Curtain Heading Tape

Gather and Pleat with East to Use Curtain Heading Tapes

The right curtain tape turns a flat panel into a beautifully pleated curtain, adding the perfect finishing touch to your DIY window dressings. Sewn into the back of a curtain, curtain tape creates the structure that helps the fabric hang neatly and creates the gathers while adding fullness and shape to your window furnishings. Whether you're making curtains, refreshing your existing window dressings or tackling your next DIY project, choosing the right curtain tape can make all the difference to the final look of your curtains. At Spotlight, you can shop from a wide range of curtain tapes to suit a variety of fabrics, curtain designs and home decor preferences, making it easy to create custom curtains that look professional.

What is a Curtain Tape Used For?

Curtain tape is a practical sewing accessory that helps create the gathers, pleats and fullness at the top of a curtain. Sewn into the back of a curtain heading, it provides structure and allows the fabric to be drawn together evenly, creating a neat and professional-looking finish. Curtain tape can help improve curtain shape, consistent pleating and offer a simpler installation process. Curtain heading tape differs from curtain hemming tape. Where heading tape creates gathers and pleats, hemming tape is designed to secure and finish curtain hems.

What Curtain Tape Types Can I Buy at Spotlight?

At Spotlight, you can shop from a wide selection of curtain tapes, designed to suit different curtain styles, fabrics and interior decorating needs. Whether you're creating lightweight sheer curtains for a bright living space or heavier blockout curtains for increased privacy, you'll find the right curtain tape to help you achieve the look you want right here at Spotlight. Our range of curtain tape includes pencil pleat curtain tape for classic and evenly spaced gathers, as well as eyelet heading tape that brings a modern finish. You'll also find specialty tapes designed to create different pleat styles, giving you flexibility when customising your window furnishings. No matter the room, fabric type or curtain design, Spotlight stocks curtain tapes to help bring your project together with a polished finish.

Every Heading Style Starts With the Right Curtain Tape

Each curtain heading tape is designed to create a distinct heading style, making it easy to achieve the finish that suits your space. If you're wanting curtains that offer both a traditional and contemporary look, our pencil pleat tapes help to create neat, versatile gathers. On the other hand, if you're after a more elegant, formal look, our double and triple pinch pleat tapes form structured pleats. In addition to these looks, our eyelet tapes work to create the clean and modern folds of eyelet curtains, while our S-Fold tapes deliver the perfect wave effect often seen in contemporary homes. At Spotlight, you'll find curtain tapes for every heading style, helping you create curtains that perfectly match your decor and design vision.

Match Your Tape to Your Fabric Like a Pro

The weight of your fabric will change your choice in tape, making it important to match your tape to your fabric. Translucent tape is best for sheers and voiles, while wider tape is ideal for long drops and heavier drapes. For a more structured, hand-finished look on stiffer fabrics, buckram is often used to support crisp pleated headings. At Spotlight, you can find curtain tapes designed to suit a wide variety of fabric types, making it easy to achieve a professional result.

Get Your Widths and Fullness Sorted in Minutes

When making your own curtains, it's important to get your curtain measurements right. At Spotlight, our curtain tapes are available in mini, mid and deep widths. Mini is suitable for lightweight sheers and nets, mid works well for everyday curtains and deep tape is ideal for heavier drapes.

Fullness refers to how gathered your curtains will be. Common fullness ratios include 1.5 times the track or rod length for a light gathering, 2 x for standard fullness and 2.5 x the track or rod length for a rich, luxurious look. To calculate how much tape is needed per curtain, measure your curtain or rod length and multiply by your chosen fullness. Make sure to add a few extra centimetres to each end for fold-overs.

Sew On Your Curtain Tape With Confidence

Creating your own DIY curtains may seem challenging, but with this handy guide, you'll be ready to make your own homemade curtains in no time!

1. Start by cutting the tape to your desired length
2. Fold the ends in to hide any cords
3. Pin the tape to the back of your curtain heading, ensuring it sits straight and even.
4. Machine sew along the top and bottom edges for a secure hold.
5. Once stitched, gently pull the cords to create your desired gather.
6. Tie off and tuck the cords away.

When sewing triple-pleat and deep-pleat tapes, make sure the curtain width is finalised before stitching.

Pair Your Tape With the Right Hooks Every Time

Pairing your curtain tape with the right curtain hooks is important to achieving the perfect final look of your curtains. Plastic gathering hooks and steel gathering hooks are commonly used with pencil pleat and gather tapes for a neat fit, while four prong pinch pleat hooks are designed for double and triple pinch pleat tapes, helping to create structured, even folds. Finally, deep curtain hooks suit deeper pleat headings for a more formal drape. For eyelet styles, eyelet rings simply clip into the eyelet tape for a quick and easy installation on your curtain rod. These combinations work seamlessly with curtain tracks, curtain rods, tension rods, and stretch wire, making installation of your homemade curtains a breeze.

Spotlight is The Best Place to Shop for Curtain Tapes in Australia

As the best place to shop for curtain tapes, at Spotlight you can find every major heading style stocked under one roof, from mini pencil pleat to deep pleat to eyelet. Sold by the metre, there's no waste on small jobs, with bulk rolls available for big projects. With our extensive range, you can match curtain hooks, rings, and pins stocked alongside the tapes for complete consistency in your window dressings. Explore our extensive curtain range where you can shop from a variety of curtain heading types, including pinch pleat and S-Fold curtains, as well as our variety of curtain rods and tracks.

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Sew the Perfect Curtains for Less with Bargains Galore on Curtain Heading Tapes

Update your current curtains or showcase your DIY skills and create your very own curtains for a homemade charm with Spotlight's extensive curtain fabric range. Find everything you need for your next window furnishings refresh right here at Spotlight. From heading tape for the top of your curtains to hemming tape for creating neat hems, we have all the DIY curtain supplies you'll require. Explore the range of curtain fabrics, where you can find blockout curtain fabrics, uncoated curtain fabrics, thermal curtain fabrics, sheer curtain fabrics, room-darkening curtain fabrics and cut, hem and hang fabrics. Don't forget to check out our handy guide on how to measure your windows and how to hang curtains, as well as our informative blogs, such as our article on how to hem curtains, for all the information you need to transform your home with beautiful curtains!