Curtain fullness and headings
The heading is the top of the curtain, and it decides both the look and how much fabric you need. Here is each common heading and the fullness ratio to plan for.
What fullness means
Fullness is how much wider the flat fabric is than the pole it covers. At fullness 2, a 200 cm pole carries 400 cm of fabric, gathered into folds. Below about 1.5 the folds look mean; above about 2.5 the curtain gets heavy and the pole crowded. More fullness means more fabric, more weight and a richer look.
The headings
| Heading | Fullness | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Pencil pleat | 2 to 2.5 | Tight, even gathers from a pull-up tape. The classic taped heading, works on poles and tracks, forgiving to sew. |
| Pinch (triple) pleat | 2.2 to 2.5 | Hand-finished groups of three pleats. Tailored and formal, needs pleat hooks, uses the most fabric. |
| Eyelet | 1.75 to 2 | Metal rings punched through the heading, sliding straight onto a pole. Modern, even soft folds. Needs an even number of eyelets per curtain, and only works on poles. |
| Tab top | 1.5 to 2 | Fabric loops over the pole. Casual and simple to sew, but the tabs drag, so best for curtains that rarely move. |
| Wave | 2 to 2.2 | A continuous S-curve on a special glider track. Contemporary, hotel-look, the track does the shaping. |
| Flat panel | 1 to 1.2 | Barely gathered, hangs like a screen. Minimal fabric, minimal fuss, suits bold prints you want seen flat. |
Choosing between them
If in doubt, pencil pleat: it suits nearly every room, hides small errors, and the tape does the gathering for you. Choose eyelet or wave for a modern room and generous fabric folds, pinch pleat for a formal one, and flat panels when the fabric itself is the show. Whatever you choose, set the matching fullness in the curtain calculator and it will do the rest of the math.
Common questions
- What fullness do eyelet curtains need?
- Between 1.75 and 2 times the pole width. Eyelets force the fabric into even columns, so they still look full at slightly lower fullness than pleated headings. Keep the eyelet count per curtain even so both edges turn toward the wall.
- Which curtain heading uses the least fabric?
- Flat panels, at little more than the pole width. Among gathered headings, tab tops and eyelets are the most economical, pinch pleats the hungriest.
- Can I use eyelet curtains on a track?
- No, eyelets need a pole to thread onto. Tracks suit pencil pleat, pinch pleat and wave headings.