Need to hang some S Fold Curtains to give you that perfect wave pattern?
I’m going to explain to you how to hang the curtains as effectively as possible, in the shortest amount of time.
We are going to focus on how to get your curtains hung and not the installation side of things. If you are interested in how to install an S Fold curtain track, we will have a blog coming soon on this. Also if you are looking to measure for blinds we have the ultimate guide to measuring for blinds.
Hanging your S Fold curtains is more tricky than hanging eyelet or hook based pleated curtains and I will explain the difference between the three methods after the step by step tutorial, but don’t let this put you off S Folds are the nicest looking modern style of curtain on the market today.
Also, I will reveal the best technique to get that perfect s fold wave pattern every time.
I have kept this guide as basic for you to understand as possible, however, if hanging an s fold seems a bit daunting, you can call me and I will personally walk you through the details, otherwise, if you purchase your s fold curtains from Real Blinds directly, we will hang your S Fold curtains as a part of our service.
Make sure your s fold curtain track has been installed correctly, it’s looking straight and is not wobbly, flimsy, or has any loose bracketing.
You will need a step ladder and the s fold gathering hooks.
It’s time to hang some curtains
Step #1: Get the exact amount of hooks required for each curtain
Observe your s fold curtain track and you will see all the curtain wave gliding pendants or simply called gliders. These are the track runners that are bound together with a string running through them.
First, determine what type of stack your curtains are and make sure you have the correct size(s) of the curtain(s).
If your curtain will be a left stack, right stack, drawing to the centre/both side stack, drawing from the centre/centre stack, has a free-floating curtain or a combination of these.
A free-floating curtain usually refers to an S Fold Curtain that is not locked off onto the track and can be put stacked away to either side of the tracking.
Treat each curtain independently when hooking and hanging. So now I want you to count how many gliders are in the curtain track only for the amount required to hang the s fold curtain.
If you have a single curtain count all the gliders, if you have two curtains going onto the same track, count only the amount required for each curtain.
Here is table to help with Freedom S Fold tracks
Note: 40 or 80 gliders are just made-up numbers.
This is easier to get up close and physically move the gliders with your hand slightly along the curtain as you count. Make sure you get a 100% accurate count as this is imperative to get the curtains hung perfectly.
Pro tip: If the gliders are an even number that is ideal because the curtain will start with an outwards wave and finish with an outwards wave. (outwards is when the curve points towards the room, where inwards is when the curve points towards the window)
If the number of gliders you have is an odd number, it is not recommended to reduce the amount by 1 glider as this may cause your curtain not to close fully. Instead, have the wall side start with an inwards wave. If you are interested in removing a glider check the next pro tip for some more advice.
Once you have the number of gliders exact you will need to count out the exact same amount of hooks required. So 40 Gliders will mean 40 hooks are required, or 80 gliders will mean 80 hooks are required.
Especially for large s fold curtains number of hooks can be all the way up to 100 hooks. If you are counting lots of hooks the best and quickest way to do this is to count them in 2’s and create piles of 10.
Now you are ready to start hooking
Step #2: How to hook the s fold curtain
This is the heading tape of your s fold curtain. It has two rows full of pockets for hooking.
Only hook the top row!
Please note: Some companies may have basic formulas of how many pocket spaces apart the gathering hooks should be like for example Freedom S folds, although for the most part there is no one size or one formula that will work every time.
Medthod 1 (calculating & hooking)
It’s not worth the time measuring the total length of the curtain, then dividing this total by the number of hooks you have. This will usually give you a number that has a decimal place in it usually like 6.33 or 8.55, it gives you a guide but for the amount of time, this can take and risk of making an error it’s not worth it unless you're doing large quantities like 30+ curtains.
Method 2 (hooking without calculating)
You want to start 2 or 3 spaces in, so the edges of the curtain naturally fall closer to the window. You start by pushing the gathering hook up through one of the spaces and rotate it 180 degrees so the hook part is pointing downwards.
