Where do you get your quality curtains from?

[LadeOde]

This really.
Looking for new bedroom curtains and have seen Hillary curtains. Not pleased with any of the samples and they all sadly look thin & cheap, 100% polyester.
Where do you get your nice curtains from that don't break the bank or is 100% rather the norm?

Second questions what do you think of 'dressage curtains' or fake curtains? a friend showed some to me and they looked quite nice but i don't know wether they're considered horrible? they will have roman blinds underneath but first things first what makes a good quality curtain that will hang well and doesn't cost a fortune?

Also popped into John Lewis and they all looked drab.

I got some lovely ones from Next and then just had them taken up. It’s so hard not being able to go in and see them. The ones I have for my bedroom are so thick and expensive looking, I tried looking for something similar for another room (velvet) they arrived and are fine, but no where near as luxurious as the other pair. There’s just no way to tell from looking online.

I make my own- saved myself a fortune doing this!

However, it does require some skill with a sewing machine (ability to sew in straight lines!!), and the space to be able to handle and measure them.

If you've got basic sewing skills then it's not nearly as fiddly as dressmaking, but does still require care.

If your fabric has a pattern then its much harder as getting the pattern to match and not slip over the full drop of the curtain is tricky- even with careful hand-tacking things still try to slip.

I have also bought ready made velvet ones from JL before which I've then sewn together to make them wider (the off the shelf ones were all too narrow). This was actually way cheaper than buying the fabric for those particular ones. They are a polyester velvet but the overall effect is nice- they look good for the price.

Yes, absolutely this. I did a curtain making course and the quality of materials used by independent curtain makers far exceeds those used by the likes of John Lewis.

Making curtains for others wasn’t for me, I don’t mind making a mistake on a dress that’s intended for me and cost £60 for fabric but curtain fabric for someone else that costs several hundreds is too much stress.

Independent curtain makes know each other and will be able to find you someone local to you.

I was lucky to find my amazing quality, heavy, thick lined curtains from a charity shop. Just happened to match my bedroom decor and totally blackout.

Otherwise Would have gone to JL.

I have picked up a few John Lewis (great) and Orla Keily curtains on ebay recently. All brand new and in packets still. All less than half price. Standard sizes of course. One of the John Lewis curtains was a second - you can see a couple of pulls on one of the curtains, but they are so low and behind furniture it is not an issue for me.

Curtains- close to my heart, as a landlord ( I know not cool) I have had to put all new curtains in 3 properties. I go for John Lewis but buy off a lady on eBay who sells returns ( I think) still expensive but good quality, curtains can make all the difference to a room, cheap curtains make the whole place look cheap.
I also got some lovely ones off gumtree from a rich couple, who’d bought a house and were getting rid of what was there, they were immaculate. Also, all the measuring can drive you insane but it’s the only way to ensure they hang well.