Ready Made Eyelet Curtains, Lined and Blackout

Every curtain here is ready made and hangs on an eyelet heading, so it comes out of the packet, goes over the pole and is finished the same afternoon. No measuring service, no six-week wait.

Two decisions do most of the work: the colour, which changes the room, and the size, which decides whether it hangs properly or not at all.

Curtains by colour

Curtains are the largest single expanse of fabric in a room, larger than the sofa and usually larger than the rug. Whatever colour they are is the colour the room becomes at the edges.

Pale curtains — cream, beige, natural — let the window keep doing its job. The light comes through the fabric even when they are closed, so the room stays soft rather than going dark, and the wall behind them does not visibly stop.

Deep colours do the opposite. Green, navy and grey frame the window rather than dissolving into it, and they make the glass look like a picture rather than a hole in the wall. They also hide the fading that every curtain gets along its leading edge after a few summers.

The safest test is the wall, not the sofa. Curtains that fight the wall colour are noticeable from the doorway; curtains that fight the sofa are only noticeable from the sofa.

Eyelet curtains

All of these have an eyelet heading: metal rings punched through the top that thread straight onto a pole. There is nothing to attach, no hooks to thread, and nothing to go wrong at the top.

The look is the modern one. Eyelets fall into deep, even, regular waves that stay the same width all the way down, where a gathered heading bunches at the top and flattens towards the hem. That regularity is why eyelet suits plain fabrics and big patterns alike: the pattern stays readable instead of being crumpled into the gathers.

One practical consequence. Eyelet curtains need a pole, not a track, and the pole has to sit high enough for the rings to clear the window when they are open. Fitting the pole a few inches above and wider than the window frame is what makes them look like they were meant for it.

Blackout, thermal and lined curtains

The back of a curtain does more than the front. Three levels run through this collection and they perform very differently.

An unlined curtain is one layer of fabric. It filters light rather than stopping it, it moves easily and it hangs light. Good for a room that does not need to be dark.

A lined curtain has a second fabric behind the first. It blocks considerably more light, protects the face fabric from fading, and hangs with more weight, which is why lined curtains fall straighter.

An interlined curtain has a third soft layer sandwiched between the two. That is what curtain makers use to get the thick, heavy fall you see in old houses, and it also does most of the insulating: a thick curtain across a single-glazed window is one of the cheapest things you can do about a cold room.

Blackout goes further again, with a dedicated blocking layer. It is the answer for a bedroom on a lit street, a shift worker or a child who wakes at five in June. Worth knowing: no curtain blocks the light that comes around the edges, so blackout works best on a pole set wide and high, with generous width.

Curtain sizes

Curtains are sold by width first, then drop. Seven combinations run through the range:

Measure the pole, not the window. Width should be comfortably more than the pole so the curtains gather when closed rather than pulling flat — a curtain that exactly matches the pole looks stretched and lets light through the join.

Drop is measured from the top of the pole to wherever you want them to stop: at the sill, just below it, or at the floor. Sill length suits a radiator underneath. Floor length suits everything else and always looks more expensive, and it is worth going to the floor rather than stopping an awkward few inches short.

Velvet, chenille and cotton curtains

Fabric decides how a curtain hangs, and weight is what separates them.

Velvet is the heaviest and falls in the deepest folds, and it changes colour as the light moves across the pile through the day. It is also the warmest to stand next to. Chenille is softer and slightly textured, with less shine than velvet and more depth than a flat weave. Cotton and linen are lighter and flatter, they crease, and they suit a room where the curtains should not be the loudest thing in it.

Patterned curtains are their own decision. A large print needs the width to be readable, so it works better on the 90in and 132in sizes than squeezed into a 66in pair, and it works better against plain walls than patterned ones.

Ready made or bespoke

Everything on this page is ready made, which means it exists, it is in a packet, and it arrives at a set size. If one of the seven fits your window, it is by some distance the faster and cheaper route.

Bespoke is the answer where the window is an awkward shape, unusually wide, or where you want a specific fabric with a specific heading. We offer that from our Enniskillen showroom rather than online, because it needs the window measured properly and the fabric seen in the light of the room it is going into. It is not something to order from a photograph.

Curtain FAQs

What sizes do ready made curtains come in?

Seven combinations here: widths of 66in, 90in and 132in, with drops of 72in, 90in and 108in. In metric that runs from 168 x 183cm to 335 x 275cm.

How do I measure for curtains?

Measure the pole rather than the window, and choose a width comfortably greater than it so the curtains gather. For the drop, measure from the top of the pole to where you want them to finish — sill, just below, or the floor.

What is the difference between lined and interlined curtains?

A lined curtain has a second fabric behind the face fabric. An interlined one has a third soft layer between them, which makes it heavier, warmer and fuller in the way it hangs.

Do eyelet curtains need a pole?

Yes. The eyelets thread directly onto a pole, so they will not work on a track. Fit the pole higher and wider than the window and they will hang and stack better.

Do you do bespoke curtains?

In our Enniskillen showroom, yes. Online we sell ready made only, because bespoke needs the window measured and the fabric seen in the room.

Which curtains are warmest?

Interlined, by some distance, because the middle layer traps air. A heavy velvet interlined curtain across a single-glazed window makes a noticeable difference to a cold room.