Made to measure or ready made: which blind actually suits your window?

Fit: the difference that actually matters

A ready made roller blind trimmed to width will fit a straight-sided recess reasonably well. It will not compensate for a window that is 6mm narrower at the sill than at the head, which is common in older timber frames and in properties that have settled slightly, both of which describe a lot of housing across Hythe, Folkestone and the surrounding villages.

Made to measure blinds are cut to the smallest of three measurements taken on site, so the gap at every point is consistent. On a genuinely square, modern uPVC window the practical difference in fit can be small. On anything older or slightly out of true, it is the difference between a blind that glides and one that catches.

Fabric range and finish

Ready made ranges are limited to whatever pattern and colourway a retailer has chosen to stock that season, and once it is discontinued you cannot match it if you extend to a second window later. Made to measure opens up the full Luxaflex and Blind Screens fabric books, including blackout weaves, solar screen meshes with a proper openness rating, and colours that can be matched years apart.

• Ready made: limited colourways, seasonal stock, harder to match later.
• Made to measure: full fabric book, consistent restocking, colour matched across rooms.

Mechanisms and safety features

Cheaper ready made blinds tend to come with a basic chain or cord and little else. Made to measure lets you specify a cordless spring mechanism, a child safety compliant tension device, or a motorised system with a remote, all fitted properly to the mechanism rather than added as an afterthought clip.

Lifespan and how each ages

A well fitted made to measure blind, particularly on a Luxaflex mechanism, is built to be operated many thousands of times without the headrail sagging or the chain stripping. Ready made mechanisms are made to a price and tend to show wear sooner, especially in a well used kitchen or family room.

Fabric fade happens to both at roughly the same rate in strong coastal light, so do not expect a made to measure fabric to resist the sun any better unless you have specifically chosen a UV stable weave.

Awkward windows: where ready made simply will not do the job

Bay windows, bi-fold doors, arched tops, windows with a handle inside the recess, and anything wider than the largest standard ready made width all need a made to measure or bespoke solution. Trying to force a ready made blind onto a bay usually ends with three mismatched blinds and visible gaps between them.

Where ready made is genuinely the right call

If you are dressing a small, perfectly square, modern window in a rental property or a room you plan to redecorate again within a couple of years, a ready made blind can be entirely sensible. We would say the same to a customer standing in front of us: spend the money where it earns its keep, and do not over-specify a box room you will change your mind about next year.

Tolerances and deductions: why the numbers on the packet mislead people

Ready made sizes are usually sold in bands, say 60cm, 90cm or 120cm width, and the packaging tells you to deduct several millimetres for clearance yourself before trimming. That deduction is a generic figure written for every window in the country, not yours, so it assumes a level of squareness your reveal may not actually have.

A made to measure order works the other way round. The fitter takes the smallest of three width readings and the smallest of three drop readings, then applies a deduction specific to the mechanism you have chosen, a slim perfect fit clip needs less clearance than a boxy wood Venetian headrail. That per-window, per-mechanism deduction is the actual reason a made to measure blind glides cleanly while a trimmed ready made one can still bind at one corner even after cutting.

• Ready made deduction: one generic figure printed on the packaging.
• Made to measure deduction: calculated per window and per mechanism.
• Trimming width at home does not correct an uneven drop or a skewed corner.