No advice and this won't make you feel any better, but the same thing is happening with the curtain rods I got from JoAnn Fabrics, and my windows are tall. I've gotten so I tug really hard on the right side panel to make it overcome the seam on the rod, one of these days I'll tear the drape and be sorry. The rings are plenty big enough, so I know that's not the problem. Maybe it's just something we have to deal with.

Oh, and with the rod on the door, whenever I close the drapes the entire rod shifts along with the panels so I end up getting the "grabber" and moving the rod back in place on the hangers. :)

They make pretty traverse rods. It sounds like that is what you need.

I'm mostly a lurker on this forum because I am trying to learn from all of you. I am a home decorating bumbler. But I actually have something to offer on this question because I went through the same thing. I ordered and returned the Pottery Barn rods for exactly the same reason.

We ended up ordering the cut-to-order (not adjustable) curtain rods from Rejuvenation that don't have the male/female telescoping connection. At $129, the rods aren't cheap, but they are nice sturdy quality and come in a variety of finishes. I didn't use Rejuvenation's rings at $7 a pop. I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought inexpensive clip rings to use with the rods. They slide great. I hope this helps!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Rejuvenation curtain rods

This suggestion is a bit off the wall, but what about rubbing some kind of wax or silicone, etc. along the top of the rod to make it slicker? Or something similar?

We had the same problem in our bedroom. Been closing the draperies this winter and it is really helping with the cold.

The solution I have come up with is ordering more panels. It seems that the more fabric(the looser the panel,)the easier it is to overcome that rod hump. I kind of give the curtain an upward motion when coming to that hump. My previously draperies just covered the window area when closed. Now, I use the inside panels to cover the window and the original panels stay stationary, covering the first 1/4 of the windows.

Also, your rods should be made stationary with a small screw on the rod mounts (hangers). Do you not have that?

Not staceyneil but another lurker who is chiming in and thanking arlosmom for her suggestion. I believe that those custom length rods may just work for the problem I have with my windows! Never knew there was such a thing. Chris

As per dgo123's suggestion, I purchased a can of spray DuPont Teflon Silicone to help old storm windows slide and it worked well. I agree it's worth a try.

Thanks guys.
I've tried a bunch of things today, and I think that the only good solution is going to be custom length rods. Everything else seems to help a little bit, but not enough.... however, since a $100+ rod isn't in the budget right now, this'll have to wait. I may consider looking for some other material and fashioning them myself (like maybe a piece of cast off SS tubing from the boatyard DH works at... not sure what I'd use for finials though...)

I have the same problem with my Pottery Barn rods. Perhaps you can keep a small, decorative stepstool nearby?
That's what I do.

Also, thanks Arlosmom for that link. Perfect!

i have the same problem with our r.h. rods...i am thinking about picking up some wands (possibly rh---but they're pricey!)or might look into the cheap, clear plastic ones- i think the wand hides behind the drape so you can't see it. if i go with rh wands, i will probably only put them on the side that has the telescoping...i think they will make it easier to get over the hump and the windows are pretty narrow so only ~ 3 rings need to make it over.

"Also, your rods should be made stationary with a small screw on the rod mounts (hangers). Do you not have that?"

I didn't know that, I'll have to check. Thanks alot.

I've had the same problem but there is a solution. Just hope I can describe the fix clearly enough.

The pole that fits inside doesn't get touched. The outside pole will be getting cut. Usually I have a centre support where the two curtains meet. I mark the outside pole where it meets the centre of the support. This is how much you're going to cut off but I make the cut on the end of the pole that gets covered by the finial so you don't have a ragged edge.

I hope that was easy enough to follow. I've done it on all my drapery rods.

Gosh, I didn't think about wands. That's a great idea. Would keep the wear and tear off of the fabric, too. I am always afraid that I will stain my faux silk drapery.

I am going to look into that. I'll need 8 of them.

Dawn, that's a good idea.... except that the PB rod is made differently: It has one (fatter diameter) middle section, and two skinnier side sections that fit into it. So I have the issue on BOTH sides! Argh.

You probably need to get new rods, but I did find some inexpensive wands.

Here is a link that might be useful: Curtain wands

I have these clear acrylic batons for my sheers. They really don't help the rings get over the hump, well except for that first ring that the baton is attached to. The quality is great-very hefty and cheap!

Here is a link that might be useful: batons

wow, charley 526....those are cheap! and they feel hefty?? i saw some on interiormall.com that are 5/8" castiron and come in lots of colors for about $12...wondering if i should try to match my rods, etc.(still alot cheaper than the rh ones!)

i was wondering also if the wand only would help with the 1st ring, but my curtains are heavy silk with lining and interlining, so maybe the weight would help to lift the other rings---as compared to your sheers.

Yes, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality. If I needed them for my drapes I would probably get a metal baton to match the rod.

And I think you may be right about the heavier curtains.

I, too, was so annoyed with this problem. This is finally what worked for me.
1. I took a new playing card (the brand I used was Maverick, they are very slick, almost feel like they have a plastic or wax coating) I cut it, length wise and just smaller than the width of the TOP of the pole. Just enough to cover the lip that was causing the metal rings to catch.
2. Take ordinary packaging tape (not regular tape used for every day needs) and put a piece of tape on each end of the card.
3. Place the card with tape on the top of the pole.
That is what fixed my problem. You can see the card minimally. I hope what worked for me works for you. Good Luck.

You guys are so smart....love all I learn on this forum!! We have the same problem on our slider window in our MB, and my husband reaches up every night and pulls it closed. Thanks for the ideas!!

