A Practical Guide on How to Make Curtains

A Practical Guide on How to Make Curtains

Measuring guide, curtain tape & fabric requirements, linings, weighting tape estimation & help on choosing your fabric

Getting ready:

It is recommended that when you start measuring for curtains the hardware (poles and tracks) should be in place, including carpets or any other flooring for full-length curtains. Always use a steel or wooden rule as cloth tapes can stretch and decide on the type of heading you will be making, because it can affect the location of the pole in relation to the top of the window or the trim.

How to measure your window:

You need two measurements for your window:

1. The width of the curtain pole or track. When measuring make sure you include any overlap arms in the middle.

2. The length of the curtains. There are three standard lengths; a. The sill, b. The radiator, c. The floor. Whichever you choose always measure from the hook point on the track to your chosen length then add the height of your chosen heading tape. For sill and radiator take 1.5cm off. For floor length take 2.5cm off.

How to work out tape requirements:

Multiply the width of the track/pole by the fullness of your chosen tape, e.g. 2 1/4.

e.g.

Width of track/pole: 183cm (72”)

Multiply by 2 1/4: 2 1/4 x 183cm (72”)

Total tape required: 412cm (162”)

Remember to add on required amount of tape if using a track with an overlap arm.

How to work out fabric requirements:

The width of your curtains can vary depending on which curtain tape you use or how loosely or tightly you make the pleats, see our curtain tapes section for details of your chosen heading, then follow this calculation.

1. To calculate the number of fabric widths required, multiply the total width of the track by the fullness of your chosen heading tape e.g. 2 1/4. Then divide by the width of your chosen fabric - 137cm (54”). Round up to the nearest full number.

 

2. Multiply the curtain length by the number of fabric widths, adding the following allowances to each fabric width:

i. 10cm (4”) per fabric width for hems and heading.

ii. 2.5cm (1”) approximately, per fabric width for shrinkage.

3. Allow additional fabric for pattern matching - the general rule is one full pattern repeat per fabric width. For example, curtains requiring 4 fabric widths need additional fabric for 3 pattern repeats.