Wondering why you want to continue and keep trying after seeing the workmanship. What if the second set looks better but not that good. Will he accept another return or say you are being too picky?

snookuns2, Because I have been working on the exact color of the silk I want and with him for almost a month now. The silk is beautiful. And he now has my pictures and we have quite the agreement written up about the stitching this time as well.

All going through Ebay so if something goes awry again (which I hope it won't) I will do a charge back.

Since he's willing to fix it for the price of shipping I feel it's worth the second chance. I hope I'm right...

I see! Thought it might be a specific fabric. Glad you are going through eBay to work things out! Hopefully he will put his best seamstress on it this time.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Thu, Feb 7, 13 at 23:39

Avid - I know you want to salvage your investment and I can 't blame you for that. Now that you've given him photos and construction info, I am hopeful that you will get better drapes this time!

Did you decide to stay with the inverted header or go with the Parisian?

Good luck! Keep us posted. ;)

Why do you want blackout lining when you have interlining?
Blackout lining is nothing like ordinary drapery lining.His workmanship is awful but think the blackout lining is what is responsible for the bulky look. And someone correct me if I am wrong but if you are using two widths of fabric isn't one width cut in half and added on either side of full width? I would not trust him to make decent draperies and if he is making new draperies why does he want you to return the mess he sent you originally?
Not like you would use these....

Hi Downsy :) I decided to go with the Parisian. I figured it was a much safer bet.

For the money I am spending on shipping these back I could actually keep them for $100.00 more. These panels are 38 wide and 130 1/2 tall x 6 of them interlined and blackout lined. Do you think I should pay the extra $100.00 and just keep this pair as well and see if someone wants to buy them?

They are so tall I'm wondering if someone would be able to cut these down and use them to remake with a different header? If I could get 4 or 500 for them I would be breaking even and saving money in the long run. Thoughts on this????

He's remaking them new. The old ones are his. He might be able to use the fabric to cut some of his losses. Isn't the $400 for hand stitching on the new ones?

i'm sorry you're going through this. but i don't understand all the effort to try and communicate your wishes to these people. there is no excuse for professionally made draperies to go out to a customer looking like that. if there were any issues with the lining or header you requested, they should have told you that making them to your specs was simply not possible. given the fact they've already botched one set of drapes, why proceed any further? i understand you want to know why other drapes using the same header may traverse, but really what is the point? the fact of the matter is, a more experienced person can make this happen, but clearly you're not getting this from them so end it. go through ebay and do what you can to be reimbursed. looking at the drapes they sent i see no reason you would be the one to pay to ship them back. cut your ties with these people and be done with them. they aren't going to get it right the second time, either. good luck. i hope it all works out for you.

$400 for the new ones. $400 to ship the ones I have now back to India.

He will be making the new ones out of completely new material, taking pictures as he makes the 1st panel and emailing them to me for my approval as well.

If I want to keep the ones I have now too it would bee $500.00 to keep these along with the 400 for the new ones. So instead of sending these back i can keep them for 100.00 more.

Now would that make any sense or not? This is a lot of fabric lined and interlined so maybe I could sell them to someone who wanted to cut down and remake the tops for 400 or 500 dollars and that would save me that much money...Does this make sense?

You're spending another $800? I thought you were sending these to his partner in the States and paying $400 for the extra handwork on new drapes. I would never ever pay $400 to ship his mistake back to him. That's ridiculous. Move away from this company.

Do not go the pictures and approval route. Photos are not clear enough and he will hold you to that approval in the end.

No, I don't think your latest plan makes sense. If you keep them, then you have bought them. Receiving new ones is another $1500+ product. I can't imagine he would agree to that, you receiving two sets of expensive drapes. He can use the old ones for something which is why he wants them back.

He already said and agreed that if I wanted to keep them Instead of paying $400.00 for the new set and $400.00 to ship these back($800.00 total) I could pay an extra $100.00 So ($900.00 total)and just keep these as well as get the brand new ones.

So for the extra 100 bucks should I keep these and try to sell them to recoup some of my loss too?

I'm sorry but he is working you, imo. He sends you awful drapes and then has you paying him another $1000 to correct his errors. He is no fool.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Fri, Feb 8, 13 at 0:20

Not on your life would I give this person another chance! Chalk it up as an expensive learning experience.

"does this make sense?"

no. not at ALL.

"So for the extra 100 bucks should I keep these and try to sell them to recoup some of my loss too? "

I wouldnt keep them, anyone you sell these to is likely to be just as unhappy with them so there's no point. Why can't you send them back to his US associate (cheaper than sending back to the seller) and just get a refund? Honestly that is what I would do and then have them made locally.

sallymo and downsy, a question for you....if you made the standard pinch pleat and then hung the drapes backward, wouldn't that essentially give the same look as inverted pleats, so shouldn't they stack in the same way? I mean, the way I'm thinking (which could be whacky as usual) is it's just a matter of what to do with the excess fabric once you make the pleat...you could make it a box or a pinch or whatever, no?

You could do it that way! You'd have an issue with stacking even with that! Consider the drape is stacking together the thickness of triple pleat in the back (probably 3/4" thick even tacked tight).