This is probably a really dumb idea but could you use tape over the end of the rod that is hard to pass over with your curtains/drapes? If the rod is black, use black electrical tape....and I am sure there are other kinds of tape that are different colors. I know dumb but if it worked would be great and cheap.

I knew I would run into this problem as well, so I'm using metal pipes cut to the correct length. I don't mind the sort of industrial look, but I bet there are ideas to disguise the pipe look out there online.

I'm pretty sure you can get wooden dowels in any width and length at a big box store. If not there is always the pipe. The card trick is interesting. You could also wind electrical tape around the rod seam, starting on the widest side and double wrapping it a few times on the thinner side to taper off gradually in thickness. Dawn's idea for single seam rods was brilliant, lol, I'd never have thought of that.

I wish there were a separate place to store threads that address "common decorating problems". Not design problems, but physical problems. This is obviously a very common problem.

I have found answers to just about every problem I have by using GOOGLE. It's an easy one "go to" place for me to remember. :)

Funny this got bumped. Since there seems to be some interest in the topic, I thought I would post that in my searches for cheap curtain rods, I stumbled across some bloggers who have used electrical conduit to make curtain rods. If we can find the time, we plan to do this as it is a substantial savings. But it has the bonus of no bump to get the curtains over.

Here is a link that might be useful: DIY curtain rod from electrical conduit

You can buy metal tubing in any lengths and diameters for far less than you pay for the pre-packaged curtain accessories. (Check out Amazon.com for 'brass rod', 'copper tube', 'stainless bar' etc, depending on the size and shape you want). If you need a long rod over 10 feet, if there's a Grainger store near you they will special-order it for you to pick up in-store and save the oversize shipping cost.

You can use the metal tube/rod with any brackets you like, just match the dimensions correctly.

If you can't get full-length rod or want to work with what you have: for the telescoping hump issue, I have copper curtain rods and used, of all things, the adhesive copper foil used in stained glass making. Wrapped around the rod at the gap, it has enough heft to eliminate the bump and allow the rings to slide smoothly. (Regular tape might be too thin? But wouldn't hurt to try!)

I think you can also get the metallic adhesive foil in brass and bronze, and perhaps black. Then it would just be a matter of balancing the cost of a roll of the foil versus the cost of ordering a solid-length replacement tube.

Here is a link that might be useful: Grainger brass rod stock

I have the same problem. Recently bought 1 1/4 inch curved wrap around rod from JC Penney for a 107 inch sliding door. I have 6 pairs of lined drapes hanging from ring clips. I also installed 2 batons at the center opening. The rings will not slide easily over the rod where the two come together, which also has a plastic sleeve to keep a snug fit where the rods slide together. I tried electrical tape with no success. I'll have to try the playing card trick mentioned. You would think that the manufacturer would try these things out before they put them on the market. I like the look of my rods and how they wrap directly to the wall keeping light and drafts out. If I come up with something better I'll post.

Country Curtains makes a thing called a curtain tender which you use to push the rings along the rod. That might be a help.

I also struggle with the telescoping rods and it is one of my pet peeves. Try thecurtainrodshop.com.

They have a variety of rods and finishes which they will cut to size for you for $5 each.

Get a long piece of wire similar to hanger wire. Tape it on the side of the rod with the junction with the tape disguised on each end. When you close the curtains they will glide on that wire with no junction to go over because it will be covered on top with the wire. This worked like a charm. You can use clear tape.

LADIES, I came up with an amazing way and cheap to fix this problem. Get yourself a slick playing card and cut it in half length ways. Then use packaging tape to place it out of site on the top of The rod. Works like a dream. No catching! I just came up with this so next I will try and get double stick tape and see if it still works. My rods are the cast iron rods with the cast iron rings. Hope this helps everyone.

I used a combination of techniques to FINALLY get our curtains to glide easily. Like you, i

t was driving me nuts to close and open the curtains every day. We bought a house with blackout curtains that covered a triple sliding glass door—total 12 feet long. There was also a 3 section window that was 11 feet long. The curtains have wide grommets and the curtain rod was 1.5 inches in diameter. We have to close the curtains every night as it is VERY bright and sunny as early as 5 AM in the summer.

I tried several different suggestions I found online and finally arrived at a combination of a homemade narrow and longer single rod along with the rolling shower curtain hooks in bronze I found on amazon.

I made the new longer and more narrow metal pole without telescoping sections out of half inch metal electrical conduit—about $7 for 10’ at Home Depot.

I needed two rods at 12’6” and 11’6”, but could only find 10 foot sections at our local home depot, so I bought three 10 foot sections and a pipe cutter, and pipe connectors to make longer rods. I cut one pole into the two shorter sections I needed to add to the 10 foot section of each rod.

I had a couple of pieces of wooden dowels I used duct tape sticky side out and put inside the two sections and the connector so the rod wouldn’t sag at the connection point.

I then spray painted both rods with some bronze/brown paint—it took a whole can for the two rods—and I actually went over a light coat of black spray paint I had to get more coverage.

I had tried the grommet curtains on the just the more narrow single rod, but it was still sticking a little. So I ordered the rolling shower curtain hooks from Amazon in bronze attaching them to the grommets and then the rings to the rod.

IT WORKS GREAT—FINALLY! I still have to figure out the end finials, but can use the curtains for now with ease.

Here is the list of things I used for the two 12 foot rods—most at Home depot except for shower curtain rings

1. 3 10’ sections of ½ inch metal electrical conduit—about $7 each

2. a pipe cutter about $18

3. conduit connectors ($2.50 for 5, but I only needed 2)

4. Spray paint (about $8 a can

5. dowel and duct tape—I had some scraps

6. Shower curtain rings with rollers—I got bronze in sets of 12 ($7 each):