Eyelet curtains

Metal rings are set into the top of the curtain, and a pole passes through them.

It always hangs from a pole, never a track.

The folds are neat and even, with a fold at each eyelet.

Eyelet reads as modern and a little casual.

Drawn back, the folds bunch onto the pole as round columns.

They take up 15 to 25 per cent of the pole length.

Eyelet is easy to open and close, so it suits casual rooms and children's rooms.

The rings do not travel round a corner, so eyelet suits a bay window poorly.

A small gap of light shows at the top of an eyelet curtain.

A pair on a pole with a centre bracket meets either side of the bracket, with a small gap round it.

Eyelet is also made in sheer cloth.

Eyelet takes 1.5 to 2.0 times the pole width in cloth.

Sheer and blockout curtains

The eyelet must be wider than the pole. A 40 mm eyelet suits poles up to 32 mm, and a 50 mm eyelet suits poles of 32 to 42 mm.

Poles are common in 19, 28 and 35 mm.

A pole longer than 2 m needs a centre bracket. Makers give 2.0, 2.4 and 2.5 m.

The pole stands 8 to 10 cm out from the wall.