i have the PB drapes and rings but Country Curtain rods (by chance), and those have a plastic piece that smooths that transition some. they still do jump out of their rings sometimes though.

how high up are the rods? are you using a curtain tender or just grabbing the drape? i don't like to touch my silk drapes so i grab the cotton lining side with one hand and use the tender in the other. they ARE a lot of work but any rod with rings would be the same way up there.

i don't close my drapes every night, i have cotton undercurtains on lower tension rods that are on clip rings that are very easy to move

I have tried various techniques with my hands and with a long instrument. It is beyond maddening as it has to be done ring by ring. Why couldn't they make the extension piece longer so that the seams would be on the SIDES? That way, fewer rings would have to cross it. Or make it so the seam is at the dead center? It is such a design flaw the way they're made now, and infuriating that they are marketed as workable.

well, you can see where my seams are, at the 1/4 and 3/4 space. the center section is the larger diameter piece. i find pushing 3-5 rings over at a time is the most efficient.

btw, i dont blame you for being furious, and it makes one look back on old style drapes on a pull cord longingly. which were popular because before then the drapes were just like these!

the seam is in a different place for everyone, depending how much they open up the rod. at the minimum for the rod size the seams would be on the ends.

same things happen to all my extensible rods. 2 solutions: wrap a bit of electric tape around the extension part and get a curtain stick that helps slide them

rub with a wax !? or see if you can get bigger clips to grab the drapes. the pull might be just too much for the current clips and less of a problem with pb rod.

I remembered this from January:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/are-these-type-of-drapery-rods-only-for-blackout-dsvw-vd~2741989

i dont think the poster is using clips, inse, rather a little hook that fits in plastic loops on the back of some PB drapes. only gravity is holding them in, so if you sorta try to lift the drapes by hand they can pop out of the loops. but i have considered running a bar of soap along the top of the rod so there would be less friction.

Friction is not the issue. The rings slide easily over the main rods. It's the joint connection that causes them to come to a dead stop.

Are they clip rings and the clips are coming off the curtains? If yes, stitch the rings to the curtains - don't rely on the clips.

If it is a hook that is going into a ring and the hook is coming out of the ring then pinch the hook closed with pliers.

I'm not sure without a visual, sorry.

I have the same problem having spent thousands on the darn things.

I have the EXACT same problem and came to the same conclusion. This is a major "design flaw." I am currently negotiating with the store where I purchased the rod and all the hardware for a full refund. I actually kept my receipt which is almost a year old. They have offered me a merchandise credit and I would expect nothing less...but their curtain rods should be considered defective. When I try to close my curtains, the rings stick on the seam. If I pull on it, it pulls on and stresses my fabric. It has begun to actually tear. I can try to pull them closed quickly and jump the rings over the seam but the fabric will either come out of the pins which hang on the rings or it just doesn't work at all. These rods are completely useless if your aim is to have FUNCTIONAL curtains. I am waiting for a call back from the store's GM to discuss with him. I want a full refund.

great. now you've reminded me of another reason why winter sucks.

Not sure if this would work but what if you bought the molding wax that people use with dental braces ...? Mold a smooth transition where the two rods meet and then spray it with some type of hardening agent so that the rings don't rub the wax off.

I did not like the concept of extensions in the curtain rods for full look. I wanted the curtain rods to look like a one straight piece instead of different diameters that is why I bought more curtain rods and I was using the center pieces and attaching them using the end pieces with out leaving any gap in between. I use two end pieces just to attach pottery barn finials. I made sure to cover the joints with brackets that means for a 144 inches Rod, I had to take the two center pieces of XXL Rod and attach both the rods using one end rod and put two end rods in the end of the attached Rod and installed finials, for this setup I had to put three brackets and the middle bracket goes exactly in the center and which conceals the join.

Wow. Good luck. I know it is a pain then the hooks get dropped.

i like the brackets which come with the pottery barn standard rods. They are very sturdy and the wall anchors provided are also very sturdy. Initially I tried to save some money with my bed room and installed cambria curtain rods from bed bath and beyond and immediately felt that those brackets don't hold the weight and returned them. The problem is that the brackets which came with Cambria curtain rods are small and can only touch the wall for about two inches where as the pottery barn brackets touch the wall for about 5 inches and there you see big difference and also the wall anchors provided with Cambria are small and cheap(I am not sure why to save money on wall anchors)

Srinivasu, are you saying you were able to make your rods extend to 144" by purchasing two xlarge rods? I have windows that span 136" and already own the PB rod. If I could just purchase another to make it longer than the max 120" they sell. Can you advise if that is what you were able to do? Thanks so much!

5 years later and I am dealing with this issue and PB rods. i ended up putting half a wine cork on the back of each drapery clip to prevent the clips from coming off the rings. It works great but was a hassle. I drilled a starter hole in each cork.

