Drapery Diary: Stationary Styles
These window treatments are designed for looks instead of function
If a window already has a shade or a shutter, or simply doesn’t need screening, there may be no practical reason to add drapes. But this doesn’t mean you should write them off. Stationary panels provide decorative value even if they don’t open and close. Here’s a crash course in the possibilities for drapes that just sit there and look pretty.
Cartridge Pleats
True cartridge-pleat draperies are constructed so that the cylindrical shaft forming the “cartridge” is stiff enough to hold its shape. The stiffness, while an asset, means that the cartridges are relatively fixed in place and not intended to stack tightly together the way certain types of pleats do when opened. This is especially true of more contemporary cartridge pleats with wide diameters. For this reason, we think of cartridge-pleat draperies as a stationary treatment, though functioning window treatments can be made to mimic their structured look, typically through a ripplefold design.
True cartridge-pleat draperies are constructed so that the cylindrical shaft forming the “cartridge” is stiff enough to hold its shape. The stiffness, while an asset, means that the cartridges are relatively fixed in place and not intended to stack tightly together the way certain types of pleats do when opened. This is especially true of more contemporary cartridge pleats with wide diameters. For this reason, we think of cartridge-pleat draperies as a stationary treatment, though functioning window treatments can be made to mimic their structured look, typically through a ripplefold design.
Inverted Box Pleats
Inverted box pleats are often made with decorative buttons punctuating each pleat, presenting an opportunity for customization. Here, the designer opted to coordinate the button fabric with the teal chairs.
Inverted box pleats are often made with decorative buttons punctuating each pleat, presenting an opportunity for customization. Here, the designer opted to coordinate the button fabric with the teal chairs.
The fabric for your inverted box pleats must be chosen with care if you are to achieve the look you want with no surprises. Linear patterns like stripes and plaids can be nearly impossible to line up perfectly within the folds of the pleat, meaning that they will tend to appear uneven and distorted. Likewise, fabrics with especially large pattern repeats (20 inches and up) often can’t be pattern-matched. If it’s an all-over pattern, such as the stylized floral shown here, its seemingly haphazard placement will be less of a detractor than if the pattern were more neatly arrayed.
It is perfectly reasonable to cover your entire window with a stationary sheer if you find that a blinding sun consistently blisters through your window and there’s no view you’d like to preserve. In this space, you’ll see that the drapery on the left appears to compact somewhat at the end of the rod.
The smooth flat front of a box pleat is an aesthetic feature that people generally prefer not to distort by stacking, but there’s wiggle room when the fabrics are relatively lightweight and no stiffeners have been added to the header.
The smooth flat front of a box pleat is an aesthetic feature that people generally prefer not to distort by stacking, but there’s wiggle room when the fabrics are relatively lightweight and no stiffeners have been added to the header.
Here, designer Tobi Fairley created a hybrid of rod pocket and box pleat, where a rod slides through what appears to be a box-pleated pocket. It is an uncommon and lovely approach to stationary window treatment design, and the solid silk fabric allows the elegance of the pleats to step forward. Be advised that you may pay a premium in labor costs to have your fabricator create a new design.
Another uncommon vision for the inverted box pleat, the panels here resemble a dropped-waist gown, with buttoned box pleats tapering down with grace as the heavily lined silk cascades in orderly gathers.
Grommet-Style
Draperies hung by grommets are another semifunctional but primarily stationary option. They move, yes, but since the folds are oriented perpendicularly to the wall, their mobility can be limited when we try to stretch the folds and drag the grommets into an unnatural diagonal position. They tend to creep back to perpendicular.
Draperies hung by grommets are another semifunctional but primarily stationary option. They move, yes, but since the folds are oriented perpendicularly to the wall, their mobility can be limited when we try to stretch the folds and drag the grommets into an unnatural diagonal position. They tend to creep back to perpendicular.
Smocked Draperies
Smocked draperies feature dozens of little ornately sewn tufts that would be a shame to distort by pushing the drapery too far into itself, which the fabric would resist anyway. A better option is to let your smocked drapes stand proudly at the window, and adhere window film or mount a shade for privacy and light control instead.
