Curtains are made to the measurements you give us, so the measurements have to be right. This page walks through them in order: what to measure, when to measure it, and why each figure matters.
Work through it with a steel tape, a step ladder and somewhere to write the numbers down. Do not measure a window with a fabric tape, as it stretches and will quietly cost you an inch.
Step 1. What is already fitted?
This is the first question because it changes everything that follows.
A pole or track is already up. Good. The curtain is measured from the hardware, not from the window. Check first that the hardware is straight, secure and where you actually want it, because you are about to commit to it.
Nothing is fitted yet. Then the hardware decision comes first. You cannot size a curtain until you know where the pole or track will sit, how far it will extend past the window and how high above the frame it will go. Decide that, then measure.
You are replacing the hardware as well. Treat it as nothing fitted. Do not measure from the old pole if the new one will sit somewhere different.
Step 2. What kind of window?
Straight windows are the simple case: one width, one drop, two curtains or one.
Bays need each section measured separately, along with the angles where they meet, and they need a hardware system designed to turn corners. They are the window most often measured wrongly, so read mistakes people make measuring bay windows before you start.
French and bifold doors bring a different problem. The curtains have to clear the opening completely when drawn back, or they will foul the doors every time you use them. That usually means more wall each side than you first think.
Anything else, including arched heads, ceilings that slope, windows out of square and radiators or window seats under the sill, is worth a conversation before you order.
Step 3. Measure the width
If the hardware is up, measure the pole or track itself, not the window. On a pole, measure between the finials, since the curtain runs on the section between them. On a track, measure the full length the gliders can travel.
If nothing is fitted, measure the window recess or frame width first, then decide how far past it the hardware should extend on each side. That overhang is what lets the open curtains sit clear of the glass instead of blocking the daylight. The guide to measuring for a curtain pole covers how to judge it.
The width you order is not the width you measure. Curtains are made wider than the pole so the fabric gathers when closed, and how much wider depends on the heading. Give us the pole or track width and we apply the fullness: the finished curtain width is 2.5 times that measurement for pencil pleat and pinch pleat, 2.2 times for wave, and twice the measurement for eyelet and tab top. If you want a fuller or a flatter curtain than that, say so on the order and we will make to it.
Step 4. Measure the drop
Measure from the point the curtain actually hangs from, which is rarely the pole itself.
On a pole with rings, measure from the bottom of the ring, since that is where the hook sits.
On a pole with eyelet curtains, measure from the top of the pole, because the fabric rises above it.
On a track, measure from the bottom of the glider.
Then decide where the curtain finishes. Below the sill is the usual choice for a window with a radiator or a deep sill under it. To the floor is the usual choice everywhere else, and it is worth measuring the drop at both ends of a wide window, because floors are not always level.
Floor length curtains need a decision about how they meet the floor, and it changes the finished drop, so say which you want. As standard we finish a floor-length curtain 1 to 1.5cm above the floor, so it clears it and moves freely. For a puddled finish that breaks on the floor, add 5 to 15cm to the floor-length drop depending on how much of a break you want.
At a sill the usual choices are to finish 1cm above the sill, or 15cm below it. Below the sill is the safer look where there is a radiator underneath.
Step 5. Decide the layout
A pair is the default and suits most windows. A single curtain drawing to one side suits narrow windows, doors, and windows where there is only wall on one side to stack onto.
Think about the stack, the space the curtains occupy when fully open. If you want the glass clear in the daytime, the hardware needs to run wide enough that the open curtains sit mostly on the wall. This is the reason wide, heavy curtains want more overhang than narrow, light ones.
Step 6. Write it all down
Before you order, you should have this list on paper:
- What hardware is fitted, or what you plan to fit
- The window type, and each section separately if it is a bay
- The measured width of the pole, track, or window and intended overhang
- The drop, measured from the correct point, at both ends if the window is wide
- Where the curtain should finish in relation to the sill or the floor
- A pair or a single curtain, and which side a single draws to
- The heading and lining you have chosen
- Anything in the way: radiators, window seats, sloping ceilings, alarm sensors
Work in centimetres throughout, since that is what we make to, and record each figure to the nearest centimetre. Give the width first and the drop second, keep the sections of a bay in order from one end to the other, and measure everything twice.
Have your measurements checked
Made-to-measure curtains are cut to the sizes you supply, so it is worth having them looked over before you order, particularly on a bay, a door or an unusual window.
Send them to us with a free design consultation and we will go through them with you, along with the heading and lining, before anything is made. If you would rather just ask a question, contact us with the numbers you have.
For measuring the hardware itself, the measuring guide covers poles and tracks in more detail. When your figures are settled, take them to made-to-measure curtains.