I would go for a fuller width for pencil pleat. You are only 0.08 into the max fullness so would be fine.

Good luck for your project!

Kind regards

Cindy 

Hi Su

The only way this will work is if you cut down the face fabric to the same width as interlining, otherwise you will have to adda section on to each outside edge of interring.

Regards

Cindy

We would make both pairs of curtains to have the same pleat/space ratio otherwise they will not look good.1.85 fullness is not enough.  We would order enough fabric (2.48 ratio) for the second pair so you can cut the width down to 2.2 fullness ratio.

The calculator doesn't calculate for wave headings

You join  half drop pattern repeat using the full width of the fabric, but it does require a different calculation and method of cutting the drops so they match. We have written an article HERE

Hi Amanda

We have not made a wave tutorial as yet. The process for making a wave curtains is different so I do not think that any of the instructions are quite what you are after.

Cindy

Hi Sabina

You need to work out your fabric cut drop, how many widths you are using and know the full pattern repeat measurement.  Then use our half drop PR fabric CALCULATOR

There is more info on half drop pattern repeats HERE

Looking at your figures you have rounded down the number of widths. This makes it one width per curtain (2 widths total) and gives you a fullness ratio of 1.45 . This is the wrong option and will result in far too thin, skimpy curtains. If you untick the round down number of widths box and do the standard calculation you will see the result is 3 widths (1.5 width per curtain) and a fullness ratio of 2.207 which is perfect.

If you look at the results further the fabric qty is now 8.7m, your fabric cut drop is 176cm but your adjusted cut drop is 261cm (3 pattern repeats). This is because you have just gone into the next pattern repeat. 2 pattern repeats are 174cm. For the extra 2cm needed on each drop you are having to buy an extra 2.6m of fabric. In this case we would consult a customer how they feel about reducing the fabric hem to a double 7cm hem (reducing it by 2cm)  to save 2.6m fabric costs.  That would give a fabric cut drop of 174cm and adjusted cut drop 174cm and quite by coincidence makes the fabric qty 6.1m. In this case we would also reduce the lining to a double 5cm hem to match.

There are  a couple of risks having the adjusted cut drop exactly the same as the fabric cut drop in that you have no trimming allowance and you are relying on the actual pattern repeat on the fabric being exactly the same as the figure given. Hope that helps a bit.

Hi Sarah

Good question but it really depends on what look you are trying to achieve, and the amount of work you want to put in. Interlining does not replace blackout and will make very little difference to the amount of light passing through the curtain. So, if you wish to achieve a darker room, then you will have to use blackout. Whether or not you wish to interline the curtains?- this is a personal design choice. If you do, then use blackout as you would lining in the tutorials. The only difference is that, when joining blackout panels, I do not press the seam open, just fold it to one side when laying it on the fabric panels.

Good luck with your project. Cindy

The fullness of a curtain is generally decided by the heading type. Pencil pleat requires 2.5 x fullness to look good and does not stack back as tidily as hand pleated headings whereas, if you double pleated the curtains, you could get away with less fullness and the stack back will be smaller and tidier. Possibly consider 2 x fullness hand double pleat and work out pleat and space sizes in advance, trimming down the panels to the required width.

Whether or not you line the curtains is a personal choice but I would recommend that you do.

Good luck with your project.

Cindy

Hi Caroline

So with a curtain pole width of 150cm, a 2.5 fullness ratio will 2.7 widths total. In my opinion, going down to 1.8 fullness ratio will make the curtains too skimpy for pencil pleat. I have learnt that pencil pleat header works best with a 2.5 fullness ratio. So you have a couple of options…

- Chop down you widths so that you have the correct fullness ratio…..using a full width and approx 45 cm from the second width on each curtain. The left over could be used for cushions.

- Choose a different header that could work with a smaller fullness ratio. You could double pleat but even then, the fullness ratio is at the bare minimum of what I would recommend.

Good luck with your project.

Cindy 

Assuming it is a standard pattern repeat fabric and not a half drop pattern repeat.

You will need one extra pattern repeat to position the pattern for the first pair of curtains.

