insert a plastic curtain rod slide for every 6 inches of track plus two extra for the ends. Attach the second end cap.
5. Measure the length of the track and multiply by two. This is the width of fabric you will need for the curtain. Measure the length from the ceiling to the floor and add 4 inches. This is the height of the fabric to fit the divider. Seam several lengths of fabric together to create the correct size.
6. Fold the top and of the fabric to the back a 1/2 inch and sew a seam. Fold the fold to the back 1 1/2 inches along the top and and sew using a hem stitch. Cut buckram the width of the fabric. Pin the buckram a 1/2 inch from the top back edge. Turn each side under a 1/2 inch and pin. Sew along the top of the buckram from left to right. Do not sew over the cords. Sew along the bottom of the buckram from left to right. Do not sew over the cords. Sew along the left side sewing over the cords. Pull the cords away from the right edge and sew along the right side, but not over the cords.
7. Pull on the cords while sliding the fabric to the left to create pleats or a gather, depending on the type of buckram you have chosen. When the drape is the width of the room, tie and wind the cords in a loop and pin the loop to the back side of the buckram. Insert drapery pins in the buckram to hang the drape from the slides inside the curtain track. Add a drapery rod on the last slide to help you pull the drape open or closed.
Tags: over cords, , bottom edges, buckram from, buckram from left