Pinch Pleat Curtains Are Timeless
Window treatment Ideas

What's so great about pinch pleat curtains and why do I recommend them as one of my favorite window treatment styles.

Before I go into what it is I like about them so much. I think I should make clear what I mean by pinch pleated drapes or curtains.

These are window treatment styles that have a stiffener in the curtain header (called buckram as the photo just below). This is either sewn or pressed in to the top of the curtain panel.

Then either two or three pleats are created by folding the curtain header to create the desired pleats.

These pleats are then sewn in place with usually a five inch space before the next pinch pleat is formed and sewn into place again. This is repeated right the way across the curtain panel.

This creates the classic timeless look on the top of the pinch pleat curtains. However a very important point to mention is that:

this window treatment style is NOT adjustable.

Bear in mind that they are made to fit your windows exactly. So you can't move them onto wider windows in the future.

Also because they are custom made window treatments they are obviously not cheap window treatments. They will definately cost more than regular ready made drapes such as rod pocket drapes or pencil pleat curtains.

So for most people buying this kind of window treatment is not something you would do on a whim. It's more like buying a piece of furniture for the room such as a dining room suite or a good bed.

How To Hang Curtains Like These ?

When it comes to pinch pleated curtains you will need what are called pin hooks to hang them with (see the image below).

These are zinc metal curtain hooks that pierce the fabric and the buckram at the top of the back of the curtain panel.

You have to push a hook in right next to each pleat being careful not to push the pin of the hook right through to the front of your pinch pleat drapes.

In most cases when pushed in to the top of the curtain header next to each pinch pleat. The top of your pin hook should be about a 1/4 inch down from the top of the curtain header.

Then you place the pin hook through the little eyelet that is attached to the curtain ring on your rod.

Heavy Duty Drapery Pin on Hooks

This is the height for this style of curtain to hang. I recommend you don't put the pin hooks lower down in the buckram heading on your curtain panel. Otherwise the curtain will hang in front of the rod and the pinch pleats will tilt over.

This just makes the curtains look untidy as the spaces between the pleat have to fold forward between the pleats. Rather than folding back under the curtain rod leaving just your pinch pleats decorating the top of the curtains. Also another problem you will have is that they won't open and close smoothly.

Below is a picture of these pinch pleated draperies I hung from a brass curtain rod. Below this window treatment picture are the reasons I like these kind of window treatment styles:

The Reasons I Like Pinch Pleated Draperies