How to train your curtains

Getting your curtains to hang straight and hold their s-fold profile can be a little tricky, especially when they are new and freshly installed. But there is a simple and straightforward process called “training your curtains” that helps achieve straight and uniform folds and reduces the chance of them flaring out towards the bottom.

Train your curtains by following these few steps:

Hang your curtains on the tracks, and carefully shape them into their s-folds by following the in-and-out method shown in this video by Mike.
Once you have arranged the s-folds in position, smooth each fold all the way to the bottom of the curtain and start grouping them together in a neat stack/bundle.
Now that you have your curtain stacked together with all the folds neat and straight, it’s time to gently tie the curtain together using something soft like a scarf, or long piece of fabric. Avoid using anything that cuts into your curtains as it could crease the fabric. Place ties at the top, middle and bottom of the curtain to keep the folds together all the way down.
Leave your curtains tied for at least a few days, maybe even up to a week. Sheer curtains may need to be trained for longer as the fabric is lighter in weight, so has more natural movement. Blockout curtains will usually train faster due to their heavier weight.

If you have a garment steamer, you may also choose to give the curtains a very light steam before you start folding them together in step 2. This can sometimes help them hold their shape for an even better result, but be careful not to make them damp as this may affect the fabric (especially when it is tied together and compressed for a few days after).