Choosing the right Curtain Length

Curtains and draperies always give homes a feeling of completion and satisfaction. Window treatments that are designed on point make them look beautiful and elegant inside out. Although, you may think that curating window treatments is the work of a professional, we believe that with the help of a few guidelines, everybody has the potential to design their curtains and draperies at home to suit their style. Before we jump the gun onto bigger topics like design and styles, we need to dial down to learning the basics of getting measurements right.

Some Things to Watch Out!

• Measuring the window frame instead of measuring from the curtain rod
• Recording your measurements just once. Measure multiple times from multiple places of the frame to get an accurate measurement
• Using a cloth tape instead of a metal one. Cloth tapes stretch, hence it is advisable to use a standard metal tape to record the measurements.
• Refrain from measuring an old curtain to record the readings, again since curtains are made of cloth, you tend to get an incorrect measurement.
• Watch out for the parallax or alignment errors while recording the measurements.

Position the Curtain Rod Well

Positioning the curtain rods at the right level makes it easy for a better fitting of the curtains and its usage. Sometimes we tend to place the curtain rods at an incorrect elevation that causes hiccups over time. If you are someone that is looking to fix your curtain rod for the first time or looking to fix them up for good, you can start by getting the measurements right. Depending on the size of the window or door frames, you can position the curtain rods at the right height. For curtains that are externally mounted, positioning the rods about 4 to 5 inches above the window frame is ideal. Also, ensure that the mounts are wide enough for the curtain to cover the window frame completely when closed. You can position the mounts about 4 to 5inches from each side of the window or door frame to keep them in the blind. Another helpful tip is to mount your curtain rods carefully to level them accurately on either side to avoid slanting of the rod.

Choose treatment & Style

Curtains are not restricted to use only for windows or doors. Just looking at the different settings around us, we see curtains being used as a multi-purpose furnishing. At some indian homes we can see curtains being used to cover shelves and designate or define a particular space. Knowing the curtain’s purpose would help you get on the journey to explore your options quicker.

Understanding the purpose of the curtain will also help you decide the length of the curtain you need for the purpose or occasion. The frequency of using the curtain would help you determine the style for your requirements. For example, curtains used for doors and windows generally are extensively used, choosing an eyelet, pleat, or rod pocket style would ease up moving the curtain swiftly. Choosing the right style of treatments for your needs will help you boil down on other technical aspects that deal with measurement and material.

How to measure?

We may think that getting the height and width of the frame is all there is to the measurements for your home curtains. However, other aspects like header height, rod width, overlap width, frame size, sill width, etc. contribute to the overall understanding of the frame to make an informed decision. Equipping ourselves with a rough sketch of the dimensions of the frame helps us tweak changes to tailor-make out requirements depending on the purpose.

It is better to have an overall outlook of the frame than to just have the basic measures of the height and the width of the frame. Having a record of the sill length, the mounting height from the frame, the width between the finals of the rod will give you enough information to formulate your requirements. Also, when you do record the frame size. It is best to take multiple measurements across the frame as this would help us get an accurate result. Using a metal measuring tape for recording the measurements is another tool that will help you populate accurate results for your recordings.

Sometimes we tend to get lost in thoughts and forget to record our curtain measurements from the right pivotal points. For the height, it is best to record it from the very tip of the rod to the desired drop length, ensuring that you counter the parallax error by recording the measurements from the right height. Alignment errors are quite common when measuring curtain or frame lengths, you will need to watch out for issues with alignment by having another person look at the alignments from afar to record an accurate reading on the tape.

Depending on the length of the curtains that you would like to have, you can map out your requirements. For a sill length curtain, you can exact the curtain’s length to the sill length. For apron length, you can add 8inches to the sill’s height. For floor length curtains it is best to measure from the tip of the rod to the floor and reduce that by an inch. This would help you keep your curtains clean and keep them from accumulating dust and dirt in the process. Another advantage of having floor-length curtains gives you an option to swap out the curtain from windows to rooms in case you want to tweak changes.

Now when it comes to the width of the curtains, the measurements depend on the look, style, and feel you want to go with. An ideal width of the fabric you will be needing is the frame width plus an additional 2/3rd frame width to have a neat gathering at the top. What this essentially means is that you will need to multiply the width of the frame with .66 and add it to the frame width to get the final measurement. However, this again depends on the number of panels you have and the look you want to go with. For fuller curtain fabric, you can double the frame width, and for an even luxurious fullness, you can multiply the frame width to 2.5 to 3times the width of the frame. 

At thoppia, we have made the experience of customizing curtains a walk in the park. You can simply choose the customize option and select from the curtains section that kind of design you want for your home curtains. From the drop-down menu, you can choose the height and width of the fabric you need. We also have an option to choose the header type to make the customizing experience easier. Additionally, you can add a tie back or lining material for your needs and necessities in the same page.