🛠️ How to Add or Remove Curtain Track Gliders
A simple guide to tweaking the number of gliders on your track
Adding or removing curtain track gliders from our regular curtain rails is a super easy job — honestly, it’ll only take a minute or two. You should be able to do it just using your fingers. But if the silver eyelet (also called the end stop) and the end cap are a bit stiff, a gentle nudge with a pair of pliers should do the trick.
▶️ Watch: A Quick How-To Video
Show/Hide Transcript
Prefer to read along or want to copy a step? Here’s the full written version of what I talk through in the video.
Introduction to Curtain Track Adjustments
Hi. I'm Lee Stevens from ezecurtains.co.uk. I'm going to show you quickly how to either add or remove gliders from the curtain tracks that you buy from us. It's a really simple process. So let's have a quick look.
Removing End Caps and Eyelets
On the end here, we've got a little silver eyelet, and you can twist it anti clockwise to loosen it, and then on the end, you've got an end cap now you can usually get them out with your fingers, but occasionally you might need a pair of pliers to loosen the eyelet and the end cap.
Adding and Removing Gliders
Once they're off, removing gliders is really simple to straight off the end or you can add extra gliders in, feed them into the end, and then repeat the process to put everything back together. I'll it into the end.
Securing the Components
Twist clockwise. Now that's in tight, so we don't need to use the pliers on it.
Final Assembly and Tips
And then the end cap back in, quick tap, and we're back together. Now, have you ever an overlapping curtain track?
Important Cautions for Overlapping Tracks
Then do not remove the end caps from the center. You must always do me outside. The center ones have been crimped into place to stop them moving So hopefully that was helpful and, thank you very much for watching.
âť“ Why Would You Need to Add or Remove Gliders?
Good question. It’s usually one of these reasons:
- You’re hanging curtains that don’t need as many gliders as we supplied,
- You’re using curtains with extra gather,
- You’ve chosen a different curtain heading style, or
- You’re using the track for curtains you already have at home.
Let’s break that down a bit...
đź“Ź How Many Gliders Do We Include as Standard?
When you order a new custom-made curtain track from us, we don’t always know what sort of curtains you’ll be using — unless you’ve ordered curtains at the same time. So we work to a common rule of thumb.
We base the number of gliders on a regular pencil pleat curtain, made to double the width of the track. Here’s how it works:
- Let’s say your track is 200cm wide.
- We assume the curtains will be made to 400cm before gathering (that’s double).
- A standard roll of curtain fabric is about 140cm wide.
- So you’d need roughly 2.8 widths of fabric, which we round up to 3 widths.
- We allow 10 gliders per fabric width, so that’s 30 gliders in total.
Simple enough — but it doesn’t suit every situation.
âž•âž– When Might You Want More (or Fewer) Gliders?
If your curtains are narrower than we allow for, you might have too many gliders.
If they’re wider, or have more gather, you’ll probably need a few extra.
Changing the curtain heading also makes a difference. For example:
- Double pinch pleat or deep 6-inch pleats usually need fewer gliders.
- Wave curtains or extra gathered pencil pleats might need more gliders.
The good news is — if you think you’ll need extras, just let us know when ordering. We’ll pack them separately so you can add or remove as needed.
How do you know how many gliders you need?
It’s not an exact science — but here’s a really handy tip:
If you're reusing your own curtains, hook them up first and count how many hooks you use. That way, you'll know exactly how many gliders you’ll need before ordering your new track.
Pencil Pleat Gathered Curtain Heading💡 Using Your Own Curtains? Here’s a Handy Glider Tip
Ordering curtain hooks too? Use this trick:
- Use one hook every 4th pocket on your heading tape.
- That’ll tell you roughly how many hooks and gliders to allow for.
You can watch this video here to see how to position your curtain hooks on a pencil pleat gathered curtain heading.
🎯 Still Not Sure How Many you Need? Let Us Help You
No stress — Just get in touch here. We’ll let you know exactly what’s needed to suit your new curtains. Easy.
Just let us know the following things.
- Ready made, or made to measure curtains
- Curtain heading style, such as pencil pleat, pinch pleat
Total track width
🧮 Still Need a Track? Get an Instant Price Online
While you’re here, why not get an instant price for a custom-made bay window curtain track?
Use our quick calculator — no more wrestling with that old, clunky track!
Or looking for a straight track. Then checkout our ceiling mount curtain tracks, or our wall mount curtain tracks here.
🙋‍♀️ FAQs — Things Customers Often Ask Us
FAQs
How do I know if I need more gliders?
Count your curtain hooks or use one every 4th pocket. That gives a good guide for how many gliders you will need. Our tracks will come with 20 gliders for every metre of track width.
What if I'm using a different heading style?
Different curtain headings need different glider counts. The most popular curtain heading style in the UK is a pencil pleat gathered heading. So all our standard glider tracks allow for hanging this curtain style. If you're hanging double or triple pinch pleat headed curtains. Then you won't need as many gliders.
Are curtain hooks included if I order any of your curtain tracks?
No! but you have the option to buy them in packs of 50, when you order any of our curtain tracks. We supply nylon hooks, zinc metal hooks, and zinc metal pin hooks (pinch pleat heading).