What is the best fabric for curtains?
Updated
There is no single best fabric for curtains. The best one suits the room and the care you will give it. Sheer fabric gives soft daylight, blockout (blackout) gives a dark room, polyester stands up to sun better than many fabrics, and linen and velvet give texture but need more care. See a large sample at home first.
How do I choose curtain fabric?
Work through four questions, in this order.
- How much light and privacy do you need? A sheer softens daylight but gives no privacy at night with the lights on. A blockout (blackout) fabric or lining stops light passing through the cloth.
- How strong is the sun? Sunlight fades every fabric over time. A lining takes the sun in place of the face fabric, and Resene says sun fading affects colours with a lot of red in them the most.
- How should it hang? Wave Fold and S Fold need a fabric that drapes, because a stiff fabric can fight the curve and spring back.
- How much care will you give it? Linen creases and moves, coated blockout has care rules, and natural fibres such as linen and cotton can shrink if washed.
How do the common curtain fabrics compare?
| Fabric | What to know |
|---|---|
| Polyester | Resene says polyester and acrylic stand up to sunlight better than many other textiles |
| Linen | Creases, moves with humidity and temperature, sheds fibre and may wear faster than polyester. A protective lining is recommended |
| Velvet | Heavy, with a pile that runs in one direction, so the shade can look different from different angles. It settles lower over time |
| Sheer | Soft daylight and daytime privacy, with no privacy at night with the lights on |
| Dense woven (triple weave or dim out) | Darkens a room without a coating, but usually lets a little light through |
| Self lined blockout | Stops light with a coating on the back. Seams show pinholes of light, and many must not be machine washed or ironed on the coated side |
Speedy Blinds makes curtains in a standard range and in Group C, a separate range with its own construction rules: Wave Fold only, made in one drop with no joins. Your retailer chooses the range when they order and can tell you whether it suits your window.
What weight should curtain fabric be?
There is no single weight. Heavy fabrics and extra layers help a curtain insulate, says the Australian Government's YourHome guide, though the benefit drops if air moves around the curtain. The trade off is that heavy fabrics, such as velvet and large self lined blockout curtains, settle and hang lower after they are hung, so ask your retailer about extra floor clearance. A soft fabric may form the folds more easily.
What is the best curtain fabric for a living room?
It depends on the sun and the privacy you need. Many homes hang a sheer for the day and a lined or blockout curtain for the evening on a double track. A lining also takes the sun in place of the face fabric.
Ask your curtain retailer for a large sample, the fabric's composition and care instructions, whether it should be lined, and which range and heading it would be made in. They take the measure, give the quote and place the order with the workroom.
Other ways people ask this
Are linen or polyester curtains better?
Neither is better for every room. Polyester stands up to sunlight better than many fabrics, says Resene, while linen has a natural look but creases, moves with humidity and may wear faster.
Are linen or cotton curtains better?
Both are natural fibres that can shrink if washed, so ask your retailer for the care instructions for the exact fabric. Linen also creases readily.
What is curtain fabric called?
Drapery fabric. It is described by its fibre, such as polyester, linen or velvet, and by what it does to light, such as sheer, light filtering or blockout (blackout).
Does curtain material matter?
Yes. The fabric decides how a curtain hangs, how it handles sun and how it should be cared for.
This answer is general information. For your own windows, your retailer's advice and your order with them come first.