If you are placing the pattern in the same position on the second pair you will not need an extra pattern repeat for placing the pattern because the cut line will be in the right position when you start to cut those drops (after cutting the drops for the first curtain). This is the case even if your Adjusted Cut Drop (ACD) is different on the second pair (second pair is a different length), because the ACD is a number of whole pattern repeats, so will always start and end at the same place in the pattern.

If you are placing the pattern in a different position on the second pair you will need to add an extra pattern repeat calculating the qty for the second pair to allow for this.

I'm sorry the calculator only does cm at the moment. We are metric, if you were working in inches would you expect the  fractions less than one inch to be shown in decimal format eg 0.25 or fraction format eg 1/4 when entering figures and the results to be shown.

it is not a 2 to 5 it is 2.5. That means your flat curtain panel is 2.5 times wider than the pleated curtain . The fullness ratio effectively determines how full your curtains are going to be. There is information on this in our curtain making tutorials

 Thanks for the feedback the page was initially designed for desktop and the info pops up when you hover over it. You dont get a hover with a touch screen it just clicks (we should have thought about that). We will remove those very shortly and add an expaliner video instead.

Hi Marry

I'm afraid we don't make calculations for people.

We would use 5 widths. We will be adding advanced instructions shortly explaining how you cut panels to the width you need to get and exact fullness ratio which also leads on how to pleat to pattern repeat. 

What figures are you using that give the 2 results?

It means "Not a Number". This is caused when you don't enter numbers only into the entry fields or enter non sensical numbers.

Hi Sharon

Your question is a really interesting one as you are right on the cusp of the 5th width. Based on double pleat.

With a hand pleated heading, you can vary the size of pleats and spaces to get your required pleated width so there is flexibility on your pleat/ space ratio once you have worked out your fabric amounts based on your required fullness ratio.

As you are on the cusp of the 5th width, here are a few things to consider when deciding to go into the next width or not…

- You would not require a full half width so the pleat/spaces would be calculated first to get to the correct flat panel width and then cut down to the required size.

- As you are not using the full extra width, there will be significant wastage If the fabric is expensive, do you want the extra cost and be left with excess fabric (could make cushions?)

- The extra lining and interlining needed to go marginally into that extra width?

- The extra work involved in the extra fabric. It may not sound a lot but manoeuvring the extra fabric, lining and interlining gets tricker with every cm, particularly if you do not have a suitable space to make them on such as a worktable. 

Having a quick look at your measurements, here are the options…

- To add in a trim, I create a 2 cm inverted fold along the leading edge, tack the trim in place, tack the inverted fold closed around the trim and then machine stitch in place making sure you have your 5cm side fold extending beyond the trim. Then machine stitch closed. This will take 4 cm off your panel width.

  . . . . . . 

-  2 widths gives you a flat panel of approx 256cm (minus your 5 cm side turns and the 4cm allowance for trim insertion)

- Your pole is 240cm, divide by 2 = 120cm (I add on 10% for ease and overlap). This now gives you a pleated width of 132cm (and leaving you 124 cm to pleat - just under the 2 x fullness)

- Taking returns and overlap of 7cm each side of curtain panel, you would end up with 12 pleats of 10.3 cm and 11 spaces of 10.7cm.

- Alternatively, 10 pleats of 12.4 cm and 9 spaces of 13.1 cm (better if using thick interliner)

- If you are unsure which would look better, I suggest making a mock up to see which you prefer but I think the 10 pleats option would be preferable.

BUT, if you wish to go into the extra width you will need to work out your pleat/ space ration in advance and cut the panel down to your required width. When deciding which is the best option, I would consider the factors mentioned above before you make your decision. To get an ideal pleat /space ratio of 12 cm, the fabric width requirement would be 2.1. Is it worth going into the extra width for such a small amount of fabric that would end up in a a lot more work, fabric, lining, interlining for the sake of either 2 cm on each pleat or minus 1 cm on each space?

