Goblet Pinch Pleat Curtains & Window Drapes: A Complete Guide
When you want your made-to-measure drapery to not just fulfil a function but go beyond and make a larger-than-life style statement, trust goblet pinch pleat curtains to meet the mandate. With their goblet-shaped pleats, this bold heading style offers a dramatic edge to your decor that makes the room stand out from the rest. Add to that, a signature fabric and befitting accessories, and you’ll have curated the most luxurious haute couture for your windows.
Similar to the classical pinch pleat drapery, but more formal and ornate in appearance, goblet pleat curtains can add a touch (or a lot!) of opulence to formal living rooms, dining rooms and guest rooms. If you’re one of our more adventurous clients, you can also introduce them to contemporary-style homes with stylish but less opulent fabrics to fall in line with the laidback aesthetic of modern homes.
Whether you take the traditional formal or modern luxe route, with the right kind of drapery fabric and suitable styling, goblet pleat drapery is a promising conversation starter for rooms curated keenly to impress. If you wish to explore this style of drapery to dress up your windows, be glad - for we are about to lay out everything you need to know about goblet pinch pleat drapery ahead.
What are Goblet Pinch Pleat Drapes?
Goblet pinch pleat drapes feature headers with equally spaced pinch pleats that resemble the shape of a goblet. This look is achieved by creating ‘pinches’ that are fluffed up into a cylindrical shape and tacked at the bottom. This style of construction brings more fabric into play, thus adding to the volume of the drapery. The result is an ultra-luxurious set of drapes that spells elegance and opulence in one breath.
What are the Reasons to Choose Goblet Pinch Pleat Curtains?
The most ornate and opulent style of drapery on offer, goblet pinch pleat drapes are a default choice for homes that have been built and decorated with extravagant details, classical themes and floral embellishments. Goblet pleat drapes are designed to garner attention with their uniquely embellished header and grand scale, and the drapery will pretty much achieve that goal even with a drapery fabric that is not very striking in its palette or pattern.
BESPOKE SPLENDOUR: As opposed to many other drapery styles that are mass-produced with mechanical processes, goblet pleat drapes speak of old-world charm meticulously woven by human hands. This handcrafted look immediately reveals the bespoke nature of this gorgeous heading style. Indeed, it is this luxurious feel - apart from its striking visual appeal - that makes goblet pleats the go-to for those looking for ritzy glamour.
SUMPTUOUS GATHER: Goblet pleat drapery does not just offer an ornamental touch to the decor but is quite voluminous as the pleats gather more fabric into the width. The 'stitched-in' header ensures that this rich gather is uniformly distributed by spacing the pleats equally. It is this feature that renders goblet pleats the highly tailored look most suitable to formal and ultra-formal spaces.
EASY OPERATION: Mounted with the help of rings and hooks, the drapery moves easily on the pole/track, no matter how heavy a drapery fabric you may select. So, if you expect to operate your drapes often during the day, be carefree about goblet pleat curtains for they will be hassle-free.
FULL COVERAGE: Some heading styles like tab tops have loops placed at intervals allowing light to pass from between. Others like grommet tops let light in through their eyelets. But, goblet pleated headers feature no intervals or gaps for light to pass through, enabling higher room darkening and seamless coverage from top to bottom. Besides, since these drapes are often stitched with sumptuous fullness and heavy fabrics, they are more insulative.
SUITABLE FOR TRADITIONAL ARCHITECTURE & DECOR: With a fuller, more luxurious look than most other drapery styles, goblet pleat drapery finds the most fitting stage to perform its act in period homes and formal spaces. The embellished detailing of the header goes well with traditional decor’s maximalism and lavish garnishments.
What are the Factors to be Considered when Dressing a Window with Goblet Pinch Pleat Curtains?
SUITABILITY WITH DECOR: Owing to their elaborate construction, goblet pleat drapes are best suited to formal rooms designed in traditional style or with classical themes. Their ‘more is more’ type of appeal makes them right for maximalist decor.
RIGHT CHOICE OF FABRIC: The construction of the goblet pleat style is its unique feature, and necessitates the choice of a fabric that highlights those beautifully curved and sumptuous pleats. Besides, since goblet pleats are suitable for formal traditional decor, the fabrics must also resonate with the mood and purpose of the room. Hence, silks, velvets, and other dressy fabrics are ideal. If your style is traditional but a bit more dressed down overall, consider heavy-weight cotton as the next best choice. Avoid thin and loosely-woven fabrics as they will not hold the goblet pleats well, nor live up to the grandeur of this heading style.
STACKING ROOM: The fullness and uniform gather of goblet pleat drapes translates into more stacking room. Hence, we advise extending the pole/track sufficiently on both sides of the window to stack the drapes when they are not in use. If the window does not have free wall space on both sides, the curtains will partially cover the window even when they are fully opened.
SHORT/NARROW WINDOWS: Goblet pleat curtains drape well when longer. Hence, even if you dress a short window with these, we recommend designing your curtains to reach the floor, and avoid short curtains in this heading style.
If your window is narrow, you need to make the most of the little light you get through them. So, extend the pole/track sufficiently beyond the window trim so that the curtains will clear the window when not in use. If this is not possible, we recommend considering heading styles that make sleeker stacks.
HARDWARE: While goblet pleat drapes can be hung on poles as well as tracks, a more aesthetically matching combination is ideally offered by statement drapery poles with decorative finials. Keep up with the grandeur of the setting as well as the heading style when you select the hardware. High-quality, sturdy and show-worthy hardware that can make the curtains look more proud and over the top gets all the yes'es.
AVOID VALANCES: In a more dressed-up room of a traditional home, valances decking up the curtains is very common and befitting. However, you don’t want the header of the statement drapery to be concealed in case of goblet pleats. So consider avoiding valances and let the drapes do all the talking.
