update on the plan! Shannon- thanks- I love Candice too! If I weren't using a solid color sheer in the center of the door I would definetly consider doing a solid vertical stripe up edges. The fabric on these panels will never be closed completely. Tam184- The seamstress asked me to describe the pattern and I spoke with her about "matching the repeat" (all new terms for me!) so I am assuming she knows how to do this. She said she would come out to the house and measure the door herself because I was a novice with giving her concrete measurements for sewing. Ajsmama- This is a local women here in Florida that the fabric store recommended. They gave me 2 names and warned me that one was a little bit more expensive, but that both were very good. As I said before, I live in a pretty small town. I have a feeling prices vary depending on where you live. Have you checked locally? I bought the fabric yesterday. After all of this information ( thank you all a million times over) I have decided to have them sewn professionally. The fabric was pretty expensive for my budget, and I don't want to risk ruining it. It will mean waiting a bit longer, but I have been in the house for 6 years without curtains for the door, so what's another month or two! I would rather wait to save up to have it done properly. Thanks again, and will post pics as soon as they are done!

First-- you can buy extra hook carriers so you are not limited to the number that come with the rods, though you probably won't need them. Second--For full drapes you will need 3x the width of the window or the width you want the finished drapes to be if you make them wider than the window. If you make five finger pleats you may need more. You will need the length you want the finished drapes to be plus an extra header width and a good sized hem. If they are full length drapes I usually put a 4 or 5 inch hem, but it depends on your material. Don't go too small or they look cheap. To make pinch pleats. You need header tape. Remove the selvedge edges from the sides. Put the header tape on the top end 1 1/2 inch in from the edge--stop 1 1/2 inch from the other edge and cut the tape. Fold the material down over the tape 1/2 inch and sew. Make a 1 inch hem on the sides. Now fold the tape down so the tape is enclosed in the material and pin. Now comes the measuring. I prefer a 3 finger pleat. If I want extra fullness I make the pleats closer together. You need 1 inch for each finger--a 3 finger pleat requires 3 inches. Measure 1 1/2 inches from the edge and make a mark. You can use chalk, sewing pencil or even a soft lead pencil. You don't need a big mark , just something you can see to mark where the pleat pocket is. For a 3 finger pleat with 2 inches between pleats---Measure the curtain across the top. Take off 6 inches--for ends and pleat at the end. Divide the remainder by 5 and see how it works out. You may have to increase or decrease the end measurement or make it 2 1/2 inches between pleats.now measure 3 inches and make a mark. Now mark the distance between the pleats 2, then 3 for pleat repeat across the top. Sew your pleat loops from top to bottom of thr tape so you have one big pleat. Now pleat the loop and finger press into 3-- 1/2 inch pleats and stitch across the bottom of the pleats at the bottom of the tape. If you want to make it easier then buy pleater tape that has strings you pull to pleat them. This makes very nice pleats all across the drape. The tighter you pull the strings the fuller the pleats. You sew it on flat and then pull the strings and tie them off. I suggest you get hooks that go the full length of the tape in both cases. Little hooks tend to make the tape fall forward on top and if you put them higher the rod shows. I also suggest that you look at rods that have wooden rings on top and clip on to the drapes. They are as easy as a shower curtain to open and close. The link below is very good and it will give you a lot of info about making drapes Here is a link that might be useful: tutorial on drapes

Was the puckering from shrinkage, or did it press out? If it didn't shrink, I wouldn't mess with it at all. Same if you're just going to vacuum them weekly until you get tired of them (or they fade) and change them. If you'll wash them rather than dry clean them, then wash the fabric. If you're going to dry clean them, you can steam the fabric heavily- like to the point of dampness- then iron it some more to eliminate the shrinkage yourself, or you can have the cleaners do it for you.

Not sure if this is at all helpful to anyone else; I came across a blog entry (link below) with the following tip but have never used it myself: 'If you arenâÂÂt picky, or if you donâÂÂt need something that looks super high end and you just want some pretty fabric panels sewn, then your new best friend is your drycleaner/tailor. Drapery is sooo easy to sew, its having the space that is difficult which is why i donâÂÂt do it very often. But its just two double hems on the sides and 4-6â³ hems on the top and bottom. Straight seams. SOOOO easy. So normally your local dry-cleaner will do it for $20 a panel (maybe even less).' The blog post continues from there, but it struck a chord with me because my one attempt at sewing curtains was pretty unsuccessful due to the space issue that she mentions. In a small home with a small dining table, there was nowhere to lay the fabric out to pin the seams except on the carpet, which was too squishy to get accurate measurements and really get the seams straight. Add my cats running across the curtain fabric every 2 minutes, and you get... uneven, puckered curtains. But for other folks, this may not be a problem at all! I'm not familiar with sewing studios, but if they have big enough workspace then that might completely fix the issue. If you're not very familiar with sewing, I recommend a very simple treatment like a rod pocket or using clip rings, but of course you might have great success with something fancier! Here is a link that might be useful: Style by Emily Henderson