Hello!! I have been researching and of course always come back to the faithful, intelligent sewers here for great advice.

I have a dear friend who wants a patio door valance & she's called the large stores. Needless to say, the cost is off the charts which I knew it would be. Now, I'm not an expert sewer but I have made cornices, valances and pinch pleated drapes through the years for others. She asked if I could do this for her and let's face it, anything is possible with a little help from your friends. The info I found here is years old so I'm asking again to see perhaps newer methods.

She wants straight across the bottom but inverted pleats spaced out. Lined mid-weight fabric small mixed color stripes and a lining. The stores are recommending the same fabric lining, I am not & would rather see one color in the stripes used. But my question is sewing these and doing it with a rod pocket. I am afraid of bulk turning the top. I could maybe put the pocket on the back but not sure how that looks from the front? Then my real puzzle is with this width, the rod would obviously have to have center brace(s). How do you handle that with a rod pocket?

I can't seem to talk her into a cornice or a board mount. So, I am trying to gather some up to date ideas.

Oh, width needed is 105" for this patio door.

Thank you so much !!