Why Fit the Curtain Track First?

When you order made-to-measure curtains, the curtain maker will normally ask you for the width of your curtain track or pole and the finished curtain drop you require.

If your track is already fitted, both measurements become much easier to establish accurately.

You aren’t trying to estimate how long the finished track will be, exactly where it will sit or how far it will extend at each side of the window.

You simply measure from the track that’s actually going to carry your new curtains.

This Is Particularly Important for Bay Windows

With a straight window, it’s sometimes possible to make a reasonably good estimate of the finished curtain track width before the track is fitted.

A bay window is different because the track follows the shape of the bay.

It may run around several sides and bends and, depending on the installation, continue out of the bay onto the return walls.

Simply measuring straight across the front of the bay won’t tell you the finished track width.

Once the bay track is fitted, you can measure along the actual route the curtains are going to travel.

You Will Know the Exact Finished Track Width

Most online curtain order forms will ask you to enter something along the lines of “track or pole width”.

When the track is fitted, this measurement is straightforward. Measure the curtain track from end to end, following it around the complete shape of the bay.

You don’t need to make an allowance for the fullness or gather in the curtains. Your curtain maker uses the track width you provide to calculate the amount of fabric required for your chosen heading.

If your track has a centre overlap or overlap arm, that may also need to be included when calculating the curtain width.

Trying to work all of this out before the bay track exists introduces uncertainty that simply isn’t necessary.

Ordering Pinch Pleat Curtains? I Would Definitely Fit the Track First

If you’re planning to order double or triple pinch pleat curtains, I would be even more cautious about ordering them before your bay track is fitted.

Unlike a pencil pleat heading, where the finished curtain width can be adjusted, a pinch pleat heading is made to a much more specific finished width.

Once those pleats have been made into the curtains, you don’t have the same flexibility to simply gather the heading a little more or a little less to suit the finished track.

If you’ve estimated the track width before fitting it, you therefore run a much greater risk of your finished curtains being either too wide or too narrow for the track.

For pinch pleat curtains, I’d consider fitting the bay track and measuring its finished width before ordering the curtains an essential part of the process.

Measuring the Curtain Drop Is Easier Too

Fitting the track first also gives you a definite starting point for measuring the finished curtain length.

If the track is ceiling fitted, you know exactly where it sits in relation to the ceiling, sill, radiator or floor.

If it’s wall fitted, you know its actual fitted height rather than relying on where you expect the brackets and track to finish.

This becomes particularly useful when you’re trying to achieve a precise finished length, such as curtains that just clear the floor, sill or top of a radiator.

A difference of only a centimetre or two in the track position can make the same difference to the finished position of your curtains.

It Also Lets You See the Bay Properly Before Ordering the Curtains

There’s another advantage that isn’t purely about measurements.

Once the curtain track is fitted, you can stand back and see exactly where the curtains are going to hang.

You can see where the track starts and finishes, whether it returns onto the side walls and how the curtains will sit when they’re open and closed.

That can make decisions about curtain length, heading style and how you want the finished curtains to look much easier.

You’re making those decisions around the finished installation rather than trying to imagine it beforehand.

Will Waiting for the Track Delay My New Curtains?

Probably not by as much as you might think.

Made-to-measure curtains will often take around 3 to 6 weeks to be made and delivered. A made-to-measure bay window curtain track can usually be made and delivered in around a week.

So waiting until your new track arrives and is fitted before placing the curtain order may only add around a week to the overall project.

For me, that’s a week worth waiting.

Once the track is fitted, you can take the curtain width and drop measurements from something that actually exists rather than working from estimates of where the track will eventually sit.

That extra week at the beginning could save you a lot of heartache later if you’re ordering an expensive pair of made-to-measure curtains.

What If I Want to Order the Curtains Before the Track Is Fitted?

Sometimes there may be a practical reason why you want to get the curtain order underway before the track has been fitted.

That’s possible, but I’d be more cautious about finalising the curtain measurements.

If you already know the exact track you’re buying and its finished position and dimensions can be established accurately, you may be able to work from those measurements.

But for a bay window, I wouldn’t recommend estimating the finished track width or curtain drop simply to get the curtain order placed a little earlier.

Made-to-measure curtains can be an expensive purchase, and once they’re being made to the measurements you’ve supplied, changing those measurements may not be possible.

If you have the option of waiting until the track is fitted, I’d wait.

Track First, Curtains Second

For me, this is the simplest way to approach a bay window.

Choose your curtain track, get it fitted and then take the measurements for your made-to-measure curtains from the finished installation.

You’ll know the actual track width, its exact fitted height and where the curtains will start and finish.

It turns several measurements you would otherwise have to predict into measurements you can simply take.