I washed my hand made curtains yesterday (ceiling to floor length) in a 40 degree ordinary wash in my machine but when I hung them today they had shrunk about 3" !!! There were no wash labels in them but looked like a plain cotton material so I assumed they would be ok? I know now there is no return, but I have others from the same material at the other end of the room so Im not sure now how to clean them?? Maybe a hand wash in cold water? Any suggestions?

If they weren't made from pre-washed cotton then the shrinkage is about what I'd expect.  If you need to wash the others and want to keep them the original length then washing at 30C should be ok - alternatively wash at 40C and have a matching pair!

try soaking in fabric conditioner then hang while quite damp. The weight may help them to stretch back a bit.

try soaking in fabric conditioner then hang while quite damp. The weight may help them to stretch back a bit.

If not, you could sew a contrasting material to the bottom to make them the same length but add a bit of extra length, and if you make sure the contrasting material is in 'keeping' and do the same to the other end curtains, no one will ever know the difference :D :D :D :D
HTH
Lea

cant help but know how mad you must feel i did the same thing a couple of years ago trying to save money instead of drycleaning.
Am just waiting untill I can afford some now ones unfortnately like you I need to do both ends and they are 90" drop and the windows are 12' wide so it could be awhile oops!

Me too, very frustrating.....and expensive......no ideas for you just sympathy.
Karen

my washing machine has a "hand wash" option?

Mine has a delicates wash but not hand wash?

I've done this myself I just hung them up again but the gap between curtain and windowsill really bugged me after a while. Now I hand wash them in the bath. A mess because you've got dripping curtains everywhere so you'll need a container ready. Or you can roll them up and pass them down through the bathroom window to someone waiting below. Then on the line they go!! Just make sure you are not the person below, you can very easily get very wet!!

Sorry have no advice but god I had a giggle when I read the title of this post!!!

Hope you solve the problem soon. xxxxxxx

Hey, hey, hey..... just let down the hem of said curtains and can gain about 12 cms!!!! enough to fill the gap with a bit of careful sewing. Crisis over maybe? I'll let you know..
Thanks for all your help (and sympathy)

To gain maximum length when you have let hem down how about finishing the bottom edge with an edging tape such as bias or seam binding in a matching or contrasting colour, this will give you the full length of hte fabric without any turnup at all.