We recommend a lining if you want to protect your curtains from sunlight, increase privacy, help insulate your room, and add fullness to your drapes. However, some fabrics may not require a lining. Unlined curtains work well for wool fabrics.
The addition of a cloth lining to the back of a lined drape fabric creates three distinct advantages over an unlined drape. For example: 1) A lined drape has superior insulation value against winter cold and summer heat. 2) Lined drapes also dampen or reduce sound from outside sources.
Lined curtains are heavier, which can be a drawback in warmer climates. They do offer more insulative value and may block out more sunlight than unlined curtains.
Lining is a cost-effective addition to help protect your curtain fabric, while providing some added insulation for the home (even more so if they are thermally lined). Lined curtains provide added privacy, making it harder to see through and into the window, especially at night.
The most popular types of drapery lining are cotton, polyester, linen, silk, and velvet. Each material has unique benefits, making it an excellent choice for drapery lining.
Turn up a 3 inch + 3 inch hem on the bottom edge of the curtain and use an invisible hem stitch or a blind hem stitch with your sewing machine. Slip-stitch the open ends of the seams to create a neat folded edge.
Using sheets as lining not only saves money, but also time as several of the portions are already sewn together. If you have any of the white lining left over to use as a base, you might even consider creating a custom embroidered throw pillow to match your drapery project.
Unlined curtains, on the other hand, have their own advantages. They are both lighter and airier making them perfect for rooms that have either smaller or fewer windows and a tendency to remain dark. They allow natural sunlight to fill the chosen area while still providing privacy to the homeowner.
As a general rule of thumb, curtain width should be two to two-and-a-half times the width of the window.
Unlined curtains tend to look cheap, wrinkly, and rushed as if you've just bought them at the dollar store and tossed them up without paying attention to their effect on your interior design. Even if that's exactly what you did, there's a way to make affordable window coverings look more thoughtful and luxurious.
Hang lined curtains to reduce light leakages
'Voiles are sheer and translucent and a great way of letting the light in while still offering privacy, but black-out, lined curtains are a better choice for bedrooms. '
The answer isn't necessarily intuitive, especially since most windows in a home don't extend all the way to the ground, but more often than not, curtains and drapes look best when they reach the floor.
However, insulated curtains can act as a short-term block for air traveling through those gaps and seams around your windows or heat-producing sunshine coming through the glass, which can help minimize temperature fluctuations and stop some heat loss in the winter and heat intake in the summer.
Your best move is to hang curtains within 8 inches of the top of the window frame. For very tall windows, which are popular in many modern homes, that means placing the rod as close to the ceiling as possible—in fact, you might want to install rods designed to actually hang from the ceiling.
Upgrade basic panels by adding thicker, more substantial hardware to your window treatments. The larger your room, and the longer (read: heavier) your curtains, the more over-sized your hardware should be. For a more textured, eye-catching look, opt for pieces with a metallic finish.
As for a general rule, floor length or just a little above it is the preferred look. Maggie Griffin, founder and principal designer of Maggie Griffin Design, recommends, 'The drapery panels should skim the floor. '
A common rule for displaying curtains properly says the curtains finished width should be at least 2 times the width of your window (if not more) to achieve a look of proper fullness. Example: If your window measures 36" wide (window width x 2 = 72"), you need curtains that will give a minimum width of 72".
“It is important to maintain as dark of a room as possible while you're sleeping,” says Dr. Phyllis Zee, a neurologist at Northwestern University, founder of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine, and co-author of both studies mentioned above.
Researchers say heart rates rise and the body can't rest properly when there's light in a bedroom. Their findings add that exposure to even moderate ambient lighting during nighttime sleep, compared to sleeping in a dimly lit room, harms cardiovascular function and increases insulin resistance the following morning.
Do use curtains that reach the floor. Your curtains should either be 1/2” above the floor, kiss the floor, or puddle on the floor. For 8' ceilings, I recommend standard 96” curtains which you can then adjust up and down or hem up the bottom if needed.
The beauty of adding your own lining to ready–made curtains is that you can also choose the right type of lining for the room. Our selection of fabric for lining curtains offers you the best options to complement the style of your ready–made curtains as well as the practical qualities you're looking for.
Blackout curtain linings are very easy to attach and can be added to a set of curtains in a matter of minutes, with no skills required, and the job can be completed from start to finish in under half an hour.
As a general rule you want to order a lining size that corresponds best to your curtain size. Having said that, ready made linings are normally slightly shorter than standard curtain sizes, for instance if you purchase curtains that are 46” wide x 54” drop you would receive lining that is 46” wide x 51” drop.