ADD LINING: If you want the pleats to stay shapely always, don’t forego lining behind your drapes. The lining also adds to the volume of the drapery and enhances its longevity.
ADD TRIMS: Finish a dressy window dressing with suitable trims to amp up the style factor. Choose from among ritzy trims like our viscose fringe trims or tassel trims, gilded braid trims or shiny ribbon trims that will enhance the opulence of the drapery. Such fine details of the drapery testify to the attention invested in stylizing the space.
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What are the Hardware Options for Goblet Pinch Pleat Curtains?
Goblet pinch pleat drapes are a versatile style of drapery that is compatible with both tracks and poles. Accordingly, you may need to invest in appropriate hardware accessories such as drapery pins and eyelet rings for poles, and drapery hooks for tracks.
How are Goblet Pinch Pleat Curtains Measured?
Despite the elaborate form of pleating that goblet pinch pleat curtains offer, the math behind placing their orders is simple. Here’s how you go about it:
HOW TO MEASURE LENGTH
If you're mounting your goblet pinch pleat drapery from a decorative pole with rings, and would like the show-worthy hardware to be visible, start measuring length from just below the curtain ring, up to the desired end point.
If mounting from a track, most clients prefer to hide the hardware. In this case, we recommend measuring length from the top of the track to the desired end point.
While you may choose your drapery to stop at the window sill, or a recommended length of 10-15cm below the window sill, for ornate styles like goblet pleats, we recommend going for floor-length or puddled drapes that match the opulence of the style.
Ultimately, the curtain fall length comes down to the taste of each client. While goblet pleats are best donned in long lengths, one may choose other endpoints based on the space available, or personal preferences.
HOW TO MEASURE WIDTH
Since goblet pinch pleat curtains have ‘fixed pleats’ that are stitched in and cannot be adjusted, specifying panel widths accurately is quite important. And depending on the kind of hardware you have in place or plan to purchase, the end widths of your panels may vary slightly.
The three key hardware options are: curtain tracks, standard drapery poles, and French return drapery poles. Let's go over steps to measure drapery panel widths taking into account each of these hardware options.
CURTAIN TRACKS/ STANDARD DRAPERY POLES: Start by measuring the length of your track or pole (finial to finial). Then based on whether you're planning to mount a pair of curtains or one single panel to drape the track/pole, follow the sizing guidance below:
For a single panel of goblet pinch pleat drapery, add 10cm to the measured length of your pole/track to reach the final width of your drapery panel. This extra 10cm is to ensure a safe margin for full coverage of the pole. For a 100cm pole/track, for example, we advise final panel width of 110cm for a single drapery panel.
If ordering a pair of curtains for the same curtain track/pole, add 20cm to the length of pole/track. Then halve this total measurement to reach the final width of each drapery panel. The extra width of 20cm ensures sufficient panel width for curtains to sufficiently overlap when drawn together, thereby preventing any light leaks in the middle.
To explain with an example, if your curtain track/pole measures 100cm, add 20cm to this measure, reaching 120cm. Based on guidance above, the final width of each of your drapery panels should be (100+20) ÷ 2 = 60cm each.
FRENCH RETURN DRAPERY POLES: Also known as wraparound curtain poles, French return drapery poles feature curved or angled ends. Drapery mounted on this style of poles seals the gap between the wall and the pole, thereby eliminating light leaks from the edges.
For French return poles, the panel measurements need to factor in extra width to cover the returns, which typically are 10cm on each side.
Start by measuring the pole end to end, including the returns on both ends. Then, follow the sizing guidance offered above for tracks/standard poles, taking into account whether you're mounting a single panel or a pair to cover your pole.
Bonus Tip: In case you have drapery tracks/poles without returns, but would like to enjoy the clean designer look and light-blocking benefits offered by the French return drapery poles, we highly recommend the hook and eye hack.
While we hope that with the above instructions, you will be able to measure up your required drapery width with ease, in case there’s a hiccup along the tape, be assured you'll find us just an email away to assist you!
How to Hang Goblet Pleat Curtains & Drapes?
Goblet pleat curtains can be hung on both tracks and poles using drapery pins. However, while tracks are more popularly used for modern pinch pleat styles like the Euro pinch pleats, we recommend show-worthy poles with decorative finials for traditional styles like goblet pinch pleats.
Regardless of the hardware you use, below is our step-by-step guide to hang goblet pinch pleat curtains:
STEP 1: On the backside of your goblet pleat curtains, you’ll find a 10cm wide heading tape sewn at the top. Our heading tape features three different pin insertion points, offering three ‘levels’ to insert drapery pins. This provides the flexibility of being able to choose the exact height you’d like your drapes to sit. Choose the level that you’d like to use for the best possible height/look for your drapery, while factoring in if you’d like your track/pole to be visible or hidden.
STEP 2: Start inserting drapery pins along the entire length of the tape, aiming for one drapery pin behind every ‘pinch’. Ensure that the pins are inserted securely and evenly spaced across the width of the curtain.
STEP 3: Once all the drapery pins are inserted in the heading tape, hook the curved end of the pin into the eyelet of the drapery ring, clip, or track carrier. Ensure that each pin is firmly secured in the hardware to prevent any slipping or sagging of the curtains. And that’s it!
In Closing
Extravagance and glitz, not short of functional efficiency - that’s what goblet pinch pleat drapery is all about. No matter what fabric, palette or pattern you choose, the heading style does enough and more to make the drapery extraordinary. Such is the aura of this exquisite luminary that a window can evolve into a focal point in an instant. If you were looking for a head-turner curtain heading style, this is it - goblet pinch pleats! Jump right away into our collection of curtains online and enjoy your shopping!