I hope someone has a solution. If anyone has a source for customer service that is helpful please let me know. Or a corporate connection.

FWIW, I ordered 150" custom rods from HighlandForge.com, which was recommended by a pro here on Houzz. They were able to provide the rods with only a center seam that was covered by the center bracket. They were one of the few bright spots in a rather extensive remodel four years ago. Their website is quite comprehensive and in one instance they followed up the order by email when they had a question (I ordered narrower brackets than is customary).

I still occasionally look at those rods and think, mom was right: quality tells.

I have had the same problem. They told me to do the tape measure tape trick to the top> I thought what the hell Im not doing that. But I did take the idea of taping a plastic playing card and that improved the situation immensely. They still hung up so, I just ordered more rod sets and cut the main thicker piece into 4 smaller pieces and slid them onto the other rod to prevent that nagging GAP. This worked so well it is the ultimate fix. One rod will do two large windows if you measure correctly. If there is any additional rod put it toward the end where the rings don't move much. You can also make rods longer than they sell by doing the same thing and using the smaller rods inside..

Same problem but my main complaint is that the rods are shedding a black powder that is getting on my curtains. Pottery Barn has been zero help. Now rods are out of warranty.

I have the same issue, but even worse is that the c-loop rings, which I needed because the window is too wide to have no extra brackets, just POP OFF the ROD whenever they go over the telescoping bump or the bracket. The PB folks were no help. The c-rings are a completely flawed design, but I can't figure out what to do instead. Any ideas?

Try putting some Modtek Curtain and Drapery Ring Glide Tape (available on Amazon) on top of the length of the rod. It makes the transition over the bump easier.

WOW! Whst has happened to Pottery Barn’s quality? Wax? Sewing? Corks? This is outrageous with whst you pay for their product!!!

I think it has always been like this. People just don't realize it until they buy it and find out after. There is a reason there are a ton of returns and you can always find cheap almost new ones on ebay for many many years now. If you really want PB curtain rods, the best thing to do to not run into this issue often is to buy the longest rod you can. And it will help to get the transition piece as close to the center as possible if you're not sliding the curtains all into one side. I just spent a lot of money on the PB rings thinking it was the cheaper gliding rings I bought from iKea that keeps snagging onto mine, nope, the PB rings were actually worst even with the quiet-glide tech. The issue can be fixed easily by PB by making a better transition insert but they choose not to. I hear the tape method can get funky too. If you want to spend a bit more, you can find other places that sell custom length solid rods.

Going through this now! Ive spent hundreds on these PB rods. Ive tried everything to make these work, but nothing has. Now they will only give me a merchandise card. Ill never buy from this company again.

We‘re dealing with the same thing. we bought the PB emery drapes with the blackout lining which makes them heavier and they catch every time we open and close them. the drapes are nice but the hardware feels cheap, es especially cconsidering the cost

I am dealing with the same problems concerning PB drapery rods and the ridiculous C rings! i also have gotten no help from PB. The adjustable length rods cause the same issue described by other commenters. Even the closed loop rings

snag at the junction of the smaller and larger rods. Pulling the draperies closed causes either a complete stop or at least one drapery hook comes loose from the ring when it meets the junction of the rod

i bought the C rings to use on the longer PB rods that require extea support brackets. These rings are a joke! unless I’m extra careful, holding a handful of drapery material as I try to close them, the C rings come off the rod at the junction and/or when sliding over the extra brackets. I’ve shopped at PB for years and just disappointed at the quality/customer service decline

As far as the drapes part of this problem, here’s a solution that works well. Purchase mini clear elastic hair bands (like ponytail holders for children) and use that to fasten each hook to the curtain ring. Inexpensive and invisible.

I won’t be purchasing anymore Pottery Barn rods with the extension in a bad spot for closing.

Still working on a solution to the pulling issue, but the curtains stay hooked now.

There is a clear plastic tape you can put on the length of the rod. We bought it on amazon after struggling with the same issue

My Pottery Barn C-clip curtain rings were frustrating to use. I improved their performance by placing 3/8" black rubber screw thread covers on the lower end of each clip. A pack of 20 can be ordered from Amazon for $5.49. I ordered the DMiotech brand. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B59KXFTD?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

I also placed small rubberband hair ties in black to connect the silver curtain clip to the C-clip rings. I purchased a 100 pack for $1.25 from Dollar Tree.

I also purchased the curtain wands from PB and placed one on each side of my sliding glass doors (each had 96" tall x 100" wide heavy panels).

These three options eliminated my problems with the c-clips. Even if you forego the curtain wands, you should see great improvement with opening and closing your curtains.

Thank you for sharing your tip of adding the plastic cover to the c ring, can you share a photo please