If you look up to a photo Avid posted earlier is the back of a properly done inverted box pleat with a low bulk header - which should operate much better than what Avid has paid for.

All the photos Avid linked to were done by interior designers or professionals - at least to my eye. She posted lovely, well done drapes that were a good investment made by the homeowners. (Not to say that a home sewer couldn't do the same thing. With knowledge and the proper tools - anything can be done!)

Who do you think would want to buy this horrible mess. And deconstructing all that drapery material and stitching would not be cost effective, even if you gave them away. No matter which pleat style, with or without the blackout lining, if his "STANDARD" is to sew buckram across the pleats, it's never going to work! He might as well pleat your drapes and sew a piece of cardboard across the top -- it makes no sense. I can't fathom that he doesn't get that. If you're sold on working with this man, stay on top of his every move with dialogue and pictures. Good luck. I'll be interested to see how this turns out.

I am not a seamstress, but the product you've received is one hot mess. There is absolutely no way that I would pay another ten cents to this outfit for any custom drapery construction.

Also, I have no idea how Ebay works, but I would definitely be getting my money back. Hopefully you paid with a credit card for your own protection in a transaction of this amount.

I find it very hard to imagine that there's not a seamstress closer to where you live who could make you a more professional looking drapery product.

What's the saying, fool me once? So sorry to see what you are going throught, but IMO, if you send him more money and expect a different result, you will probably be very disappointed.

This is not as bad as it seems in terms of financial loss. You can get a full sales refund through eBay. You might even find another fabric you like better. As far as returning the drapes to him, he has someone in the States to send to which should be a far more reasonable cost than back to India. Since this is completely his error for faulty workmanship (that should never have made its way out of his company), he should send you a prepaid label for that to be done. The losses should be fully absorbed by him, his own lesson learned. I would hope eBay would take one look at the situation and require him to prepay the return shipping (usually return shipping is not covered). A good honest seller would not think twice about doing that. And if he doesn't, ding his stars.

P.S. Oh, and by the way, he has wasted far too much of your time and energy. Even subtracting what's been spent trying to work out a solution.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Fri, Feb 8, 13 at 12:27

Is the only reason you are working with this person is because he has the fabric that you like? Maybe he would sell you the fabric only and you could have the drapes made locally?

Please don't keep these wreck of a drapery set nor give him any more money, even though he seems to be trying to work with you on the problems, he clearly does not know how to make drapery and all of his solutions benefit his pocketbook, not yours.

Doesn't the top of this look awful from outside the windows? I've never seen curtains exposing the workings like this. I would consider this if having them remade.

Nevermind, I see it will not show outside in your case. Still a good design point though! Sometimes that area shows outside.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Fri, Feb 8, 13 at 13:31

Time to cut your losses, dear. The tone of your posts seems to indicate that you think this is somehow your responsibility, and this vendor is taking full advantage of that. His fear is not that you won't be happy, but that you will spoil his reputation on eBay, and impact the sales of his shoddy work.

Through eBay, your only loss will likely be your time and energy, but in this case those are considerable. The world is awash in fabric, and that nearer than India. Let it go and start over.

I think your real responsibility is to the rest of the eBay community. That's the only way it works for good buyers and sellers.

How do we not know if these are some that he messed up for another customer and decided to pawn off on you and did he force the other customer to buy another pair as he is trying to do to you? Just some things you need to think about. This seems like you are dealing with a con man.

I haven't followed this entire thread, but wanted to share an experience I had about 3 years ago ordering a set of Bergere chairs off of eBay arrived not as advertized, broken, glued back together etc. I spent many hours trying to reason with seller who also agreed to refund money if I would return ship (at significant cost to me), then I resorted to trying to resolve thru PayPal and was given same song and dance that I had to return ship the product to get a refund. Finally I contacted my credit card company explained the situation to them and they said since the product was not as advertised I was not required to return ship and I could contest the charges, which I did successfully. I just had to document with pictures the problems (which were obvious as yours are), and my attempts to seek a resolution with the seller.

I agree with others' suggestion to cut your losses and move on, not sink any more time and money into this mess. BTW, I had good friend who had many custom window treatments made for her home in India and they are stunning. Difference is, she is from there, went there on a trip to pick out fabrics and work with a reliable drapery company. This place seems very ameteurish, not sure you'd get a different result with anything else they construct.

From looking at the pictures of their other Ebay listings, it doesn't look like they are very good at pleats of any sort. I wouldn't invest any additional money with that seller, but would just try and your money refunded, even if you have to pay the postage to ship them to his US associate.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Here is a link that might be useful: see what I mean?

What a mess! I would not give the vendor another penny. Pursuing a full refund, however, will be tricky and a bit self serving on your part since the example photos on the eBay site clearly show the stitching you object to. The workmanship is terrible, and for all you know the curtains were made by children being paid $5 a day. Personally I would settle through eBay and start over.

Hi everyone! Here's the latest update. I'm not paying him anything until he makes one new pair to my specs. I have given him aver a dozen pictures of what I want from all angles opened and closed.

