Curtains Buying Guide: How to Choose Made-to-Measure Curtains

Buying curtains is six decisions, and they go in order. First, what the window needs: soft light (sheer), dark (blockout) or both (double). Then the fabric, the heading, the track, which way it opens and how it meets the floor. Get the first one right and the rest are quick. It's a DIY job: you measure, we sew the curtains to your sizes in Australia, and you hang them.

A dining room with white S-fold sheer curtains hanging from the ceiling to the floor behind a round timber table

1. Sheer, blockout or both?

Start with the window, not the fabric. Ask what you want from it at 2 pm and again at 10 pm.

Sheer curtains soften daylight and stop people seeing in during the day. They don't darken a room, and at night with the lights on, people outside can see shapes through them.
Blockout curtains stop light coming through the fabric. A little still creeps round the edges of any curtain, so a ceiling track, a track wider than the window and a hem at the floor do most of the work there.
Double curtains hang a sheer and a blockout on one double track, and each one opens on its own.

A rough rule: a room you sleep in wants blockout, a room you look out of all day wants sheer, and a room you use morning and night usually wants both.

2. One curtain or double curtains?

Double curtains earn their place in bedrooms, in lounge rooms that turn into a TV room at night, and on big windows where you want soft light by day without giving up the dark. The back curtain sits closest to the glass and is usually the blockout, so the sheer in front can stay closed all day. You can swap them round in the designer if you'd rather.

If you only need one job done, one curtain does it and costs less than two. And if you'd like the blockout tight to the glass, a sheer curtain over a blockout roller blind is the other way to get two layers. Our guide to sheer curtains with roller blinds covers that setup.

3. Which fabric?

We make curtains in nine fabric ranges and 108 colours. Six are sheers: HAALUX Aire, Bali, Coco, Homestead, Mykonos and Vevey. Three are blockouts: Galaxy, Soleil and Simplicity. The range sets the weight and the price. The colour is just the colour, so pick the range first.

Linen look: the mill describes Bali, Coco and Homestead as linen-look. They're not linen, and we don't sell a linen curtain.
Plain colours: every colour in the range is a plain colour. There are no prints or velvets.
No lining to add: our blockout is the fabric itself, so there's no separate lining to choose.
Dark or pale: Simplicity runs from White to Black if you want a blockout that frames the window rather than blends in.

Fabric reads differently in your own light than on a screen, sheers most of all. Order free curtain samples (up to 10, posted free) and pin them up at the window. If you're choosing a white, order two or three and compare them against your wall paint. They can look surprisingly different side by side.

4. S-fold or pinch pleat?

The heading is the style at the top of the curtain. We make three, and the heading doesn't change the price, so choose on looks and on the room.

Close-up of a white S-fold sheer curtain hanging in even waves from a white ceiling track

Close-up of a white sheer curtain with a triple pinch pleat heading, the fabric stitched into groups of three folds under a ceiling track

Heading	How it looks	Fabric across the track	Suits
S-fold (wave fold)	One continuous soft wave that stacks back tightly	About twice the track width	Modern homes, sheers and blockouts alike
Double pinch pleat	Neat sewn folds in pairs, falling straight below	About twice	Classic lounge rooms and bedrooms
Triple pinch pleat	Three folds in each group, so it looks fuller	About two and a half times	Formal rooms and heavier fabrics

If you're stuck, S-fold is the easy pick for a modern house with big glass, and a pinch pleat suits an older home or a room with more formal furniture. Read more on S-fold curtains and pinch pleat curtains. For looks to borrow, see our curtain ideas from real Australian homes.

5. Fullness: how much fabric goes in

Fullness is how much fabric goes across the track, as a multiple of the track width. S-fold and double pinch pleat use about twice the track width, and triple pinch pleat about two and a half times. You don't work it out yourself. Enter your track width and we allow for the fabric.

What fullness changes is the look and the stack. More fabric gives deeper, richer folds, and it also means more fabric bunched at the end of the track when the curtain is open. That's why the track should run at least 150 mm past the window frame on each side, so the open curtain sits beside the glass instead of over it.

S-fold curtains also ask for a track flow. Fixed flow holds every wave at the same spacing, so the curtain looks the same each time you close it, and it suits S-fold sheers. Free flow lets the waves hang more loosely.

6. Which track, and where it goes

Every curtain we make comes with its own track, cut to your width, so the heading and the track always match. We don't make curtains for a track or rod you already have.

