What Is A Rod Pocket Curtain? And Where You Should Never Put One

There are many different ways to hang or mount window coverings. Rod pocket style curtains hang from a pocket that is built into the fabric. The rod goes inside the top of the curtain just like your arm goes into your shirt sleeve.

There are different header types within the rod pocket category. Some rod pocket curtains have the pocket right at the top of the fabric and some have a header or a strip of curtain fabric at the top. The header size can vary. They are the best choice if you are looking for a soft casual look to the curtain.

Pros and Cons of Rod Pocket Curtains

• Hard To Move – The biggest con of a rod pocket curtain is that the curtain panel is difficult to move. They rarely slide across the rod with any amount of ease. It’s more like a tug of war to get them to move open and closed.
• Easy to Make – The biggest pro for rod pocket curtains is that they are the easiest types of curtains to make
• Inexpensive – This tends to be one of the curtain mounts that is the least expensive.

Where Rod Pocket Curtains Are Best Used

Because they are so difficult to maneuver these window treatments tend to work best in rooms where you don’t want to open and close the drapes. Think about your dining room, your kitchen, your living room, or your office. Do you frequently want to open and close the drapes in these rooms? Probably not, so this might be the easiest curtain to use in those areas.

They ARE NOT great for bedrooms where you might want to open and close the curtains in the morning and evening or have blackout curtains for a little privacy or light filtering.

How To Make Rod Pocket Curtains Slide Easier?

What if you already have rod pocket curtains and you just want to be able to open and close them more easily? Here are three tips.

1. Make sure the rod is small. One thing that makes your drapes hard to move is that the fit around the rod is tight. Consider replacing your rods with narrower ones.
2. Use a smooth metal decorative rod. Metal is an easier surface for the top edge of the fabric to slide over. Wood tends to be grabbier.
3. Buy rings and convert your rod pocket curtains to ring curtains, which slide open and shut easily. You can even fold the top of your curtain over and clip that in the metal ring so you don’t have to alter the bottom hem of the rod pocket panel.

What is a Rod Pocket vs A Grommet Curtain?

Sometimes a picture can be worth a thousand words. Here are two types of drapes, a rod pocket, and a grommet. I love the curtains at Pottery Barn (if I could afford to put them everywhere I would). I don’t like grommet curtains, although they are easier to open and close I don’t like the grommet ring at the top of the panel INSIDE the fabric.

The rod pocket curtain here is the Belgian Flax Rod Pocket. The grommet curtain here is Emery grommet curtain. This post explains all of the different mounting methods for curtains,

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