Curtains puddling or skimming the floor?

I think that you did the correct thing. Apart from tripping you up, at that length they are great floor cleaners and dusters and you would soon find that the bottom of the curtains was filthy.

Yes they do collect dust and dog hairs. However I have kept one set puddled as it really annoys my husband who likes things exact.

Christine

We have just moved from a place with high windows to a bungalow so I have a few puddled curtains. Still decicing whether or not to shorten them, looks untidy to me!

* deciding :/

Shortening them would depend on where they are and if there is a safety element with them being in too close a proximity to a walkway.
I was so pleased when we moved that my full length curtains were just off the floor. The short ones were the bugbear as they were just too short and needed lengthening. DD also gave me some beautiful curtains which would have been ideal but needed lengthening more than just the hem. I think they need so much that it would have needed a contrasting piece of material to be inserted and so I am still pondering on that one. Once upon a time I would have tackled that job without a second thought but nowadays lack the oomph. I am not sure that it would justify the expense of being professionally altered but neither can I bring myself to throw them quite yet as they are really good quality and very attractive.

Oh, definitelyskim! Cant bear puddled ones - it looks as if they dont fit and you havent got round to shortening them. And as others have said, they get filthy and trip people up. Cant see the point!

I too would go with skim. Back in my younger days, I used to make curtains & soft furnishings for friends & friends of friends - a small but fun little business. On every occasion where people asked for puddles, I ended up taking the curtains up to a more manageable length.

It's a matter of taste but I think skimming curtains look better than puddled as they are, at least, always clean and they certainly hang better.

I really dislike puddled curtains. I don't see the point and I've never been one to blindly follow fashion. I also speak as someone who had pinned up hems for five years before I got around to sewing them.

Synonymous - why not try adding the extra material at or near the top of the curtain? I feel it will be less obvious there.

I had that problem when we moved into our flat also the radiator is under the window so I had blinds fitted much better and warmer

Ive learned a new word today....puddled !
They're a con by the curtain fabric industry IMO to sell more fabric !
Puddled curtains look great in a theatrical production on stage, with the correct lighting. Not in the real world.

I had some curtains made and asked for them not to puddle as the fabric has a texture and I thought they would just look crumpled. I ended up just a kink at the bottom which was really irritating - and the fabric does crumple - but fortunately I was able to lift them a bit with those pin curtain hooks so now they just touch the floor.

I think its important not to have a gap at the bottom as this just allows the cold air to fall down the window and create draughts.

I've previously tried both methods of inserting a strip of fabric at the top/bottom of a short curtain and found it very difficult to get it sitting completely flat. No idea what kind of curtain rail Synonymous has, but if it is a pole you could try those curtain rings that clip onto the top of the curtain and make it hang a bit longer, loads of places sell them, there is a picture at www.thelinenshop.biz/ringandclipheading.html

hate them puddling on the floor ...a haven for spiders! ????????

I am in favour of skimming. I used to live in the caribbean where puddled curtains collected loads of insects.

Your curtains your choice :-)

I always see puddled curtains as the owner being too lazy to measure before buying or too lazy to shorten. My elderly Mum would have called them harbours of dust and dead insects.

I prefer skimming curtains. Puddled curtains are for those with mansions and VAST rooms, or very au fait with the fashion... Having said that I hate making curtains and hemming them
Probably skimmed curtains are more hygienic?

Think puddled ones look good if in a "grand" setting - large bay windows and hardwood floors. In an average-sized lounge with carpeting they are just a nuisance!!

Skim,skim, skim. Imagine lifting all that extra weight when hoovering. Bad enough holding skimmers out of the path of the hoover. Don't understand this fashion myself.

I had never before considered puddled curtains until we stayed in a chateaux in Boulogne last year and the puddled curtains suited that type of property and that got me to thinking, as we had hardwood flooring they would probably look good in my bedroom. Have to agree with most of you, they are dust collectors and an accident waiting to happen. Happier now that I've shortened them and they definitely hang better.

I have puddled curtains in one of the bedrooms. They are a sheer material, 10' drop and, yes, I couldn't be bothered to turn them up. They look rather good, slightly louche, and when I am vacuuming I just sweep them up over my shoulder. I haven't lost them up the Hoover yet. I have a neighbour with very grand heavy silk curtains which sort of puddle; they are draped over a pillow on each side to make them 'bouffant' - affie posh, as we say in these parts

....I only have rooms with curtains, as all the other windows have shutters. The other curtains which are enormously wide and 10' deep, just touch the floor, so I am not a complete slut