Curtain buying guide for retailers: headers, linings and sizes

Why the header decides everything else

Curtains look like the simplest product in the home textile catalogue. A length of fabric, hemmed on four sides, hung at a window. In practice they are one of the most specification-heavy categories we make, because a single decision made at the top of the curtain, the header, determines how much fabric a pair needs, which hardware it hangs from, how it falls when closed, and what it costs to produce. Get the header wrong and every downstream number changes with it.

This guide walks through curtain specification in the order we take it with buyers developing a range with us: header, fabric, lining, size and finishing. If you are comparing manufacturers for this category, our curtains page covers the constructions and capability behind it, our infrastructure page shows the weaving and stitching floors that make it possible, and our broader piece on what to look for in an Indian home textile manufacturer is worth reading alongside this one.

Header types: pencil pleat, eyelet, pinch pleat, tab top and wave

Each header style has its own look, its own hardware requirement, and its own fabric appetite. The families we produce most often:

• Pencil pleat. A woven tape sewn into the top edge that gathers into narrow, even, upright folds when the cords are pulled. Versatile and forgiving, it hangs from a track, a pole with rings, or hooks either way, which is why it remains the volume seller across most retail ranges.
• Eyelet, or grommet. Metal or plastic rings set through the fabric itself, threaded straight onto a pole with no hooks needed. The folds fall in soft, even curves. It needs less fullness than pencil pleat to look right, which can make it a slightly cheaper fabric spec, but the ring spacing has to be exact or the folds sit unevenly.
• Pinch pleat, also called triple pleat or French pleat. Groups of folds stitched at the base and stiffened with buckram, giving a tailored, structured look. It is the slowest and most labour-intensive header to finish, and it commands a formal, higher price position as a result.
• Tab top. Fabric loops stitched to the top edge that slide over a pole. A casual, informal look with a fixed, fairly generous gap between folds. It suits relaxed range stories more than precise, tailored ones.
• Wave heading, or S-fold. A newer style using specialist gliders and tape that produces a continuous, even ripple across the full width. It reads as contemporary and is increasingly requested for premium and hospitality ranges, though it depends on a compatible track system that not every customer already owns.

The header also decides the fullness ratio, which is the multiple of flat fabric width against the finished track width. Pencil pleat and tab top generally need 2 to 2.5 times fullness. Eyelet works well at 1.5 to 2 times because the rings themselves create structure. Pinch pleat and wave heading both sit around 2 to 2.5 times. That ratio is the single biggest driver of how much fabric a pair of curtains actually consumes, so it needs to be agreed before anyone quotes a price per pair.

Fabric and drape: what makes a curtain fall well

A curtain fabric is chosen for how it falls as much as how it looks flat on a table. The main families:

• Cotton and cotton-poly blends. The everyday base for printed and plain curtain ranges. A mid weight cotton drapes softly and takes colour well; blending in polyester adds crease resistance and holds shape over a longer hang.
• Linen and linen unions. A looser, more textured drape with natural slubbing, popular in relaxed and neutral range stories. Linen unions, a linen and cotton blend, keep some of that texture while adding stability.
• Jacquards and dobby weaves. Pattern woven into the cloth rather than printed on top, giving a curtain more body and a design that reads the same from both sides. These cost more to set up on the loom but need no separate printing step.
• Dimout and blackout-coated fabrics. A foam or acrylic coating on the reverse of the fabric that blocks a large proportion of light without a separate lining, useful where a slimmer, single-layer curtain is wanted.
• Sheer voile and net. Lightweight, open-weave fabrics used alone or layered behind a heavier curtain, filtering light rather than blocking it and softening a window's outline.

As with any woven fabric, insist on a specified GSM in the tech pack rather than relying on a swatch alone. Two fabrics can look identical in a photograph and hang completely differently once cut to a two and a half metre drop, and weight is usually where that difference sits.

Linings: unlined, standard, blackout and interlined

Lining changes how a curtain performs as much as how it looks. The options worth understanding:

• Unlined. The face fabric alone. Lightest weight, most affordable, and suited to sheer or decorative curtains where light control is not the point.
• Standard lining. A plain cotton sateen stitched behind the face fabric. It adds body, protects the outer fabric from sun fading, softens incoming light and improves how the curtain falls, without any real light-blocking claim.
• Blackout lining. Woven or coated densely enough to stop the great majority of light passing through. The important caveat: a genuinely dark room also depends on curtain width, side overlap and how close the header sits to the wall, since light finds its way around edges and over the top regardless of how good the lining is. We encourage buyers to test the actual sample in a darkened room rather than trust the fabric name alone.
• Thermal interlining. A soft, fleecy bump fabric sandwiched between the face fabric and the lining. It adds insulation and a noticeably fuller, more luxurious drape, and it is a different job to blackout, since its purpose is warmth and weight rather than light control. The two are sometimes combined in premium ranges.

Lining choice also feeds straight into MOQ and set-up planning, the same arithmetic covered in our MOQ guide. A range that mixes standard and blackout lining across several fabrics multiplies the cutting and stitching set-ups behind the scenes, even if the face fabric range looks simple from the front.

Sizes: standard drops, widths and fullness ratios

Curtain sizing runs on drop length first, then width. The retail drops used most widely sit around 137 cm, 183 cm, 228 cm and 274 cm, matching the 54, 72, 90 and 108 inch lengths that cover most standard window and door heights. Width is either sold as a fixed panel size or made to the buyer's own track measurement multiplied by the header's fullness ratio. A track measuring 150 cm at 2 times fullness needs 300 cm of flat fabric before side hems and returns are added.

