Roundup

Best blackout curtain liners

The cheapest route to a dark room when you already have curtains — and the one thing a liner cannot fix.

By Janet H. · Last updated September 23, 2026 · How we choose

Layered white curtain fabric showing a lining behind the face panel

A blackout liner is a plain panel of blackout fabric that hangs behind the curtains you already own. The liner blocks the light; your existing curtains carry on doing the decorating. It is the cheapest way to darken a room without replacing anything, and for renters it is often the only sensible route — liners come off the rod in thirty seconds and move house with you.

The thing to be clear about before you buy: a liner only covers what it hangs behind. If your curtains are narrower than the window, or stop at the sill, the liner will do the same, and the gaps stay exactly where they are. A liner fixes fabric that does not block light. It does not fix coverage.

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Before the list

Ring-on or hook-on

Liners attach one of two ways, and the choice depends entirely on the curtains you already have.

Ring-on liners have detachable rings along the top that snap open, so they clip straight onto an existing rod behind grommet or rod-pocket curtains without taking anything down. This is the easy option, and the rings usually sit hidden behind the curtain's own header.

Hook-on liners use curtain hooks through a tape at the top, which suits pleated or tab-top curtains where there is no rod space left for extra rings. They are more fiddly to fit and more secure once fitted.

Size the liner 2 to 4 inches shorter than the curtain in both directions. A liner peeking below the hem or out at the side looks like a mistake and pulls the curtain's shape out. A liner that stops just short disappears.

#	Best for	Product	Attachment	Construction	Care	Price
1	Best overall	Blackout Curtain Liners with detachable rings Anyone with grommet or rod-pocket curtains who wants darkness this weekend without taking the window apart.	Detachable snap rings	Woven blackout, uncoated	Machine wash cold	Check price on Amazon #ad We don’t show prices — check the current one on Amazon. How we’re funded
2	Best for pleated curtains	Thermal Insulated Blackout Liner, hooks included Pleated, pinch-pleat or tab-top curtains, and any window where the rod is already full.	Curtain hooks	Thermal insulated woven	Machine wash cold	Check price on Amazon #ad We don’t show prices — check the current one on Amazon. How we’re funded
3	Best as a second panel	Blackout Curtain Panels used as drape liners Wide windows and long drops, where a thin liner would billow or hang limp behind the face panel.	Hooks	Full blackout panel	Machine wash cold	Check price on Amazon #ad We don’t show prices — check the current one on Amazon. How we’re funded
4	Best if you'd rather start over	100% Blackout Curtains with black liner Anyone who does not love their current curtains enough to keep them, and would rather hang one thing than two.	N/A — integrated	Face fabric + sewn liner	Machine wash cold	Check price on Amazon #ad We don’t show prices — check the current one on Amazon. How we’re funded

01 — Best overall

Blackout Curtain Liners with detachable rings

NICETOWN

Blackout liners with rings that snap open, so they go onto a rod behind existing curtains without removing anything. Sized to sit behind standard curtain drops, and the rings are slim enough to hide behind a grommet header.

Who it’s for: Anyone with grommet or rod-pocket curtains who wants darkness this weekend without taking the window apart.

The catch: The added rings take up rod space. On a rod already crowded with grommets on a narrow window, you may run out of room before the liner sits flat.

At a glance

Attachment: Detachable snap rings
Construction: Woven blackout, uncoated
Care: Machine wash cold
Sizing: Fits 63–108 in curtains
Fits: Grommet, rod pocket

Check price on Amazon

#ad We don’t show prices — check the current one on Amazon. How we’re funded

02 — Best for pleated curtains

Thermal Insulated Blackout Liner, hooks included

NICETOWN

A hook-on liner supplied with curtain hooks, for curtains with a pleated or tape header where there is no rod space left for extra rings. Sold in narrower panel widths, so you can match an odd curtain width by combining them.

Who it’s for: Pleated, pinch-pleat or tab-top curtains, and any window where the rod is already full.

The catch: Fitting takes longer than a snap ring and you have to get the hook spacing even, or the liner hangs unevenly behind the curtain and shows at the hem.

