Pinch Pleating Curtains (The Easy Way)

What is a pinch pleat curtain?

The heading on your curtains is called a pinch pleat. It’s basically fabric that is pinched together into a pleat.

Some people stitch the pleats. I, on the other side, took advantage of the pleat tape that was already sewn to my curtains.

How do you make pinch pleat curtains?

You can also sew pleats yourself if you’re adventurous. You can also purchase pleating tape and then sew it (or iron-on heatbond) onto your curtains. I also used the pleat hooks. Later, I will go into more detail.

How to hang pinch pleat curtain?

After inserting your pleater hooks into your pleater tape, I used these curtain rings as a hanger for my curtains.

How do you make pinch pleat curtains with no tape?

There are probably tutorials on the internet that show you how to make pleats in your curtains.

In the past, I made curtains out of fabric. I then used a trick to make them look pleated.

If you want to cheat, you can go back and read my first post about my faux DIY pin pleat curtains.

This will not look exactly like a pinch pleat, but I thought it was good enough and very easy to make.

Does IKEA sell pinch pleat curtains?

If you are still asking this question, you probably haven’t been reading my blog. Not all IKEA curtains have the pleat tap. The pleat tape will not be on their grommet curtain or tab-heading curtains.

Most of the other ones will have pleat tape.

How do you hang IKEA curtains using a pinch pleat?

Here’s how I hung them.

Here is a comparison to see if you think what I’m about to show is worth the effort.

The curtain panels on the left are how I normally hang my curtains, and the curtain panels on the right are what I look like after I have pleated them.

You decide whether you want to accept this challenge.

When I say “challenge”, I mean it in the kindest way possible. For a split second, I considered burning my curtains with their pinch pleat curtains.

It began very ugly. While I found some videos helpful, they didn’t work for me.

I will spare you all the unpleasant details and show you what I found to be the easiest and least painful way of doing this.

You will find the pleating tape on the back of the curtains.

You can purchase curtain tap from Amazon if your curtains don’t already have it. This tape can be attached to curtains using either a heatbond or by sewing.

The heat bond may not work perfectly, but the weight is evenly distributed on the curtains. I would assume that it will be able to hold up.

Depending on the thickness of your curtains, you may have to remove any back tabs. IKEA’s back tabs are just a few threads sewn on top of the pleat tape.

I worked in sections between the tab threads on the IKEA curtains

Each section has 16 slots. I counted from left to right 4 and then inserted a dental pick…counted 3, added another toothpick…counted three again and added yet another toothpick…

You must not pass this step without your toothpicks. You will save your life with toothpicks.

I bought these Pleat Hooks on Amazon. IKEA may have hooks, but they are different. They will give you a completely different look.

Then I inserted the pleat hooks in the slots where the toothpicks were and pushed the hooks through. The toothpicks will guide you on where to place the prongs of the hooks.

Then you can remove the toothpicks. Your pleat should resemble this

The prongs of the pleat hook were not going in the correct slot. Your pleat will appear to have had a bad day if you do this. You need to make sure that your hook is in the right slots.

Continue this down the curtain. Then, count 4,3,3 again and insert a toothpick.

It should now look like this. I added a hook at each curtain end (not pinched).

Now you can hang your freshly pinned curtains.

I am also in the process giving our TV room an update and decided to double my curtains. I love the look of pinch pleats.

You can see where I’m still painting if you look closely.

I used these round curtain clips with eyelets. I also love the curtain rod. I have the exact same curtain in my living room in the longest size.

I still need to pinch the curtains. You cannot stop once you begin.

It is true that pinch pleating curtains will make them look more expensive. It takes some time, but I think it’s worth it. Especially because I’m taking curtains that are very affordable and making them appear to be designer window treatments.

Let’s take a moment to talk about curtains.

I wrote an entire blog post on the Best Budget Curtains. I am addicted to curtains. They are like the jewels of your home decor.

They can really elevate an area.

IKEA is where I buy 96.53% of all my curtains. The price is unbeatable and the longer curtains are available. Do not even get me started with 84″ curtains. The price shown is for two panels of curtain.

Now that I’ve seen the pleat tape sewn onto their curtains, I’ll probably always buy my curtains there.

I understand that some people do not have IKEA nearby, but they can still have their curtains delivered to them. Shipping costs $5-10 per smaller item and is well worth the money.

I have Sanela curtain for my dining room. I have Hannalill curtain for my family room. I have Dytag curtains for my bedroom.

Sanela curtains come in velvet. They are so beautiful. They look great in a dining area. Unfortunately, I will be removing them and replacing them with the curtains. As you can see even the curtains that aren’t from IKEA have pleat tape.