blackout lining for pinch pleated drapes

11 years ago

hello, I am making pinch pleated drapes for a large (8' x 8') sliding patio door. The drapes will expand about a foot on each side of the door, for stacking. The fabric is a medium weight home dec cotton print. I plan on using drapery hooks to attach to rings on to each pleat to slide on a metal rod. This room gets a lot of sun. It is also where we watch TV and therefore I want to block light. Do I sew the blackout lining to the panel before pleating? Will this make for a very heavy, awkward to sew panel? I am not planning to use pleating tape, but will use buckram. Do I extend the blackout lining into the header? Or do I create a separate panel that I can attach separately to the drapery hooks? If so do I make this separate panel the finished witdth of the pleated panel? Will this allow my drapes to hang nicely or will they bunch up? I really don't want to use 2 rods. Thanks for any advice you may have. I want these drapes to look good, but to make it easy if possible!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

Laurie
11 years ago
I am not a professional but will give you some advice based on my experiences.

I made a pinch pleated drape for my large sliding glass door several years ago. We have a wood overhang outside which blocks some of the afternoon sun. I did not line the drape but I did use buckram in the header. The fabric was medium weight home decor cotton...not super thick. After sewing the header, there was a lot of stiffness & thickness in the header for the pleats. If I was to have also included blackout lining in that header, it would have been too heavy & thick for me to work with. It may be a good idea to make a separate blackout lining in your case. I would make the lining about an inch less (than the finished drape) in width as well as length.

I have sewn a small window panel that included blackout lining sewn in to it. I did not do pinch pleats for this panel. I used rings & clips instead. The blackout lining was inserted into the header before sewing. I used a double fold of the fabric at the header but did not fold the blackout. The blackout goes all the way up into the top of the header. Same idea for the side hems...the fabric is double folded but the blackout is not. The blackout did not need to be sewn at the bottom...it's not sewn in to the hem.

Hope this helps a little.

Back side of small drape with blackout (rings & clips)

