Glossary of Window Treatment Terms

Ruching? Swag? Box pleats? Wading through the world of window drapes is a lot easier when you understand the terms; here is a layman’s glossary to the basic terms:

Click here for the best deals on window drapes

Box pleats – a style of crisp, deeply inverted pleats used in short window treatments such as a valance

CafÃ?© curtains – short window drapes that only cover the lower half of the window; usually hung from a rod at sash level

Curtains – a general term to describe any style of fabric window covering

Double fullness – refers to the amount of area of any set of curtains that run horizontally across a window. For example, use fabric twice the width of the window for a fuller, more gathered look

Drawn draperies – curtains that are drawn open and closed across a wide window through the use of a cord and pulley system

Drapes – long curtains that are used to ‘frame’ windows and provide floor to ceiling coverage; usually of a fabric that ‘drapes’ in a certain way. Drapes are more formal than short curtains

Draping – the manner in which fabric is looped and collected into swirls, folds and gathers

Finial – decorative carved pieces of wood or metal that covers and decorates the bare ends of curtain rods

Gathered curtains – drapes that are precisely gathered and pulled back with a tie to create a gently arched line of fabric against the window

Loose drape – a curtain loosely gathered back with a tie, imparting the fabric with a casually ‘swooped’ air

Panel – straight, floor-length pieces of fabric that hang from curtain rods or poles on either side of a door or window

Puddled curtains – extra long panels that are allowed to settle into soft flowing folds of fabric (or ‘puddles’) on the floor

Rolled curtain – curtains that roll up into neat bunches of fabric at the top of the window by hooks, loops or ties

Ruching – when fabric is gathered into extremely tight folds, usually along the curtain rod at the top of the curtain

Sheer – panels and curtains made out of translucent or see-through fabric including thin cotton, muslin, polyester, voile and silk

Swag (or festoon) – fabric that is gathered at the top of a window treatment into loose scallops

Tie-backs – any sort of material that gathers window drapes back from a window; usually a loop, sash, tie or cord

Valance – a short window treatment that only covers the top of the window as well as the support system; styles include balloon valance, arched valance and valance panel

Window scarf – a long piece of fabric or a curtain panel that is looped and swooped around a curtain pole at the top of a window