Most commercial ranges settle on two or three core drops and one or two panel widths. That gives enough coverage for the bulk of window sizes a retailer needs to serve, while keeping the number of cutting lengths and hemming set-ups on the factory floor to a manageable few. A drop offered in every possible centimetre variation looks generous on a spec sheet and is genuinely difficult to produce efficiently.

Hems, weights and the finishing details that show

The details that separate a well-made curtain from an ordinary one are mostly invisible until the curtain is hung:

• Side hems. A double-turned hem of around 3.5 to 5 cm on each side gives a curtain enough body at the edge to hang straight rather than curl.
• Hem weights. Small weighted discs or a continuous weighted tape sewn into the bottom hem keep the curtain hanging plumb and stop it swinging or riding up in a draught.
• Return allowance. Extra fabric at each end that wraps back to the wall, closing the gap where light and draught would otherwise escape at the sides of the track.
• Mitred corners. A neatly folded, diagonal corner at the base of each hem rather than a bulky square fold, which is a small detail that photographs well and lasts through repeated laundering.
• Header consistency. Even pleat spacing on pencil and pinch pleat, and even ring spacing on eyelet, checked across the full width rather than just at the edges where it is easiest to get right.

None of these add much individually to a cost sheet. Together they are the reason one curtain hangs like a finished furnishing and another hangs like a bedsheet pinned to a pole.

Building a range that shares set-ups

The commercial pattern that keeps a curtain range profitable order after order looks like this: settle on one or two header styles for the range, hold fabric choices to a small family of base cloths run across a solid and a print or jacquard story, and limit lining options to standard and blackout rather than offering every combination against every fabric. That structure still gives a retailer real variety on the shelf, while the cutting tables, tape suppliers and lining stock behind it stay concentrated. It is the same principle covered in our lead-times guide and worth reading alongside a first curtain programme.

It also pays off on repeat orders. Once a base fabric and lining combination is proven, adding a new colourway or a new header variant to the same base is a far smaller development step than starting again from a blank sheet. Many of our curtain customers also run the same base cloths into coordinating cushions, throws and bedding, which stretches one fabric development across several categories in a single collection rather than paying for each one separately.

What to check on the sample before you approve bulk

When the pre-production sample arrives, hang it rather than laying it flat. The checklist we walk buyers through:

1. Drape: hang the curtain for at least 24 to 48 hours and check it falls straight, with no twisting along the seams.
2. Colour: against the signed-off lab dip, checked in daylight and under artificial light, since some dyes shift noticeably between the two.
3. Header: pleat or ring spacing measured at several points across the width, not just at the leading and trailing edges.
4. Light test: for any blackout or dimout claim, hang the curtain in a darkened room at the specified width and overlap and judge the result directly, rather than trusting the lining name.
5. Hems and weights: straight, mitred corners, and hem weights present and evenly distributed.
6. After a wash or dry clean cycle: re-check shrinkage, colour and drape, since curtains are laundered far less often than bedding but need to survive it when they are.

A manufacturer confident in its make will welcome this level of scrutiny at sample stage. Every issue found there never reaches a shipped container.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between pencil pleat, eyelet and pinch pleat curtain headers?

Pencil pleat headers gather into narrow, even folds using a tape sewn into the top of the curtain, and they suit poles, tracks and rings equally well. Eyelet headers have metal or plastic rings set directly into the fabric, which slide straight onto a pole and fall in soft, rounded folds. Pinch pleat headers, also called triple pleat or French pleat, are hand-finished into groups of folds stitched at the base and held with buckram, giving a tailored, formal look that costs more to make. Each needs a different fullness ratio and a different hanging system, so the header choice should be settled before fabric quantities are costed.

How much fabric fullness do curtains need?

Fullness is the ratio of flat fabric width to the finished track or pole width. Pencil pleat and tab top headers typically need 2 to 2.5 times fullness. Eyelet headers usually work best at 1.5 to 2 times fullness because the rings themselves create the folds. Pinch pleat and wave heading both perform well from 2 to 2.5 times fullness. Too little fullness leaves curtains looking flat and skimpy when closed, and too much wastes fabric and pushes the price up without adding much visible benefit.

Should curtains be lined, and what does blackout lining actually block?

Lining adds body, protects the face fabric from sun fading, and improves how a curtain hangs and drapes. Standard lining is a plain cotton sateen that softens light without blocking it. Blackout lining is coated or woven densely enough to stop the great majority of light, though a genuinely lightproof result also depends on curtain width, overlap and how close the header sits to the wall, since light can still leak around the edges and top. Thermal interlining, a soft bump fabric sandwiched between face fabric and lining, adds insulation and a fuller drape rather than blocking light. Buyers should test the actual sample in a darkened room rather than relying on the fabric name alone.

What are standard curtain drop lengths for retail?

The retail drops used most widely are around 137 cm, 183 cm, 228 cm and 274 cm, corresponding to the 54, 72, 90 and 108 inch lengths that most window heights fall into. Width is sold separately, either as a fixed panel width or made to a fullness ratio against the buyer's track measurement. Most ranges are built around two or three core drops and one or two panel widths, which keeps cutting and hemming set-ups manageable while still covering the majority of window sizes a retailer needs to serve.

Closing thought

Curtains reward the same discipline as every other category we make: decide the header first, let it set the fullness and the fabric quantity, choose a lining that matches what the curtain actually needs to do, and hold the size grid to a workable few. None of those decisions is complicated in isolation. What takes years on the factory floor is making them consistently, pair after pair, at a width and drop that were never quite the same twice.

That is the conversation we enjoy having with a new curtain programme. Bring us a window schedule and a retail price point, and we will show you how a range could be structured to hit both.