If This Is Your First Made-to-Measure Curtain Purchase

If you’re used to buying ready-made curtains, the price of made-to-measure curtains can come as a bit of a surprise — particularly when you’re buying curtains for a large bay window.

Ready-made curtains are mass produced. Thousands of pairs can be made using the same fabric, lining, heading style and a limited range of standard sizes.

With made-to-measure curtains, your pair may be completely unique. You’ve chosen the fabric, the lining, the heading style and the finished size, and the curtains are being made specifically to those requirements.

Bay window curtains can also be considerably larger than a typical pair of ready-made curtains because they need to cover the full length of the track as it follows the shape of the bay.

So don’t be surprised by the price difference — you’re buying a very different product.

Why Do Prices Vary So Much Between Curtain Companies?

Once you start comparing made-to-measure curtain companies, you’ll probably notice a very wide range of prices.

That doesn’t necessarily mean one company is expensive and another is cheap for exactly the same thing.

Different businesses offer different fabric ranges, making options and levels of service. Broadly speaking, most online made-to-measure curtain companies fall into a few different groups.

More Affordable, Streamlined Curtain Makers

At the more affordable end of the market, you’ll often find curtain companies offering mainly their own fabric ranges and a relatively streamlined set of curtain options.

The curtains are often made using highly organised large-scale production, which helps keep manufacturing costs and selling prices lower.

You may have fewer choices over some of the finer making details, but that doesn’t automatically mean you’re getting poor curtains.

If you find a fabric you like and you’re happy with the heading, lining and standard making options offered, this type of supplier can represent very good value.

Mid-Market Made-to-Measure Curtain Companies

Move further up the market and you’ll usually find a wider choice of fabrics, including more recognised fabric brands, together with more options over how the curtains are made and finished.

For example, you may be offered options such as hand-sewn side hems or weights in the bottom hem to help the curtains hang.

You may also find a broader choice of linings, interlining and heading styles.

This is a good place to look if you want more control over the finished curtains without moving into the very top end of the interior design market.

Premium and Interior-Design-Led Curtain Companies

At the top end of the market you’ll find businesses offering designer fabric collections, specialist curtain making and a much more personal level of service.

These companies may work closely with interior designers or provide design advice themselves, and the curtains may be made in specialist workrooms rather than through a highly standardised production process.

If you’re looking for a particular designer fabric, specialist making or a very personal service, this may be the right route.

But you don’t automatically need to move to this end of the market to get good made-to-measure curtains.

So Which Type of Curtain Company Should You Choose?

I’d start with the things that actually matter to you rather than starting with the company name.

Ask yourself:

• Do they have a fabric I genuinely like?
• Do they offer the curtain heading I want?
• Are the lining and interlining options suitable for my fabric?
• Do I care about extra making details such as hand-sewn hems or curtain weights?
• Are their measuring instructions clear?
• Do I feel confident about placing the order with them?
• Am I happy with the final price for the curtains I’m actually getting?

The cheapest company isn’t automatically the best value, and the most expensive company isn’t automatically the best choice for you.

The aim is to find the level of fabric choice, making quality, options and service that you actually value.

Online Curtain Maker or Local Curtain Maker?

There’s also no rule saying made-to-measure curtains have to be bought online.

An online curtain maker can offer a large choice, straightforward ordering and competitive prices, particularly if you’re happy taking your own measurements.

A local curtain maker may offer a more personal service and may be able to help with measuring, fabric choices and the finer details of how the curtains are made.

Neither route is automatically better. It really comes down to how much of the process you want to handle yourself and how much personal help you want along the way.

What About the Curtain Track for Your Bay Window?

If you’re buying made-to-measure curtains for a bay window, don’t be surprised if the curtain company doesn’t also offer a custom-made bay window curtain track.

Many curtain companies concentrate on making the curtains. Some may also offer bendable tracks that are supplied straight and shaped to the bay during fitting, while genuinely custom-made bay tracks are a much more specialised product.

Your curtain maker and curtain track supplier don’t have to be the same company.

You can choose the curtain company because you like their fabrics and the way they make their curtains, then choose the bay track separately based on the type of track you want your new curtains hanging from.

My Advice

I wouldn’t try to find one company simply because they appear to offer everything.

Choose your curtain maker based on the curtains you want — the fabric, lining, heading, making options, service and price.

Then treat the bay window curtain track as a separate buying decision.

If one company happens to offer exactly what you want for both, that’s fine. But don’t compromise on the curtains or the track simply because they come from the same place.