You have heard this before. Quality curtains, quality clothing, well-made, handmade, made with care or even made with love?! But how do you truly know though that the quality you are being assured of matches your standard of quality curtains?

I have certainly developed a sense of suspicion, almost a lack of trust and a sort of numbness to that phrase having heard or read about mass-produced goods that are sold at a low end of the price range.
But equally, uniqueness and a high price tag may still make you question the quality. Are you just paying for the label? You cannot be an expert in everything so you need to place your trust in others. It is sometimes truly difficult to make that judgement.

Quality curtains for a nursery are no different and the techie jargon can be quite confusing. It seems enough to get to grips will all the new terminology relating to pregnancy, birth, baby kit and here is yet another thing to get your head around.

Let me help you then…Here are my five quick tips on what is worth looking out for in quality curtains.

 

1. Quality curtains come from a passionate maker

Simple fact but very telling. If you are looking at online nursery curtains’ websites think about how they make you feel. Do they feel sale-y, impersonal, all about a bargain or do they actually make you feel that there is a person or a team of people behind the product who care?
When we recently worked with a client on bespoke nursery curtains for an ocean-theme nursery she commented how much she was enjoying this process. I felt we were connected creating really special curtains for her son’s nursery.

 

2. Quality curtains stand for order

You will see this from looking at images. Quality curtains are not meant to be randomly creased or pleated. Just like in the garment industry, there are standards and appropriate techniques to ensure that clothing is well-fitting. The same applies to quality curtain making. Take a closer look at the curtain’s top (the techie name is header). Does it seem orderly or are the pleats of different sizes?

Randomness can be pretty if you accept it to be such but it does not stand for quality.

 

3. Fabric choice

There are lots and lots of different fabrics which will impact on the price, from man-made fibres like polyester to seriously luxurious silks. Knowing what a curtain is made of will be a good indicator whether the price tag is right.

Be aware of terms like “blends” as this often can be misleading. Linen blend can contain less than 10% of pure linen and still be called a linen blend. By the way, our linen blends contain 60% of linen.

 

4. Pattern matters

Many websites show a fabric swatch and then let you choose your measurements etc. This can make it quite hard to see how a curtain will turn out and whether it will look just as well when drawn and open and vice versa. Not every print will work. Ask, and a quality curtain maker will immediately see a valid point in this question.

 

5. Technicalities

Ohh.. not the boring and confusing part!

It is actually quite simple.
a. Take a look at the top (ie header). Is it nice and stiff or floppy? Floppy means that no curtain tape has been used. Avoid this!
b. Hems-can you see any stitching on the top side of the curtain? You should not! Blind-stitched hems are a must for quality curtains.
c. Can you see a line where to fabrics have been joint (to achieve a wider curtain, for instance). If you can, then they do not make a cut to be called quality curtains!

Over to you

Have you experienced this mind boggling feeling and felt you had to make a choice without much guidance? What steps did you take to help you? Share your comments below.
Or are you ahead of this journey and would like to make buying quality curtains for your lovely nursery an enjoyable and simple process knowing that you will get the right result? Click Contact Us to make an enquiry and find out if we tick your box.

Photo credit: VinothChandar / Foter / CC BY