What Does Interlining Do?

The additional layer gives the finished curtain more body and substance.

This can be particularly useful when the main curtain fabric is relatively lightweight. Rather than the lining dominating the construction of the curtain, the interlining helps build up the body of the finished curtain.

It can also give the finished curtains a fuller, more luxurious appearance.

Interlining Works Particularly Well With Silk

If you’re choosing real or faux silk curtains, interlining is an option I’d seriously consider.

Silk-style fabrics can be relatively light and may look a little flimsy when they’re made into a large curtain with just a standard lining.

Even adding blackout lining doesn’t necessarily solve the problem in quite the same way.

A blackout lining can be considerably heavier than a lightweight face fabric. You can then end up with a curtain where much of the weight is coming from the lining rather than the fabric you actually see.

Adding interlining between the two gives the lighter face fabric more body and helps create a more substantial finished curtain.

What About Printed Cotton Curtains?

Interlining can also work very well with cotton print fabrics.

A cotton print isn’t normally as lightweight as a silk-style fabric, so interlining isn’t necessarily something you need.

However, adding it can give the finished curtains more body and create a heavier, more luxurious appearance.

So with a cotton print, I’d think of interlining more as a choice about how you want the finished curtains to look and feel rather than something the fabric necessarily requires.

Does Interlining Make Curtains Warmer?

Yes, interlining does add another insulating layer to your curtains, but I wouldn’t choose it for that reason alone.

With a lightweight face fabric, the additional layer can be useful because it adds both body and some extra insulation to what would otherwise be a relatively light curtain.

However, if you’ve chosen a medium-weight curtain fabric and you’re already having it made with a blackout lining, you’ve already created a fairly substantial curtain.

Adding interlining as well is unlikely to give you enough additional insulation to justify the extra weight simply for that reason.

And with naturally heavy fabrics such as velvet, damask or chenille, there’s even less reason to add interlining purely for warmth.

So I’d think of the insulating benefit as a useful extra when interlining already makes sense for your chosen fabric — rather than a reason on its own to add interlining to every pair of curtains.

Do Heavy Curtain Fabrics Need Interlining?

Usually, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Fabrics such as velvet, damask and chenille already have plenty of thickness and weight of their own.

Add a lining — particularly a blackout lining — and the finished curtains can already become quite substantial.

Adding another layer of interlining on top of that can make the finished curtains unnecessarily heavy.

Remember That All This Weight Has to Hang From Something

This is something that’s very easy to overlook when choosing curtain options on a website.

The more layers you add to a curtain, the heavier the finished pair becomes. With large curtains for a bay window, that additional weight can become significant.

That weight isn’t just being carried by the curtain track. It’s ultimately being transferred through the track brackets and fixings into your wall or ceiling.

Very heavy curtains also place more strain on the track every time they’re opened and closed.

Making an already heavy curtain even heavier isn’t necessarily an upgrade.

Over time, excessive weight can place unnecessary strain on the track and its fixings and increase the possibility of brackets or fixings starting to work loose.

So, Do I Need Curtain Interlining?

I’d make the decision based primarily on the face fabric you’ve chosen.

For lightweight fabrics such as real or faux silk: I’d seriously consider interlining because the additional layer can give the fabric much more body.

For cotton print fabrics: it’s more of an optional upgrade. It can create a more substantial and luxurious finished curtain, but it isn’t necessarily required.

For heavier fabrics such as velvet, damask or chenille: I’d normally leave the interlining out. The face fabric already has plenty of substance and adding another layer can simply make the finished curtains unnecessarily heavy.

The aim isn’t to add as many layers as possible. It’s to choose the combination of face fabric, lining and interlining that works well together.