Curtain Fullness and Pleat Type Guide
Fullness is how much wider than the track your fabric is gathered, and it is set by the heading you choose. Pencil pleat and wave sit around two times fullness, a triple pinch pleat around two and a half, eyelet a little less. The heading you pick decides how much fabric you buy.
Fullness ratios by heading
Pick your heading, and its fullness ratio decides how much fabric you buy. These are the standard workroom ratios used by fabric houses and made into the calculator:
| Heading | Fullness | The look |
|---|---|---|
| Pencil pleat | 2.0x | Soft, even gathers from a tape heading. The everyday choice. |
| Pinch / triple pleat | 2.5x | Three folds pinched at the top. Tailored and full. |
| Pinch / double pleat | 2.0x | Two folds. A little flatter and lighter on fabric than triple. |
| Wave / ripplefold | 2.0x | A continuous S-fold on a corded track. Clean and modern. |
| Eyelet / grommet | 1.6x | Rings punched through the top. Even folds, less fabric. |
| Gathered / rod pocket | 1.75x | A slot threaded onto a rod. Casual and soft. |
| Tab top | 1.5x | Loops over the pole. The flattest, most relaxed heading. |
How fullness turns into widths
The calculator multiplies your track width by the fullness, then divides by the usable width of one drop of fabric. Say the track is 200 cm and you choose a triple pinch pleat at 2.5 fullness. That is 500 cm of flat fabric across the top. On a 137 cm roll, after side hems, you need four widths. Switch to eyelet at 1.6 fullness and the same track needs 320 cm of fabric, which is three widths. The heading alone changed the order by a quarter.
Choosing a heading
- Pencil pleat is the safe everyday heading: forgiving, works on a track or a pole, and looks right in most rooms.
- Pinch or triple pleat is the tailored, formal option. It uses the most fabric and looks the most considered.
- Wave suits a modern room and needs a corded track to hold the even S-fold.
- Eyelet is quick to hang and uses less fabric, but it only goes on a pole.
- Gathered and tab top are relaxed, casual headings for lighter rooms and lighter fabric.
Next steps
Once you know your heading and its fullness, put your numbers into the curtain fabric calculator. If your fabric has a design, read pattern repeat explained first, since the repeat adds to every width. Not sure of your measurements yet? Start with how to measure for curtains.
Frequently asked questions
What does fullness mean for curtains?
Fullness is how much wider than the track your flat fabric is, before it is gathered or pleated into the heading. A fullness of 2 means the fabric across the top is twice the track width, so it falls into folds rather than hanging flat. The number is set by the heading you choose.
What fullness should I use for pencil pleat?
About 2 times fullness for pencil pleat. That gives even, well-filled gathers without stiffening the heading. Some workrooms go to 2.25 for a luxurious look or 1.75 to save fabric, but 2 is the standard.
How much fullness does a pinch pleat need?
A triple pinch pleat looks best at about 2.5 times fullness so each pleat has enough fabric to form three crisp folds. A double pinch pleat works at about 2 times. Below that the pleats look starved.
Does more fullness always look better?
Up to a point. More fullness gives deeper, richer folds, but past the heading recommendation it just adds cost and bulk without improving the look, and a very full curtain can be hard to stack back off the window. Match the fullness to the heading and you are safe.