Smocked draperies feature dozens of little ornately sewn tufts that would be a shame to distort by pushing the drapery too far into itself, which the fabric would resist anyway. A better option is to let your smocked drapes stand proudly at the window, and adhere window film or mount a shade for privacy and light control instead.
Here’s a close-up shot of beautiful smocked detailing.
Pencil Pleats
Pencil pleats are, in a way, one of the more deceptive pleats, luring us in with their beauty and then refusing to budge when we try to close them. Since they look like dozens of pinch pleats pushed tightly together, it can be hard to discern on the showroom floor that the pleats are not pushed but rather tacked together using an industrial sewing machine. Due to this heavy-duty tacking, pencil pleats are truly one of the least mobile treatments and are exclusively reserved for stationary applications.
Pencil pleats are, in a way, one of the more deceptive pleats, luring us in with their beauty and then refusing to budge when we try to close them. Since they look like dozens of pinch pleats pushed tightly together, it can be hard to discern on the showroom floor that the pleats are not pushed but rather tacked together using an industrial sewing machine. Due to this heavy-duty tacking, pencil pleats are truly one of the least mobile treatments and are exclusively reserved for stationary applications.
The one way to finagle pencil pleats into a wider stance is to mount holdbacks to the wall and sweep the bottom third of the panels around them as if you’re tucking a lock of hair behind your ear.
Rod Pockets
The rod-pocket style is another that can waltz across the rod theoretically, but in practice, it’s a major hassle when the pocket is often tightly fitted to the rod; seams are stressed as the treatment is dragged out of position against its will.
The rod-pocket style is another that can waltz across the rod theoretically, but in practice, it’s a major hassle when the pocket is often tightly fitted to the rod; seams are stressed as the treatment is dragged out of position against its will.
However, when your rod-pocket drapery pair cuts far enough into the window, or when your pockets are sufficiently loose, it is certainly possible to coax those panels closed. It’s just not something you’ll want to attempt on a larger window with a wider expanse to cross.
Installation
Since stationary panels don’t move, it is not always necessary to purchase a single long drapery rod. Though multiple smaller rods just wide enough to hold a single panel can seem to chop up the space above a window, plenty of us appreciate this option for the potential cost savings and because it eliminates the bare, empty rod and center bracket cluttering up the windowscape.
Since stationary panels don’t move, it is not always necessary to purchase a single long drapery rod. Though multiple smaller rods just wide enough to hold a single panel can seem to chop up the space above a window, plenty of us appreciate this option for the potential cost savings and because it eliminates the bare, empty rod and center bracket cluttering up the windowscape.
Stationary panels made with an extra width or half-width of fabric will usually look more substantial at the window than skinnier one-width panels, so if your draperies will be your statement piece, consider upping the size and fullness.
Though flat panels like those shown here need not remain stationary, if you mount two treatments on one rod, understand that the outer of the two will certainly be stationary. If you mount your two treatments on a double rod and double bracket configuration, however, both can be made functional.
Stationary panels are a great solution to bay windows, which often contain only a small strip of wall separating each window. Since stationary panels don’t need to cover much distance, they tend to be slimmer by nature and fit most easily into those narrow wall spaces without blocking too much light.
A cringeworthy but oft-discounted drawback of stationary draperies is the damage we risk when we grab the fabric and attempt to pull it where we want it. Certain top styles do not easily move, and pulling can stretch and soil the fabric or compromise the seams.
More Drapery Diary: The Case for Custom | Tab and Tie Tops
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Goblet-pleat draperies are considered stationary because of the way the goblets are stiffened and tacked. The formal panels shown here are made semifunctional by the way they’re positioned on the rod. The tops of the panels are not intended to move, but the drapes can still be closed by simply dropping the tiebacks. It is highly likely, though, that the shutter was added to the lower half of the window to secure privacy without having to dress the draperies anew each day.