Curtains for bay windows

[locomoco19]

Posting here fro traffic.

Finding it very hard to find poles for bay windows, seen couple from dunelm and Argos, not the greatest of reviews.

The house currently has track curtain line, I think that's what it's called. So I was going to just buy curtains for now to go on it, but finding it hard to find curtains that go on tracks? Do they still exist?

Yes look for pencil pleat curtains. They are the track curtains. I like tracks better as they leave less of a gap. Uou can buy new track that bends to the correct shape but get heavyweight curtain track.

You need taped header curtains and the hooks to attach the curtains. You can buy the header from John Lewis or a haberdasher. Personally I find that the curtains hang better from the track.

I had curtains made to fit my curved bay, they were eye wateringly expensive but in hindsight worth every penny /pound. They fit beautifully, hang perfectly and are just right.

John Lewis also do a made to measure service. They were comparable to the local company I used cost wise.

Go for extra deep pencil pleat tape. And make the curtains twice as wide as the track.

Thanks all. Am new to this curtain world, never had curtains ever before.

Someone mentioned getting the width double the track size, the length of my bay window is about 280cm, would I double that?

Will the hooks come with the curtain or sink buy separately? The taped curtains online am seeing, have circle rings attached to it

You double the size of the track or pole, NOT the window. Usually it’s wider, as you want the curtains to pull all the way off the window when they are open.

No you don’t want rings attached, you need the correct sliders for your track. Some will come with it when you buy it but I’d buy some extra. They are cheap and make your curtains hang much better.

Be very careful to buy the right ones, all tracks are different.

Hooks are usually generic, but make sure they fit through the little circle in your sliders.

No you'll need to buy curtain hooks separately. Depending on the track you get the hooks may be ones that hook throughthe tape on the curtain, then hook through the runners on the track or some tracks have hooks attached to the runners themselves.
The circle rings that are shown on those pictures will have small eyes on the botton where the hooks from the taped curtain go through so you can hanged taped curtains on a curtain rod rather than a track.
The curtains that thread straight onto a curtain rod are eyelet curtains.

So you have the plastic / metal track which is attached to your wall with brackets that you buy with it . Make sure you have enough brackets to take the weight of the curtains and linings, they are heavy.

Then you have little slider things that fit onto your track, you have to get the right ones. There’s special ones for the end with a little screw to tighten them in place.

Then for every slider you need a curtain hook that fastens into the header tape on your curtains.

You buy all this separately from the curtains.

I think this is the most 'adulty' thread I've ever commented on. Normally I'm not good on adulting but DIY and practical homewares I feel quite capable 😆

I know nothing apart from we took a track down in our (angled) bay window and put a rail up, intact I tried 2 different types. The hoops kept sticking I even bought some non friction strip to put on the top on the rail. Eventually I gave up and had another rail fitted. Sorted. (But expensive mistake)

If you look here for example you will see that the different brands of tracks are all a different shape so the sliders are usually not interchangeable.

@HoppyHop

YY the poles seem to stick at the join.

Oops

www.ukcurtainpoles.co.uk/acatalog/Hand-Operated-Curtain-Tracks-p1.html#usestorage

www.wilko.com/en-uk/wilko-firenze-4000-x-70mm-cream-bay-window-curtain-pole/p/0326606

Was meant to add.
We have two of these poles. One with pencil pleats and the other with eyelets. Both work really well.
Had them for over 7 years with no problems.
They come in a couple of other colours too.

My bay windows have tracks, sliders and hooks. The only way to use a pole would be to put it across the front of the bay, which would waste a lot of space and look a bit silly.

Pencil pleat curtains are what you need. Traditionally you have double the width of the track, but I have closer to 1.5. I prefer a less gathered look and it saves a lot of money (my windows are huge). Hooks are cheap and easy to get, eg Wilko or B&Q.

Sliders do have to be compatible with the track but unless you have a particularly unusual track they are much of a muchness and I’ve bought additional sliders from Wilko for a track I got in B&Q. I suspect they are all made by the same company (Swish) and sold under different brand names.

None of this is hard to get, all easily available. Personally, I think pencil pleat curtains look much nicer than pole/eyelet ones.

Having struggled with bays for years I find the best solution is to go custom made. Bog standard never fits properly. Yes it's expensive but you'll get curtains that actually fit without gaps. You can have custom poles or tracks. Alternatively custom made blinds are good too.

For a good fit and for it to last I agree with pp you'll need custom made. My curtains are 2 1/4 times the width of the window in material terms. I've got triple pinched pleat, they look great. The track, curtains (with blackout lining) and fitting came in at £850. I nearly choked at the price, but I'm unlikely to replace them any time soon. They've already been up 4 years. So if I break down the cost of replacing them every 8 years, it's £100 a year. I'd also not need to replace the track (we had one fitted in the upstairs bay and it was £180).

Check out the John Lewis guide on curtains. I found this quite helpful for info.
You can buy bent tracks online. We initially bought a bent pole with special hooks that go around the corner. Drove me mad. A track seems more sensible.

Bleugh, first time I've used that word on a 'sensible' thread! I hate messing about with curtains, although I've had to many times, buying new and working it all out, fitting or altering. I don't even like getting them down for washing, but since I've had poles with the holes in the curtains it's much less faff, but I am in rented accommodation so have to go with what I get. Agree with pp it's worth spending more if you are settled in your house for the foreseeable. If I were settled though I would be inclined to have large slatted wooden venetian, or vertical blinds, whichever suits the property, as well as a pole, to give a cosy feel at night.