Curtain Fullness – This is the amount of fabric that is used to cover the width of your curtain track or pole. Depending how much flat fabric you have covering your curtain track will mean when it is gathered up you will have more fullness or pleats.
So when deciding how much fullness you require for your window will mean that you will have a different effect. Here is a basic guide to the amount of fullness for standard heading types and location types
Basic Calculation of Curtain Fullness
Fullness = % of Track width.
Track Width + fullness = Total Flat Fabric
Eg Track Width (140cm) + 100% fullness = 280cm
Eg Track Width (140cm) + 50% fullness = 210cm
Heading Styles and Curtain Fullness
Pencil Pleat Curtains & Eyelet Curtains
- A 3 inch or 6 inch pencil pleat heading will normally require 2x the track width or 100% fullness. This add plenty of pleats to a window and as such you will have a luxurious
- An eyelet curtain will usually have 2 x fullness = 100% of the track width.
Pinch Pleat
- A pinch pleat curtain requires more fabric to sew in the pleats as it gathers up tighter. As such you will require 2.5x the track width or 150% fullness.
Types of Curtains
Standard window curtains you will use the guide above to decide on the amount of fabric.
In the case of large stage curtains with a pencil pleat heading the requirement is less. So you will use 1.5x also known as 50% fullness for the curtains. This is to reduce the weight and to have less gather so they may fold back of the stage easier.
Final Point
When deciding on fullness.
Direct Fabrics use 2x fullness for all eyelet and pencil pleat curtains unless stated otherwise and recommend 1.5x fullness for front of house stage curtains.
Direct Fabrics will always round up the widths to the nearest width to avoid wastage.
EG Track width 170cm with Pencil Pleat Curtains (fullness 2x or 100%) = Recommend flat curtain of 340cm.
If using a fabric with a width of 140cm. this would require 2.43 widths of fabric. So Direct Fabrics will use 3 widths of fabric to add more fullness and a better effect.
Where to go next?
Curtains can be confusing so we suggest looking at our full range of curtains. we make to double fullness so you get an incredible finish. We are confident you will love the quality and enjoy buying from our friendly professional team. Check out our hotel curtains range or our flame retardant curtain range.
| Heading Style | Image | Fullness |
|---|---|---|
| Pencil Pleat Heading |  | 2x |
| Eyelet Heading |  | 2x |
| Pinch Pleat |  | 2.5x |
| Wave |  | 2.2x |
| Stage Headings |  | Varying from 1.5 to 2x |
