Update! Today during lunch I went to Hancock Fabrics and boy was the lady there, MaryJo helpful. I took my roll of fabric with me because I wanted to know how much yardage I had and prayed they had this material still in stock or had not been discontinued. She measured and I only had 5 yards and she checked the store and they had it but only two yards so she ordered me 6.75 yards which will be arrive in the next 10 days. The repeat of the fabric is every 18 inches because of the pattern. This is what she calculated based on my window measurements I gave her: my window width: 73" the fabric is 54 inches wide I will need 3 - 3 yards of each 54 width where I will divide one and sew each half to each of the two 54 width; this will give my two panel a length of 108 inches (3 yds times 36 is 108) This will also allow for my 8 inches on top and 8 inches on the bottom giving me the final length I want at 86. The width across for each panel will be 81 (54 plus 27 (1/2 of 54) equals 81. My window is 73 inches wide so 73 divided by 2 equals 36.5 or 37¡Kthis is the magic number when I start to pleat. When I pleat them I will have to ensure the finished width will be 36.5 or 37 I also went to Borders and brought a sewing book called ¡§The Complete Photo Guide To Sewing¡¨ which has 1100 Full-Color How-To Photos and on page 226 ¡V Pinch Pleated Draperies are fully illustrated with all the instructions. The book is by Singer and I only paid $3.00 for it because it is used but in good condition. So what do you all think? Does all this information sounds like MaryJo has put me on the right track? Can I do this? MaryJo said I could º She told me to just take my time¡Kif I get frustrated just walk away and come back. When I finish I will take pictures. This book is awesome¡Kit has so much info on how to make just about anything for the home especially cornice boards which I truly love. So if anyone needs to know anything just let me know and I will look it up, make copies and provide º God gave me the gift of sewing and I need to use it!

When the drapes are closed, you want a straight line of pinch pleasted drapes across the top of the window. So for a 74 inch rod, you want about 74 inches of drape, as measured across the top. What you need to be careful about is how the drapery seller has measured the drape - are they 40 inches wide at the bottom or the top? Check the package and see. If it says "measured overall" that means it is the bottom measurement. A lush, full drape is 3 times the width of the rod, so you need about 225 inches of drape as measured at the bottom (3x74). You are not going to like the look of a string of five or six 40 inch panels on a traverse rod. You could sew them together or just look for something like the JCPenney panels that come in various widths. The cost of triple width panels is one reason many people opt for stationary panels. And it is why you see so many 40 inch panels for sale. Here is a link that might be useful: JCPenney panels

It looks to me that the picture you posted has been finger arranged just the way the owner wants them and probably doesn't open or close them ever! I would think the traverse rod would make your flat panels look the most uniform because the controlled spacing of the traverse rod will keep the "pleats" evenly spaced. I have a non traverse rod and rings on flat panel drapes in my LR. In this photo you can see the flat panel and how the rings are not uniformly spaced out. I took this picture for a different reason, but IRL, I do have them fairly evenly spaced to try and get the pleats to be even. I do have a traverse rod in my FR and while I don't ever close my drapes, I do like the way the traverse rod manages the rings in a nice even way. I think the hardest part of using a traverse rod with a flat panel is getting the hooks evenly inserted across the panel so the pleats fall evenly.

I am just now reading all these comments from 15 years ago. Louise 54, did you get your draperies completed for you DIL's bay window? I imagine you have probably done many treatments in the past years. I have done many such draperies as a helper for a drapery expert. Then I went on the road driving an 18-wheeler with my husband for the past 11 years. Some ladies at a local church asked me to make pinch-pleat draperies for their baptismal. I had a difficult time remembering all the specs we used. When I looked up how-to videos, I discovered the each video did them differently. Your comments are from so many years ago that I am certain that my suggestions will not help you, but I would like to add that I have a 54x120 inch table covered with batting and canvas that is most helpful. After I cut all face panels and all lining, and have sewn the individual widths of each, I press side seams and press and hem the face panels with a blind-stitch machine and the lining with a straight stitch machine. Then I draw a line on my table top with the finished length of my draperies. I place the bottom of the face panels, wrong side up, on the line, placing cloth-covered square weights at the corners and the seams of the face panels. I then place the lining, right side up, 2 inches above the bottom of the draperies and 1-1½ from the edge (depending on the size of the hem you intend to make). I use push pins to secure the bottom of the drapery face and straight pins to attach the lining to the face. I put pins in the seams to secure the lining to the face. When they are together, I gently smooth the face from the bottom of the hem toward the short edge of my table. The lining should go to that edge and the face should hang over the edge 8 inches. After I press the side hem over the lining edge with a double 1 or 1½-inch hem on the outside edges, I lay the 4-inch buckram on that edge, bring up the face flat over the buckram, iron the edge, fold the 4 inches under the buckram, and press down. I mark my pleats and spaces with pins.. When this is completed, I use my blind-stitch machine to sew the side hems. Then I fold each pleat and sew a 4-inch stitch on each length. I will form the desired pleat. Voila! Thank you. Now I want to come in off the road and sew.