Hiding curtain pole with curtains

[theshellhouse]

I'm planning to order some curtains from curtains2go to hang from a pole. According to their measuring guide, the curtains should hang below the curtain pole with the rings attached at the top. Does anyone know if it's possible to have the rings attached further down the curtains, so the curtains cover the pole, as they would for a track? I'd like to block as much light as possible. I spoke to their customer service but even they don't seem to know. Does anyone on Mumsnet?
Measuring guide

The rings attach to the curtains by curtain hooks through the curtain tape at the top of the curtains, that then hook onto the curtain ring. You would have to sew curtain tape onto the curtains lower down and then some how stiffen the top bit of curtain so it didn’t flop down. I can’t see how it would really work tbh. That’s why sometimes track (and pelmets) are better for blocking more light.

They attach like 5is

In that image though @ILoveCookie, couldn’t the hooks go through the heading tape slightly lower down? That would make the curtain sit an inch or so higher on the curtain pole. It looks like there are three rows, the hooks in the image sit in the middle row. You’d need to be careful of the finished length measurement though to avoid the curtain being too short.
OP I think you need to find out what style of heading tape is used for the curtains you want

Yes moodymary you are right, they could go lower down. It does depend if 6” or 3” tape.
I think I was picturing those big wooden curtain rings when I was thinking about op’s issue so was picturing more of a gap. Probably because that’s the last type of pole & rings I had (way, way back in the 80’s & 90’s!). I just didn’t then twig when I googled for an image of how they attach after I’d posted.

Thanks for the replies. Yes I was wondering about using the lower rows of the heading tape. The hanging guide says:
"The heading tape has three rows of pockets. For curtain tracks you will need to insert the hooks into the low or middle row of pockets so that the heading hides the track. For poles insert the hooks into the top row of pockets so that the curtain hangs below the pole." (This is about pencil pleat, and I want pinch pleat, but I assume they hang the same way.)

So I was wondering about using the middle or bottom rows with a pole. But I was worried this might not draw well/other unforeseen problem I haven't thought of? And I don't understand how the measuring works when using a track/these rows - if there are two rows that could be used, how do you measure the drop accurately? So I need to ask the company if they use 3 inch or 6 inch tape? And then the rows would be spaced either an inch or two inches apart?

And I had planned to use a pelmet with the pole. (The pole is already up and cut to size, hence trying to avoid having to switch it for a track.) But want the curtain to come up as high as possible for extra sunproofing (small sleepless baby).

I don’t think pencil pleat and pinch pleat have the same heading tape. The image above is for pencil pleat, they arrive flat at the header and you pull the strings through to create the pleats. Pinch pleats are usually stitched onto the face of the curtain and you have individual hooks on the reverse - not on a tape as such. Sometimes these individual hooks are on little verticals do you can slide the hook up or down.

If you plan to have a separate pelmet, where would that attach?
Might a blackout blind be more effective to block the sunlight? (In addition to the curtains)

Ah, sounds like it won't work then.

The pelmet would attach to the wall. Unfortunately the window is too awkward for blinds. It's a huge triple sash window (3m x 1.7m) and sits proud of the wall so there's no recess. The only way to do blinds would be 3 separate blinds attached to the architrave, so not very light blocking. I think curtains that block as much as possible are my best bet.

You can put the hooks on the lower loops. Usually, this sort of rufflette is intended to have a separate lining on the lower row, using the centre or tops for the main curtain.
We have poles, separate linings as the curtains are heavy velvet, no pelmets, and no light leaks. The reason for that is that we set the pole high enough above the window 'hole' to stop light 'leaks'. Up to a point, the further out the pole is, the higher up it will need to be.

An update: the curtains arrived and it would have been perfectly possible to hang them to cover the curtain pole. The hooks are on plastic sliders so can sit anywhere along their length. Infuriating that I couldn't find this out beforehand from their clueless customer services, as we had to play it safe and order them as though the hooks were not adjustable. Not remotely lightproof. I thought I'd post back in case anyone finds this thread by googling and finds the answer useful.

@BlueMongoose I missed your post before. Unfortunately the curtain pole only just squeezes between the architrave and the cornice - it couldn't have gone higher. I agree your method sounds like the simplest solution though.