A white S-fold sheer curtain on a ceiling track, hanging to the floor across a bedroom window

Ceiling (top fit): the cleanest look, and a curtain from the ceiling to the floor makes the room feel taller. Check there's no cornice or bulkhead where the track needs to go.
Wall above the window (face fit): for a ceiling that's too high or sloped, or when you want the curtain to start at the architrave.
Hand-drawn: a residential or designer track in white or black, opened with a wand. The 910 mm wand suits most windows. Go 1,220 or 1,520 mm for a tall drop.
Motorised: a Somfy Movelite battery track with a charger, which needs no electrician, or a hard-wired Somfy Glydea 35e, which never needs charging but needs power run to the window first. Both come with a Situo 1 remote. More on motorised curtains.

7. Which way should it open?

You can have one curtain that stacks to the left or the right, or a pair that opens from the centre. Stack it away from a door, or away from the part of the view you use most. On a sliding door that usually means stacking over the fixed pane, so you can walk straight through when it's open.

A white S-fold sheer curtain on a ceiling track drawn over the fixed glass beside a sliding door, behind a linen sofa

That's how the sheer is set up in the lounge of Better Built Homes' Northwood 54 display home: it covers the fixed glass and leaves the door clear.

8. How long, and how it meets the floor

Our curtain designer is set up for floor-length curtains, and every curtain asks how the hem finishes:

20 mm off the floor: the practical choice. It clears rugs and the vacuum.
Touching the floor: a crisp line, but it needs careful measuring.
Puddled: we add 20 mm to the drop so the fabric breaks softly on the floor.

Then the hem itself. A lead-weight hem is a fine chain sewn into the hem so a sheer hangs dead straight. A 70 mm hem is the classic finish for blockout.

We make curtains from 800 mm to 5,750 mm wide and from 900 mm to 4,000 mm drop. Want a curtain that stops at the sill, or have a drop over 3 m? Call us on 1300 195 797 before you order.

9. Measure, order and hang it yourself

Once you've decided, you need two numbers in millimetres: the track width and the drop from the track to the floor. Our curtain measuring guide takes you through it, and it's a few minutes a window.

Order samples and settle the colour at your window.
Measure the track width and the drop.
Enter them in the designer, choose each option above and watch the price update.
We sew it to your sizes in Australia and dispatch it in 8 to 15 business days.
Fix the track up with the brackets supplied, then hook the curtain on.

The track comes with brackets and instructions. Have a drill, a level and screws and plugs to suit your ceiling or wall, and get a second pair of hands for a long track. If you'd like a second check before we cut anything, the Perfect Fit Guarantee is a paid add-on: we video call you to check your measurements before we make the curtain.

Every curtain has a 5-year warranty, tracks and motors included. If you need new hooks or pendants later, there are curtain spare parts online.

Curtain buying questions

Is S-fold or pinch pleat better?

Neither is better; they suit different rooms. S-fold is the soft modern wave and stacks back tightly. Pinch pleat has sewn folds in pairs or threes and looks more traditional. The heading doesn't change the price.

What curtains should I buy for a bedroom?

Blockout if you want it dark to sleep, or double curtains if you also want soft light and privacy by day. Hang either from a ceiling track that runs at least 150 mm past the frame each side, with the hem at the floor.

Do I need lined curtains?

Not with ours. We don't make lined curtains. You choose a blockout fabric in the designer, and the blockout is the fabric itself, so there's no lining to add.

Do you make eyelet curtains, or curtains for a rod?

No. We make S-fold and pinch pleat curtains, and each one comes with its own track, cut to your width.

Can I hang new curtains on my existing track?

No. We don't make curtains to hang on a track you already have. Your new track can go where the old one was. Plan to fill the old screw holes, as they may not line up with the new brackets.

How long do made-to-measure curtains take?

We dispatch them 8 to 15 business days after you order. Samples post separately and never hold up an order.

Design your curtains

Pick each option and see the price as you go. You measure, we sew it to your sizes in Australia, you hang it.

Subscribe for new fabrics and install tips.

One email a month: new fabrics, install tips, the occasional honest before/after.
No spam, no daily-deal noise.

It’s never too early to consider window furnishings when you’re planning on renovating or building. Our expert team of design consultants can help create unique solutions and seamless designs and even quote directly off your house plans.