Regarding the blackout lining showing pin pricks; yes they do! For the baby's room I bought a pair of what was supposed to be blackout curtains from Kmart and I was very disappointed with the amount of light that came through. So I did a very quick, very rough tacking of the Joann blackout liner to the back of them and every single stitch mark is clearly seen across the top. The curtains that I made and put pictures of at the beginning of the thread I took much more time with and made them differently than any "patterns" I've seen for curtains. I actually cut the blackout liner to the same size as the fabric, except shortened the length a couple inches, and then folded the top and both sides like you would do for a hem at the bottom of clothes. There are no pinprick holes where light comes through.
But I just recently decided to put up a blackout curtain behind the "decorative" curtain in our bedroom and for expediency I decided to buy them. I got these from Amazon and am really pleased with them. Put them inside the window frame on a simple tension rod and they do an excellent job of blocking light.