What size curtains for a 120 cm window?
168 × 229 cm each curtain · 66 × 90 in · one pair
For a 120 cm (47 in) window, buy one ready-made pair with each curtain 168 × 229 cm (66 × 90 in), on a pole 160 cm (63 in) long. Fit the pole with its top 230 cm (7 ft 7 in) from the floor, 25 cm (10 in) above the window, and the hems end just clear of the floor.
Curtain sizes on the packet are for one curtain, and you measure for the pole, not the glass. The pole runs past the window on both sides so that the open curtains stack against the wall, and the two curtains together should be about 2 times as wide as the pole so that they still fall in folds when closed.
That is why a window this size takes the middle width, not the narrowest. The narrow pair would close, but pulled almost flat, which looks mean and lets light round the edges.
Worked out for A window 120 cm (47 in) wide and 115 cm (45 in) high, its sill 90 cm (35 in) from the floor, under a 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) ceiling, with eyelet curtains on a pole, to the floor. Change the numbers
The working
- Window top = 90 + 115 = 205 cm from the floor.
- Pole length = 120 + 2 × 20 = 160 cm.
- Lowest pole top = 205 + 15 = 220 cm. Two thirds of the way to the ceiling = 205 + (240 − 205) × ⅔ = 228 cm. Highest = 240 − 5 = 235 cm.
- Hem at 1 cm (floor). Drop measured from the top of the pole.
- A 229 cm drop puts the pole top at 1 + 229 = 230 cm, between 220 and 235 cm.
- Each curtain ≥ 160 × 2 ÷ 2 = 160 cm wide: 168 cm.
The rules, and their sources
Pole past each side of the window
Let the pole run 15–20 cm (6–8 in) past each side of the window, or 25–30 cm for pencil pleat and heavy curtains, so they stack off the glass. Dunelm's rule with no pole fitted: the window + 40 cm.
A rule designers use Sources: Argos, Curtain pole buying guide (checked 31 October 2026); Dunelm, How to measure for curtains (checked 31 October 2026); Poles and Blinds, Extra long curtain poles guide (checked 31 October 2026).
Curtain fullness
Both curtains together, laid flat, are about twice the pole's length for Dunelm's standard gather, 2.5 times for a fuller look, and about 1.5 times for tab tops.
A rule designers use Sources: Dunelm, How to measure for curtains (checked 31 October 2026); Dunelm, Curtains measuring guide (checked 31 October 2026).
UK ready-made curtain sizes
UK shops sell ready-made curtains in pairs, each curtain 117, 168 or 229 cm wide (46, 66, 90 in) and 137, 183 or 229 cm long (54, 72, 90 in); some ranges also come 274 cm (108 in) long.
Shop sizes Sources: Dunelm, How to measure for curtains (checked 31 October 2026); John Lewis, Hidcote Weave lined eyelet curtains (checked 31 October 2026); Next, Living room help: curtain sizes (checked 31 October 2026); Blinds Direct, How to measure for curtains (checked 31 October 2026).
Other window widths
The same window height and ceiling. The pole is the window plus 20 cm (8 in) each side, and the pair is the narrowest that gathers properly on it.
| Window | Pole | Each curtain of the pair |
|---|---|---|
| 90 cm (35 in) | 130 cm (51 in) | 168 × 229 cm (66 × 90 in) |
| 120 cm (47 in) this page | 160 cm (63 in) | 168 × 229 cm (66 × 90 in) |
| 150 cm (59 in) | 190 cm (75 in) | 229 × 229 cm (90 × 90 in) |
| 180 cm (71 in) | 220 cm (7 ft 3 in) | 229 × 229 cm (90 × 90 in) |
| 210 cm (83 in) | 250 cm (8 ft 2 in) | no ready-made pair |
| 240 cm (7 ft 10 in) | 280 cm (9 ft 2 in) | no ready-made pair |
Change the numbers
Your sizes will differ. The curtain size calculator opens with these numbers filled in: change any of them and the answer, the working and the drawing follow.
Editorial notes
Worked out by the Snuug team on 12 November 2026 with the same code as the curtain size calculator, so the two cannot disagree. Every rule cites its source, with the date we last checked it. A rule designers use is a convention, not a study.
Other sources the calculator draws on:
- Dunelm Ireland (10 Nov 2018), How to put up a curtain pole (at least 15 cm above the window), checked 31 October 2026
- Terry's Fabrics, How to measure your window for curtain poles (15–20 cm above; 8–10 cm when tight), checked 31 October 2026
- Havenly (Clark, 3 Jun 2025, updated 10 Jun 2026), How to hang curtains like an interior designer (two thirds of the way to the ceiling), checked 31 October 2026
- Direct Fabrics, Understanding curtain stacking (about 15 cm per fabric width for eyelet, 25 cm for pencil pleat), checked 31 October 2026