In the workroom, I make this kind of decision in conjunction with my customer. With a really expensive fabric, the added increase in cost is definitely something to consider. I know that I’m a keen believer on not skimping on fabric amounts but I do not see the 10 pleat option as a compromise that would affect the finished look of the curtains. Once you get a difference in pleat space / ratio of over 1 cm, that’s when I would round up to next width.

Good luck and I hope that this fully explains the options. Send us a pic once they are made, we’d love to see!

Kind regards

Cindy

Generally we use an extra 20 to 30cm to each side for the pole width, depending on heading type, interlined/lined etc. If it is a really wide window with thick curtains you may need more.

Of course that can happen. We would probably not add the trimming allowance as you will have to add an extra 53cm to each drop. (that could add up to a lot of extra fabric). Instead we would make up carefully and if we did loose a bit to trimming, we would reduce the fabric in the hem to compensate. 

Sheers need a bit more fabric for the sides as we make them with a double fold at the side. This fabric calculator is not for sheers.

The calculator is based on the making methods and calculations in the tutorials on the website. The length of buckram is the pre pleated curtain panel width plus 10cm each side. The depth of the buckram affects the amount of fabric required. On a lined curtain the fabric folds back over the buckram and is folded under the bottom. Yes the calculator adds on the 2cm.

You need to enter how deep the buckram will be on the curtain. 

It's the vertical pattern repeat that you need when calculating the fabric quantity.

If you go to STEP 3 of one of our lined curtained curtain tutorials, it gives a full explaination of how you calculate for plain fabric and patterned fabric.

You need an adjusted cut drop with a pattern because you can't cut patterned fabric just anywhere and then expect the 2 panels to match up inline along side each other. There is a FREE video on the STEP 3 page that explains what an adjusted cut drop is and why you need one.

I think the calculator is correct in the calculation, but what we have here is the fact that the cut drop is just going into the next pattern repeat so if you make the cut drop 1cm shorter you can save a lot of fabric.

You are doing what we would do but you are not making the same calculation as the calculator which is making the strict calculation (it doesn't look at reducing allowances to save fabric). That is really for people who know how to make their own calculations and can make judgements to adjust allowances if there is a lot of fabric to be saved. 

What the calculator is doing is

Cut drop = Curtain length + Heading allowance + Hem allowance + (no trimming allowance as pattern fabric)

= 272 + 15 +20  =   307cm


The adjusted cut drop is cut drop divided by pattern repeat, then that answer rounded up to the next whole pattern repeat.

= 307 / 34 = 9.02   (strictly rounding up = 10) 

therefore adjusted cut drop = 10 x 34 = 340cm

Now in reality we would look at that and think another pattern repeat for the sake of 1cm is not worth the extra cost of all the fabric that would be needed as there are 7 drops. (7 x 34 = 2.38m of extra fabric) so we would say lets reduce the inner fold on the hem by 1cm and that will give us a cut drop of 306cm, that is exactly 9 pattern repeats so the adjusted cut drop is now

9 x 34 = 306cm

The information to make these judgements is there in the answers of the calculator, Eg  Cut drop, Adjusted Cut Drop, Heading, Hem and Trimming Allowances. It is a judgement you as the maker have to make though and is what you have done in your calculation. So in summary the calculator is strictly right, but we would have done it the same way as you and gone for an ACD of 306cm instead of 340cm to save a lot of fabric.

Note you can get caught out doing this sometimes when the actual pattern repeat when you measure it on the fabric comes out a bit longer than that given by the manufacturer.

The adjusted cut drop is a whole number of pattern repeats so will always be longer than the cut drop or on rare occasions the same. The calculator gives you the option to add one pattern repeat to the total (NOT one pattern repeat per drop) to position the pattern on the curtains.

What figures are you putting in to think it is adding an extra pattern repeat.

Yes note 8 on the calculator assumptions tells you it assumes the lining and fabric are similar widths. The standard width of fabric is usually 137 to 140cm.

Whether you decide to cut the fabric down to the lining or add more lining will depend on how that will affect your fullness ratio, which will make it nearer the ideal and nearer your ideal pleat size and spacing.