Swags & Tails Curtains: What They Are & Where They Suit

Swags and tails are a traditional, made-to-measure curtain top-treatment. The swag is a soft half-moon of fabric draped across the top of the window; the tails are the pleated lengths that cascade down each side. Together they frame a window formally, and they're at their best on tall windows, period homes and rooms you want to feel dressed rather than plain.

What are swags and tails?

They're the two parts of one classic drapery treatment that sits across the top of a window, usually on a mounted pelmet board and often over sheers or curtains:

• The swag: a length of fabric gathered into soft, draped folds that hang in a half-moon curve across the window head. You can have a single swag on a narrow window, or several overlapping swags across a wide one.
• The tails (also called cascades or jabots): the vertical pieces that fall down each side of the window, folded or pleated so the fabric steps down in a zig-zag. Tails are usually lined in a contrast fabric, so that colour shows on each fold.

Think of the swag as the soft curve at the top and the tails as the elegant legs either side. It's a decorative, fabric-led look, closer to soft furnishing than to a hard blind, and because every window is a different width and height, swags and tails are made to measure rather than bought to a set size.

Swags and tails, pelmet or valance: what's the difference?

They're all top-treatments that hide the track and finish the top of a window, but they're not the same thing:

• Swags and tails are soft, draped fabric, the most decorative and formal of the three.
• A pelmet is a firm face or box (padded, timber or plaster) across the top, tailored and structural, and the better hider of a track or roller.
• A valance is a short, gathered fabric frill on its own, softer than a pelmet, plainer than swags and tails.

Where swags and tails suit, and where they don't

Swags and tails belong in formal, fabric-led rooms with height to fill. They earn their place when the window and the room can carry a decorative treatment:

• Formal living and dining rooms, where you want the window to feel finished and a little grand.
• Tall and feature windows. High heads and long drops give the swag room to drape and the tails room to fall.
• Period and Federation homes. Swags and tails sit naturally with the era's ceiling heights and detailing.
• Function and hospitality spaces: hotel lounges, function rooms and boardrooms, where a traditional, dressed look is the brief.

Where they don't suit: small, low windows (there's no height for the drape to work), and minimalist or modern rooms, where a clean S-fold curtain or a plain pelmet reads better. If you love the softness but the room's contemporary, sheers on a wave track usually give you the effect you're after without the formality.

Your options: single vs multiple swags, and finishes

• Number of swags: a narrow window takes a single swag; wider windows take two, three or more overlapping swags so the drape stays in proportion.
• Symmetric or asymmetric: the classic look is a swag with a matching tail each side. On some windows a single sweeping swag with one tail suits better, handy next to a wall or a corner.
• Contrast lining: lining the tails in a second fabric puts a flash of colour on every fold, the detail that lifts swags and tails from plain to bespoke.
• Trims: braid, fringing or a bullion along the edges is traditional and optional.
• Over what: they usually sit over sheers or lined curtains, so you keep the light control and privacy underneath and the swags do the dressing on top.

Are swags and tails dated?

Honestly, they went quiet for a while, and heavy, over-swagged, over-fringed versions do date a room. But done in the right fabric and kept in proportion, swags and tails are back in favour, especially in period homes and formal rooms. The trick is restraint: a clean swag, a well-cut tail, a fabric that suits the room, and a proportion that fits the window. That's a make-and-measure job, not an off-the-shelf one, which is exactly where a workroom earns its keep.

How we make swags and tails

We hand-sew our curtains, swags and tails in our own Bathurst workroom, and we measure and install them ourselves. Because the drape only looks right when the proportions are right, we measure the pelmet board, the return and the drop on site, cut the swags and tails to your window, line them (contrast if you like), and hang them so they sit the way they should. It's the kind of treatment that goes wrong bought to a size and right made to a window.

Frequently asked questions

What are swags and tails?
A traditional curtain top-treatment. The swag is the draped half-moon of fabric across the top of the window; the tails are the pleated lengths that cascade down each side, usually contrast-lined. Together they dress the head of a window in a formal, soft way.

What's the difference between swags and tails and a pelmet?
Swags and tails are soft, draped fabric and the most decorative option. A pelmet is a firm face or box, tailored, structural, and better at hiding a track or roller. A valance is a plain fabric frill, softer than a pelmet but plainer than swags and tails.

Can you get swags and tails made to measure?
Yes, it's the only way they work well. Every window is a different width and height, so we cut and hand-sew the swags and tails to your window in our Bathurst workroom, then install them.

Where do swags and tails suit best?
Formal living and dining rooms, tall and feature windows, period and Federation homes, and hospitality spaces. They need height to drape properly, so they're not the pick for small, low windows or minimalist rooms.

Are swags and tails still in style?
Yes, when they're kept in proportion and made in the right fabric. Heavy, over-fringed versions date; a clean, well-cut swag and tail in a good fabric suits period and formal rooms today.

Quicksew has been making and installing window furnishings in Bathurst since 1977. Book a free measure and quote and we'll bring the fabrics to you. Call (02) 6332 2144.