Sorry. I'm not sure what you mean by "eyelets

Eyelets are the rings that are sewn into the curtain (not sure if there is another industry term for them). Picture as below.
Thanks

Many thanks nanny2a: I've known them as eyelets - obviously wrong. Off to do a search on grommets vs pinch pleats etc etc now that I have the correct term. Thanks again :-)

This post was edited by gemcap on Sun, Aug 31, 14 at 12:08

Pinch pleats are now considered quite formal in appearance. For a less structured look, you might want to look for hidden tab curtains, or back tab curtains. This is the style that most of my customers in my shop now want, hidden back tabs. Here is a sample of how they look. I have not had a customer ask for pinch pleats in the last two years.

Here is a link that might be useful: Back tab curtains

At least I can give a bit of my own observations about grommet drapes. I wanted to update a few rooms, tiring of my home made valance and other treatments.

They have been up for a few years. When being cleaned the grommets seperate from the fabric. Often I put them into the dryer just for a quick air fresh & again, the grommets have to be attached. Thank goodness for hot glue guns.

They are really difficult to arrange, hang properly, and move with difficulty on the wooden rods.

Overall it seems to be just about all you can find any more in the drapery departments. I really miss having better selections. Sorry for the bad pix. Just today trying to learn to post on my phone as my ipad has never worked for posting pictures

It can be difficult to move grommet and back-tab curtains, so it is best if they are stationary. When you close and then open them back, the folds don't go back into place "just so". The back-tab curtains give a cleaner look to the front and you don't see these big holes. Last year I was mulling between the two and finally went with the back tabs for shorter casual curtains in a back entrance room.

You'll see lots of pinch-pleat draperies in decorating mags and Houzz (for example). They tend to be on rings nowadays, which takes away a bit of the formality, but they look so gorgeous compared to back-tab and grommet curtains IMO, mainly because there is so much more fabric involved. The rings are a problem if you try to move them over the center of rods where there is an inner and outer join in the middle.

I think you should decide based on where the draperies will go, how you want to use them, and the degree of formality/informality of the room.

Andee : My curtains are (and always have been) pinch pleat on rings , I like the look (and my room is quite informal) and they are relatively low maintenance. Was just wondering if there was a different look and use I was missing out on.

hogette : thanks for the feedback. The curtains are going to be opened and closed every morning and evening so I would worry about grommets staying or not staying in place.

nanny2a : thanks for the links and the pictures. You've all given me something to think about.

I love rings. You can get all kinds of looks depending on where you attach them. They slide well, too.

I have drapes with rings in my office and master bedroom, and grommeted curtains in the secondary bedrooms. I never have had difficulty opening and closing them. I think the trick with grommets is to have the rod all one piece, and to not have the rod too large for the hole--they slide easier that way. If either style get sluggish to slide, I just run some clear wax along the top of the rod.

I think grommet curtains are more modern looking and kind of plastic -y. For some reason they remind me of vertical blinds. But my daughter just bought some and they look really cute in her house which is much more trendy than mine. Just a different style.

I think that "eyelets" possibly function the same way as "grommets." But it's possible that eyelets come in a bigger variety of colors. Does anyone know if that's correct?