At a glance

Attachment: Curtain hooks
Construction: Thermal insulated woven
Care: Machine wash cold
Sizing: Panel widths to combine
Fits: Pleated, tape, tab top

Check price on Amazon

#ad We don’t show prices — check the current one on Amazon. How we’re funded

03 — Best as a second panel

Blackout Curtain Panels used as drape liners

NICETOWN

Full blackout panels supplied with hooks and intended to hang as a lining layer. Because they are proper panels rather than thin liners, they have more body and hang better on a wide window — useful when the liner is doing more of the work than the face curtain.

Who it’s for: Wide windows and long drops, where a thin liner would billow or hang limp behind the face panel.

The catch: Noticeably heavier than a dedicated liner, which puts real load on the rod. Check your brackets and add a center support before you hang a pair on a wide span.

At a glance

Attachment: Hooks
Construction: Full blackout panel
Care: Machine wash cold
Sizing: Standard panel widths
Fits: Most headers, via hooks

Check price on Amazon

#ad We don’t show prices — check the current one on Amazon. How we’re funded

04 — Best if you'd rather start over

100% Blackout Curtains with black liner

Deconovo

A curtain with the liner already sewn in, which is the alternative to retrofitting: one product, one layer to hang, no ring-space problem and no liner showing at the hem.

Who it’s for: Anyone who does not love their current curtains enough to keep them, and would rather hang one thing than two.

The catch: You are replacing rather than adding, so the existing curtains go in a cupboard. And you lose the flexibility of removing the liner in summer.

At a glance

Attachment: N/A — integrated
Construction: Face fabric + sewn liner
Care: Machine wash cold
Sizing: 63 / 72 / 84 / 96 in
Fits: Replaces existing panels

Check price on Amazon

#ad We don’t show prices — check the current one on Amazon. How we’re funded

Buying guide

What a liner changes, and what it doesn't

What it does well

Darkness without replacing curtains. A good liner is the same class of fabric as a blackout panel, so light blocking through the fabric is comparable.
Thermal improvement. A second layer with an air gap between it and the face curtain slows heat loss through the glass — the same principle as double glazing, at a much lower standard.
Reversibility. Take it down in spring, put it back in autumn. Take it with you when you move. Nothing on the wall changes.
Protecting the face fabric. The liner takes the UV, not your curtains. On a sun-facing window that measurably slows fading on the panel you actually like.

What it doesn't fix

Side gaps, top gaps and short curtains — all of which are coverage problems. If light is coming around your curtains rather than through them, a liner changes nothing at all, and you want a wider rod mounted higher. Diagnose it properly first: how to fix curtain light gaps.

The weight problem

Adding a liner roughly doubles the weight hanging on your rod. A rod that was fine with a pair of unlined panels may start to bow, and brackets set in drywall without an anchor may start to pull. Before you add liners to a wide window, check the rod has a center support — the fix is cheap and the failure is not.

Methodology

How we chose

Selection is on attachment method, available sizes — specifically whether the range includes drops that sit correctly behind standard 63, 84 and 96-inch curtains — and construction. We prefer uncoated woven liners for washability. We do not test these. Methodology.

FAQ

Questions people actually ask

Do blackout liners work as well as blackout curtains?

Through the fabric, yes — a liner is the same class of material, just hung behind something else. The difference is in coverage: a liner inherits whatever width and length your existing curtains have, so it cannot fix light coming around the edges.

What size liner do I need?

Two to four inches shorter than your curtains in both width and drop, so nothing peeks out at the hem or the sides. Measure the actual curtain, not the window — the liner is sized to the panel it hangs behind.

Can I put a blackout liner behind sheer curtains?

Yes, and it is one of the better uses for one: sheers by day, darkness at night, on a single rod. Use a ring-on liner so you can unclip it in the morning if you want the window to read as sheer only.

Will a liner help with heat and cold?

Some. A second layer with an air gap between it and the face curtain slows heat transfer — the same principle as double glazing, at a much lower standard. Sealing the top of the curtain matters more than the liner does; see the drafts hub.

Do liners add much weight to the rod?

Roughly double. That is enough to make a marginal rod bow and a drywall bracket start to pull, especially on a wide window. Add a center support bracket before you add liners rather than after the rod sags.

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