Now here is the tricky part, every s fold could be different but a way to start would be place a hook every 7th spot. So the 1st hook is counted as 0, then count 1-7. On the 7th pocket place a hook here. Then repeat this process over and over again.
Repeat this process until you are down to your last 10 hooks. When you have only 10 hooks left I want you to start hooking the opposite side of the curtain, again starting 2-3 pockets in. You must decide if you will keep the spacing at 7 pockets, increase the spacing by putting a hook in at every 8 pockets or reduce the spacing by putting a hook in ever 6th pocket.
The spacing of the hooks has a tolerance of +1 or -1 space. This means if 20 hooks have 6 spaces and the rest of 7 spaces this is perfectly fine. Or if 12 hooks have 8 spaces and the rest have 7 spaces again this will not be visible when the curtains are hanging.
If you have a few hooks that have 8 spaces and a few that have 6 spaces, you should make the adjustment so in this example case all the 6 spaced hooks move them so they have 7 spaces apart.
This process can be time-consuming for the first s fold curtain and you may have to work back through nearly every hook to get the numbers perfectly balanced.
Once you are completed you will have the exact amount of hooks as gliders evenly spaced on your s fold curtain and you are ready to move onto hanging.
Step #3: How to hang your S Fold curtain with the perfect wave pattern
Now the moment has finally come to hang the curtain. Get your ladder positioned correctly and hang the curtain from the wall side towards the outside. The hooks will slide in through the glider holes.
To get the perfect S Wave you must hook the curtain with an in and out pattern. Make sure as you hook you are moving the curtain into the inwards outwards wave pattern as you hook the curtain.
These example images below start with an inwards curve, you actually want to do the opposite and start with an outwards curve.
Repeat this process till you have hooked all the hooks to all the gliders.
Pro tip: once your curtain is hung test it and once it is fully closed look at the wall side and see if the stack is fully extended or it is bunched? If it is fully extended that means the amount of gliders is either tight or on the mark. If this has bunching this is usually regarded as a good thing as it can make the curtains seem more full and ‘fluffy’. At Real Blinds we recommend s fold curtains that have extra bunching making them more fluffy. You can be checked before a curtain is hooked and hung to determine if it’s a safe idea to remove a glider to get an even number of gliders, make sure you are not going to jeopardise the curtain from closing all the way.
Hanging Eyelet or Pinch Pleat/Pencil Pleat curtains made easy
Hanging Eyelet curtains – simply fold the curtains up in this pattern.
Slide the curtains onto the rod with one of the eyelet ringlets hanging over the bracket.
Lock-off the brackets to prevent the rod from sliding when the curtain is being used.
Hanging Pinch Pleat or Pencil Pleat curtains – starting from the inside of the curtain working your way to the wall start hooking. Leave 1 or two hooks at the end.
Remove any excess gliders that are not required.
Hook the remained 1 or 2 hooks to the fixed hooks on the bracketing to lock off the curtain and hide the bracketing.
Pro tip: With double curtains, you want to lock off the sheer material closest to the window, with the hooks or gliders hanging over the bracket as usual. However, the block-out curtain which is outwards on the room side you want to bring the last hook around to attached this last hook onto the bracket or rod closest to the window to conceal the sides of the sheer.
Conclusion
Did you get your s fold curtains hung successfully? Do you feel confident hanging s fold curtains in the future? Let me know in the comments and I’ll be sure to reply.
Also, have a friend who might need a hand hanging their curtains, you can share with them this post and I personally will be able to help them out.
If you want to eliminate the stress of hanging or measuring for a curtain, you can book a free measure and quote Sydney & Melbourne wide at Real Blinds. We also supply all types of blinds and offer expert installation services and advice Melbourne & Sydney wide, see our website or simply google Real Blinds for further details.
Written by
Noah Radford
Senior Blind Expert
Visit https://www.realblinds.com.au or call 1300 215 388