He is going to make a new panel and send me pictures of everything of the new panel on Tuesday. If I like how everything is constructed then I will OK it and he will make the other 5 panels, I pay basically for the shipping and he will then send the total 6 panels to me.

So that's where it stands as of today. I'll update everyone on Tuesday after I get those pictures and hopefully I have good news to share :) If not I'll cut my losses then.

Thanks again for all the help and advice, you ladies are the BEST!!!!

if you get anything close to what you're looking for, i'll eat my feet. good luck, but i wouldn't get my hopes up.

Hi everyone! Here are the pictures of the new set he made and took pictures of for my approval before he finishes the other 5 panels.

I'll post the other 4 pictures below. I think he did pretty good this time.

This is a picture where they are holding them up...

Here's a closeup of the top and side.

The bottom...

And the back he wants to know if I wanted the eyehooks to put the pins in or leave it plain??? I was thinking the eyelits but then he asked how many inches from the top do I want the eye ?

I changed the style to the euro pleat and this is one of the example pictures I gave him.

Avid - that's much better. I sew in my euro (parisian) pleats differently though. He has his pleats sewn in a longgggg wayyyyy. I stop at the buckram or header area. So 4" - 5" is plenty.

Notice how your panels don't start opening up till about 7 to 8" down because it looks like he's sewn the pleats in to about 7 to 8" down from the top. In your 2nd photo - It looks tightly pulled starting just below where the header area is. Note on the photo you showed as an example (the ones he didn't do) - the pleats are sewn in about 4 to 5" and then stop. That allows the pleats to start to fan out sooner and give fullness to the drape. I know your panels are very long, but in the case of a euro/parisian pleat - they shouldn't be sewn in as long as he has them.

As far as the blindhemming - what he's shown you is a GREAT improvement!

I don't use eyelets for my pins. The drapery pins get inserted right into that seam. If you are using a decorative pole - the top of the pins need to be 1/2" below the top of the drape.

This post was edited by downsy on Mon, Feb 11, 13 at 17:53

I agree the pleats are unusually long. It reminds me of a pintuck or smock top. What is the 3 inch band that starts around the 4-5 inch mark?

The fabric looks so different! Amazing how colors get distorted.

You don't want the pleats that long, do you? Is it a different pleating style?

Why is the original picture eggplant, but the new one blue? Is it the same fabric but you changed your mind re:color? The hem looks to be pulled a bit too tight. Ask him to loosen the tension on the bobbin.

OK so from all your feedback I will tell him to make sure the sewing of the pleats is only 4 to 5 inches down and then stop them.

The color of the silk is actually a steel gray color. The 1st pictures I posted I took with my cell phone so the color isn't that accurate but the color is gray not purple or blue :)

Another reason to only buy locally, made in the USA. Good luck.

I think you're still taking a big chance and setting yourself up for another disappointment. He may have the right idea, but his techniques need improving. That blind hem is never going to press out and I can't understand why that portion across the top is so doggone tight. For that matter, he should have pressed that panel to give it its finished look before showing it to you. I can't envision them hanging nicely. But I wish you well in this endeavor.

I'm mostly a lurker, but wanted to share my experience with a vendor in India. About ten years ago, I was admirinig my neighbor's new curtains. She said she got them custom-made from some guy in India. Got his number from her and talked to him. After seeing some samples, selected the fabrics I wanted (silk for the LR and bed covers, faux-silk for the DR and BRs, and drapery fabric for the kitchen cafe curtains and valances). Gave him as accurate measurements of every window as I could, chose the pleats and length, etc. in about thre weeks, they were all shipped to us. Not a thing I didn't want or expect. We had someone come hang everything up and it was simply beautiful. Every single item. It's been 9 years and I still have them up and they look just as beautiful. Ad the prices were relatively low. Have given his name to others who've seen my curtains and asked where I got them.

I have been a member for over ten years and I'm not pulling for any vendor. Just wanted to share. I'd post pictures if I knew how, but will try when I have some time.

more money and still not right.

nutsaboutplants,

Having lived in India for two years, I can attest to the fact that in general they are absolutely excellent at this type of thing, and create the most beautiful curtains, pillows, bedspreads etc. So this has nothing to do with it coming from India.

This guy either doesn't know what he's doing, or doesn't care. Hopefully it's the latter, and he'll care more now that the OP has expressed her concerns.

kateskouros, I haven't paid him a dime more. He is making me some example panels and taking pictures of them so I can change whatever I don't like :)

I think the "tightness" is from someone standing behind holding them up. They look really nice now, to me.

In the "reading for comprehension" category, when I first read your OP, I thought YOU were in India, and THEY were in the US!!

Nancy

How did the draperies turn out, avidinternet?

Hi snookums, Funny you should ask as we just had them hung up today and they turned out very well.

He remade all of them in the euro pleat style. No visible seams anywhere. Ended up making them exactly like the example pictures I gave him.

Thanks for everyone's help, I really appreciate it and when I get a few minutes in the next couple of days I will take some pics and post a follow up thread so everyone can see how hey turned out :)

Glad for everyone that they turned out so well!