Measure the width of the space to be occupied by the backdrop. Measure a length of rope that is approximately eight inches longer than the width of the backdrop area. Measure the curtain length in order to know how high to place the nails.
Place the ladder beside the wall where the left end of the rope will be hung, and measure up the wall to the height measurement determined from Step 1. Mark the wall with the pencil to indicate the curtain height.
Use a hammer to pound a 9-gauge or larger nail into the mark on the wall. If possible, place the nail into a stud. You can purchase a stud finder at a home improvement store to locate the stud in the wall. Leave at least one inch of nail protruding from the wall. This is where the rope will attach to the nail.
Tie the left end of the rope in a secure knot around the protruding nail. Use electrician’s tape to wrap around the knot, rope and nail to secure and make the knot stronger.
Thread the curtains onto the rope by inserting the rope into the curtain casing until the rope comes out the other end of the curtain casing. The curtains will pool on the floor because you only have one rope end secured to one nail on the wall.
Move the ladder to the other wall where the right end of the rope will be hung. Repeat Steps 2 and 3.
Tie the remaining rope end to the second protruding nail. With this Step you may need additional people if the space the curtains are to be hung across is wide, such as a stage, because the weight of the curtains will need to be supported to ease tying the remaining knot.
Tie the right end of the rope in a knot around the protruding nail in the wall. Use electrician’s tape to wrap around the knot, rope and nail to secure it.
Use the hammer to pound nails at one-foot intervals along the top of the curtain if there is a wall behind the backdrop if the curtains cause the rope to sag. If there is no wall behind the curtain, you’ll need to tighten your rope to minimize, if not eliminate, sagging of the rope in the center.