# Curtain heading types compared

Curtain headings differ in how they form their folds and in how much cloth that costs. A pencil pleat is drawn up by a corded tape and needs 2× fullness as a floor; an eyelet lets the pole form the folds and works from 1.8×; a tab top is flattest at 1.5×. The heading also fixes the allowance added above the finished drop, from 12 cm for a tab top to 25 cm for an eyelet band — so the style changes both dimensions of every cut, not just the width.

Source: https://fabricmeasure.com/charts/curtain-heading-types/
Last updated: 2026-08-20 (method v1)
Published by FabricMeasure.

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## The table

UK curtain-making defaults. Every figure is an editable input in the calculators;
where a workroom quotes different numbers, use theirs.

| Heading | Min fullness | Recommended | Header allowance | Hem allowance |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pencil pleat | 2.0x | 2.5x | 15 cm | 20 cm |
| Pinch pleat | 2.0x | 2.2x | 20 cm | 20 cm |
| Eyelet | 1.8x | 2.0x | 25 cm | 20 cm |
| Tab top | 1.5x | 1.8x | 12 cm | 20 cm |
| Wave | 2.0x | 2.2x | 15 cm | 20 cm |

### What each heading is

- **Pencil pleat**: Drawn up by a corded tape into narrow, even folds. The tape does the gathering rather than the pole, so it wants more cloth than any other common heading.
- **Pinch pleat**: Folds sewn into fixed groups of two or three and pinched at the base, so the pleats stay where they were put. Formal, and cheaper in cloth than a pencil pleat.
- **Eyelet**: Metal rings punched through a stiffened band, threaded straight onto a pole. The pole forms the folds instead of a tape, which is why it needs less fullness — but the band is deep, so it takes the most at the top.
- **Tab top**: Loops of the same cloth passed over a pole. The flattest heading here: the fabric hangs almost straight, so it needs the least of everything.
- **Wave**: A corded tape at fixed spacing on a track made for it, giving one continuous even S from end to end. It only works on that track — an ordinary one will not hold the spacing.

### What the choice costs: 250 cm track, 220 cm drop, a pair

```
flat width per curtain = (track width x fullness) / number of curtains
cut length = finished drop + header allowance + hem allowance
```

| Heading | Fullness | Flat width per curtain | Total flat | Cut length |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pencil pleat | 2.5x | 313 cm | 625 cm | 255 cm |
| Pinch pleat | 2.2x | 275 cm | 550 cm | 260 cm |
| Eyelet | 2.0x | 250 cm | 500 cm | 265 cm |
| Tab top | 1.8x | 225 cm | 450 cm | 252 cm |
| Wave | 2.2x | 275 cm | 550 cm | 255 cm |

Neither figure is what you buy: cloth comes in whole widths, and on a patterned
fabric the cut length is then rounded up to whole pattern repeats.

Eyelet needs a pole, not a track. Wave needs its own track — an ordinary one will
not hold the fixed spacing the corded tape depends on.

## Common questions

### Which curtain heading uses the least fabric?

Tab top, on both dimensions. It needs the least fullness of any common heading — about 1.5× against a pencil pleat’s 2× — and takes the smallest allowance above the finished drop at around 12 cm. The trade-off is that it hangs almost flat, which suits a light cotton at a small window and looks thin on a large one.

### Why does an eyelet heading need the deepest allowance?

Because the rings are punched through a stiffened band that has to be deep enough to hold them and to fold over itself. Around 25 cm above the finished drop is normal. That is the most of any heading here, even though eyelet needs less width than a pencil pleat — the two allowances pull in opposite directions.

### Can I use a wave heading on an ordinary track?

No. Wave depends on a corded tape at fixed spacing running on a track built to hold that spacing. On an ordinary track the folds collapse into an uneven gather and the effect is lost. If the track is already fitted and is not a wave track, a pencil pleat at 2.2–2.5× is the closest look available.

### Are these allowances fixed?

No, they are the middle of the UK curtain-making range and every one is an editable input in the calculators. A workroom may use a deeper hem on a long drop so the curtain can be let down later, or a shallower header on a lightweight cloth. Where your maker quotes different figures, use theirs.

## Related tools

- [Curtain fabric calculator](https://fabricmeasure.com/calculators/curtain-fabric-calculator/): Track width, drop, fullness and pattern repeat in; metres or yards to buy out, with every allowance adjustable.
- [Curtain fullness calculator](https://fabricmeasure.com/calculators/curtain-fullness-calculator/): How many widths each curtain needs at the fullness you want — and what whole widths really gather to.
- [Curtain heading tape calculator](https://fabricmeasure.com/calculators/curtain-heading-tape-calculator/): Tape, hooks and cord for a pair of curtains — and why hooks are not counted on the tape.
- [Standard curtain sizes](https://fabricmeasure.com/charts/standard-curtain-sizes/): Ready-made drops and widths, in both systems — and what each width really gathers to.
- [Pattern repeat calculator](https://fabricmeasure.com/calculators/pattern-repeat-calculator/): The cut length a repeat forces, what is trimmed from every piece, and what matching the design costs.