A Guide to Hanging a Curtain with a Tape Header

You’ve measured, chosen designs and ordered your curtains.   

Now comes the exciting part – putting them up! 

If your curtains have been made with a 2” or 3” pencil heading tape, follow this easy step-by-step guide to get the perfect finish. 

Lay out your curtains on a table or over an ironing board with the front of the curtain facing down. Tape side up. 

Gather the cords at one end of the curtain at the inner edge, and tie them evenly in a simple knot. If you have a pair of curtains tie both inner edges (This is usually the edge without a label).   

At the outer edge of the curtain (where the label is) hold all the cords together and gently pull them, pushing the tape evenly as you pull, to gather the curtain. When the curtain reaches the required width, either the width of the track/pole or half of the track/pole if having a pair, knot the cords together but do NOT cut them. 

Evenly space the gather across the whole of the curtain. Once happy, use a cord tidy or wind the cords up and pop at the end of the heading Tape. 

Count the number of gliders you have on the track and place a curtain hook in the woven pocket (not the cords) at equal distances across the curtain to match the count of gliders. If you have a pole you will need the same amount of curtain hooks to rings, equally spaced apart. 

Some tracks have gliders with a hook already attached. These need to be placed evenly across the curtain, in the woven pocket, usually 1 every 10cm. The Curtains can then be placed onto the track. Ensure you leave one pocket on the outer edge for the end stop. 

If using a curtain pole, ensure the last ring sits between the bracket and the finial.   This will act as an anchor to stop the curtains creeping to the centre of the pole when drawn. If your curtains are slightly fuller than you would like, you can leave more than one ring in this space. They will still look nicely dressed when open. 

They may need a bit of tweaking and dressing once they are hung. 

That’s the hard work finished, now sit down with a cuppa and admire! 

Tips: 

If your curtains are sagging between hooks, add more hooks closer together. 10cm (3 to 4 pocket spaces) is ideal. This may mean you will have to purchase more than the standard quantity available with your track/pole. 

2.5 - 3x fullness will give you a tighter, better-looking gather on lighter-weight fabrics.