At The Sewing House, we understand that buying a house for the first time can be an extremely stressful and daunting experience, with so much to consider and new things to learn about owning a home! With that in mind, we thought it would be helpful to create a comprehensive guide that will explain exactly how to measure for your new curtains so that when they arrive, you can pop them straight up with no problems! 

IMPORTANT

When measuring for your new curtains, it is important that you measure the curtain pole or track width, and not the width of the window. 

Measuring for the width when using a curtain pole. 

If you are measuring for the width of your curtains using a curtain pole as a reference, you should measure the length of the pole between the 2 finials (that’s a fancy word for the decorative bits on the end!)

 Measuring for the width when using a curtain track. 

If you are measuring for the width of your curtains using a curtain track (a curtain track is a device used to suspend curtains, usually with integrated runners), then you should measure the full width of the curtain track

Measuring the height for pencil pleat, tempo wave or pinch pleat curtains on a pole.

There are a few different options when it comes to the length of your curtains. Curtains can either be hung to the floor, the window sill, or just below the window sill! Whichever you choose to do, to achieve the best possible look, we recommend that curtains are hung to:

• 1cm above the floor.
• 1cm above the sill.
• 10cm-20cm below the sill (or 2-3cm above the radiator) 

When measuring the height of a pencil pleat, tempo wave or pinch pleat curtain using a curtain pole, you should measure from the bottom of the curtain ring, to where you would like the curtain to finish at the bottom.

Measuring the height for pencil pleat, tempo wave or pinch pleat curtains on a track.

When measuring the height of pencil pleat, tempo wave or pinch pleat curtains on a track, you should measure from the top of the track, to where you would like the curtain to finish at the bottom.

Measuring the height for eyelet heading curtains. 

When measuring for eyelet curtains, you should measure from the top of the curtain pole, to where you would like the curtain to finish at the bottom.

Measuring when there is no pole/track to measure from. 

WIDTH 

Measuring the width of the curtains when there is no pole or track may sound complicated, but it’s actually really easily done. We would recommend that, when measuring the window that you are looking to put your curtains up in, you should take your measurements 20-30cm wider than the window on both sides to calculate the width (if there is nothing obstructing you from doing this!) This will ensure that the curtains will sit partially wider than the window, allowing more light into the room when they are open.

 DROP

When measuring for the drop of your curtains when there is no pole or track, we would recommend measuring from the ceiling to the top of the window recess, and finding the middle point between the two. You should then measure from this middle point (the point inbetween the ceiling and the top of the window recess) to where you would like the curtains to finish, for example the window sill or the floor. These measurements will ensure that your curtains are sitting neatly and evenly. You can also adjust the poles height when it comes to installing your curtains if you are not happy with how they are hanging.

Measuring for puddle curtains

‘Puddle curtains’ is a term used to describe curtains that are long enough that the fabric collects on the floor. We recommend adding 10-15cm to your curtain measurement’s drop, so that there is enough fabric for the curtains to pool on the floor. You can add more or less fabric, depending on how much fabric you would like.

IMPORTANT

Pencil pleat and tempo wave headings will all arrive with hooks; there are 3 pockets for the hooks: upper, middle and lower, which can adjust the curtains by 1.5cm higher or lower. Your curtains will arrive with the hooks in the middle pocket, but you are able to move the hooks higher or lower to adjust the curtain’s sizing slightly.

We hope that the contents of this guide have helped you to understand how best to measure up for your new made to measure curtains!