Bottom hem and sides
0
kaatluvr
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks so much. I'm concerned if the blackout is separate when the drapes are opened they will not fold into nice pleats. What do you think?
0
Related Discussions
Hanging Pinch Pleat Curtains?
Q
Comments (7)
For Pinch pleat draperies, especially heavier panels that are lined and interlined, you want pins and rings with the hole. The clips are designed for flat panels. You're probably seeing more of them at places like BB&B because they're not noted for pinch pleated draperies, but have more inventory in flat panels. And it's a price point issue. Overstock has traverse rods meant for pinch pleated panels in probably the best price I've seen. Decorative rods that are functioning traverse rods and are sturdy enough for heavy draperies and everyday use are pricey. Here is a link that might be useful:
...See More
Traditional pinch pleat vs. Euro/tailored pleat drapes
Q
Comments (14)
Mamorella -- I love the fact that you drew your inspiration from the vibe of the Beverly Hills Hotel. You've created a fun and glamorous destination for partying in your own home for sure. kswl -- very interesting point about showing (or not showing) the curtain rod. I hadn't even thought about that. Now I will! I've just flipped through a small stack of House Beautiful and Elle Decor from the last year and see that curtain rods are almost always showing. So I guess that showcasing the rod is the current "look" and perhaps is part of the current appeal of the euro/tailored/parisian pleat. Thanks! Now I'll need to consider whether the exposed rod is the right look or not for what I'm trying to achieve in my dining room. If I decide to cover the rod I assume that I'll need my drapes to be at least three or four inches longer -- so I need to decide before I order the drapes.
...See More
Pinch-pleated patterned drapes
Q
Comments (17)
Hi Meg, I own a custom window treatment business and fabricate them myself (most of the time!) So as a window treatment seamstress/designer I can see how this could happen. I had it happen to me not long ago but didn't forsee that I would have a problem with the drapes until I test hung them in my workroom. At that point I realized that they looked like I hadn't pleated them correctly because the colors in the plaid weren't lining up the same horizontally across the 2 widths. What I wound up having to do was to turn the 2nd panel upside down (it was non directional buffalo plaid) and so that when the panel was pleated the correct dominant colorway would show horizontally across both panels. I know this is too much information! I don't think your fabricators would be able to do that because your pattern would be different - the leaves would be on the bottom instead of the top. Do you know if the sheers were 118" railroaded? Or were they a 54" width? I can't imagine that a reputable drapery company would use a workroom who doesn't do the basics - like cutting drapery widths at the same repeat!!! I will be anxious to see how they resolve your problem.
...See More
Pinch Pleated Draperies
Q
Comments (9)
I realize JCP has always been the go to place for drapes, but they are cheap for a reason. I bought their Royal Velvet pinch pleat drapes for our master bedroom a few years back and not only was the purchase a miserable experience, but I've really not been happy with them. First you will be lucky to find two panels at the same store that are the same length. It may say 63" on the package but you won't find that to be the case. I needed six panels total and had to go to several different stores involving several trips and returns to find lengths that were even remotely close to each other. Some panels were literally 4-5 inches off and they deemed that acceptable (I am not kidding, this was told to me by 2 different managers). And maybe it's just the fabric they used but these things hold tons of static and the lining is always separating from them; as a result, I've never been able to get them to hang quite right and they are stationery, I never even move them. I think the ones I got were the Royal Velvet, I know they rate highly in the reviews but if I could switch them for something different tomorrow, I would. We just have other priorities right now. I got some grommet drapes from there for our living room and they are great, but again, the lengths were all off by 1-5 inches however. My only save was that they only came in a length that was longer than I needed so since I had to get all the panels shortened, it didn't matter.
...See More
Related Professionals
Denver Furniture & Accessories · Englewood Furniture & Accessories · Silver Spring Furniture & Accessories · Newton Furniture & Accessories · North Bellmore Furniture & Accessories · Nashville Interior Designers & Decorators · New Providence Interior Designers & Decorators · Sweetwater Interior Designers & Decorators · Rockville Furniture & Accessories · Roswell Furniture & Accessories · Temple Terrace Furniture & Accessories · Holliston Furniture & Accessories · Des Moines Staircases & Railings · Spanaway Staircases & Railings · Stanton Staircases & Railings
Laurie
11 years ago
kaayluvr - You bring up a good point. I don't know the answer to how the separate blackout lining will fold/pleat. Hopefully, someone who has experience with this situation will respond with some ideas.

If you don't get any responses, soon, you should post this on the Home Decorating Forum. There are a lot of sewing people over there and that forum seems to get more traffic.

One thought may be to skip the buckram all together. Having the blackout lining inside of the double folded header may give enough stability for the header.
0
kaatluvr
Original Author
11 years ago
Just wanted to thank everyone who responded and to let everyone know how the drapes turned out. I ended up making the lining separate and hung the lining from the clips that were on the curtain rings. I used drapery hooks on the panels to hook to the rings. So all you see are the rings on the rod. The pleats came out great using buckram they are crisp and the right fullness. When open and stacked to the sides they look fine although there is a bit more fullness at the bottom than top. When closed they look like normal pinch pleated drapes. I would do it again this way. Sorry no pic I don't know how to post one.
Laurie
11 years ago
Thanks for the follow-up. I really like hearing how projects turn out!
I'm so glad it worked well for you to make the lining separate.
I'm trying to picture in my mind how it works....you have rings with
clips for the blackout. Then, on the same rings, you hooked your pins (from the pinched pleated drapery fabric). Is that correct?

Sounds good. I wish I could see pics!

What fullness did you use for the blackout lining?...1, 1 -1/2, 2, 2-1/2, or 3 times the window width?
0

blackout lining for pinch pleated drapes

Comments (5)

Laurie

kaatluvr
Original Author

Related Discussions

Related Professionals

Laurie

kaatluvr
Original Author

Laurie

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

blackout lining for pinch pleated drapes

Comments (5)

Laurie

kaatluvrOriginal Author

Related Discussions

Related Professionals

Laurie

kaatluvrOriginal Author

Laurie

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

kaatluvr
Original Author

kaatluvr
Original Author