Ordering curtain fabric starts with one number: fullness — the ratio of fabric width to rail width. Get it wrong and the panels look like bedsheets (too flat) or swallow your budget (over-gathered). Here is the calculation our trade customers use.
The base formula
Fabric length (linear meters) = Rail width × Fullness ratio ÷ Fabric usable width, then add heading + hem allowance (typically 20–30 cm per drop), multiplied by number of panels.
- Standard pinch-pleat: 2.0–2.5× fullness.
- Pencil pleat / wave with rings: 2.5× (wave systems often quote 3× rail spacing).
- Flat panel / hotel modern: 1.5–1.8× minimum for a decent hang.
Worked example — the wide-width advantage
Rail 3.0 m, pinch pleat 2.5× → needed fabric width 7.5 m.
- With 145 cm jacquard: 7.5 ÷ 1.45 ≈ 5.2 widths → multiple vertical seams to match pattern repeats.
- With 300 cm clipped-sheer jacquard: 7.5 ÷ 3.0 = 2.5 widths → one full + one half panel, minimal seaming, pattern continuity far easier.
This is why our curtain jacquards are woven 290–300 cm: fewer seams, faster workroom time, cleaner hotel rooms. Upholstery goods run 142–145 cm.
Repeat matching adds hidden meters
For bold jacquard repeats (50–80 cm typical), each panel start must shift to the next repeat line — budget +1 repeat per cut as pattern allowance, and always round total drops up before ordering.
Ordering against MOQ
Workroom quantities for one project often land between samples and full rolls: in-stock sheer and curtain models can be cut from 1 meter, so mock-ups cost almost nothing. New colors or new patterns are production runs with a standard MOQ of 600 meters per color — that is the number to plan into a hotel FF&B schedule, not a single room.
Send rail drawings or a photo of the window wall to [email protected] or WhatsApp +86 180 6701 0111 and we will return a cut list with the meterage already rounded for repeats.