I've sewn drapes and curtains before, but this has me baffled and I need advice. Please bear with me as this wasn't easy to write. Thanks in advance and I'm sorry for the length!
Here is the drapery treatment I want to make. I have no pattern for this. I have only the two photos you see here and I'm struggling to wrap my aging head around it. That's where I need help. These were made by someone to enter in a contest and I found the photo on the web and fell in love with them.
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Okay, now are you laughing, or groaning, or both? ;-)
Can you wrap your head around this challenge? If you're still with me, here are my thoughts and questions on this.
WIDTH OF THE LONG PANELS:
My current situation is my starting point for taking measurements, so let me describe it. In my living room I have a window that is 96" wide from one outer edge of the frame across to the other edge. I have a short drapery rod on each end of the window and my curtains hang on clip rings. Notice how the rods (pic right below) are mounted more toward the outside of the window to keep the curtains from covering too much of the window.
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My current curtains *appear* to be about 32" wide (each panel = 32") when hung in folds. This is not the spread out flat measurement and doesn't consider seam allowances. They look correct for the room so I'm thinking the new curtain panels should appear about the same, and with the same placement.
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The advantage with my current curtains is they didn't take much fabric (that's a wide window). The disadvantage is I can't draw them so I have no privacy.
HEIGHT:
The proper *finished* height for the drapes that hang on rings from my current rods is 85-86" to just touch the floor. But I would like these new drapes to trail slightly on the floor, as shown in the photo. How much should I add to the finished length?
WIDTH FOR VALANCE TREATMENT:
I will need to make more of the upper valance panels than is shown in the above photo because my window is wider. Measuring my current draperies from outer end to outer end across the entire width of my window, I come up with about 130"-132" (wiggle room is cool). So I need to make enough valance pieces to cover that overall width. How do I best determine how many of these panels to make?
Once I know how many panels to make, I assume I just divide the total width (132" approx) by that number. Then I'll make a paper pattern for one of the pointy thingies, cut that in half, and trace around it to make another pattern that has seam allowances. Then I will cut out the required number of valance pieces. Make good sense?
OR...
It appears one could take a rectangle of fabric, lay it flat, fold it in half, then sew from the center edge (this would be the bottom of the point) up at an exact 45 degree angle to the top. Wouldn't this be the easy way to make these points? Or would that waste too much fabric? Thinking of it this way, it seems like the easy way to do this would be to make a cloth mockup, then figure the length I want it to hang, then multiply it out to cover the whole width of the window coming close to what I want. That would determine how many panels I need. Would that be the way to do it?
VALANCE CONSTRUCTION:
In the photo the curtains appear to be attached directly to the rings. Is that the way to go? Does that weather dry cleaning? Or would it be better to use clip rings as I have now?
It looks to me like each panel of the valance has been sewn to the one next to it, as there appears to be no separation between them. I think this would be a good idea so the valance pieces wouldn't be gapping and I wouldn't have to fuss to get them to hang right and cover up what is behind them. I suspect I'm talking about quilt-making type of precision cutting and sewing here?
I'm imagining that the pointy panels could share a common lining and the lining could be cut on the straight grain. Does that sound reasonable? The lining itself would probably need to be pieced in the back a couple of times. Would you cut the lining on the straight grain? Or is there good reason to mimic the printed fabric with the lining and cut it on the bias repeating all those seams? Would you sew the lining to it, leave an opening, turn it through the opening and then hand stitch the opening?
Each of the pointy things also appears to have piping/cording around it. Should I take double piping up into each seam between the pointy panels? Or just leave the joining seams plain and only run the cording along the bottom? Would the best way to do this be to simply purchase pre-made cording with a lip on it?
I measured for the depth of the valance (floor to ceiling/vertical) using my current curtains as a guide. It appears the *finished* panels would need to hang down about 12-14" on the straight part where they are seamed together, before they taper into a point. The downward point would extend down longer. This will allow the valance to cover the top of the window frame as hung from a rod that is placed at the same height as my current rods, and it could also cover the rods that support the curtain panels, and the sheer panels.
How much yardage do I need for the valances if the fabric is 54" long? I don't know how to figure that out.
THE LONG VERTICAL PANELS:
Okay, now I'm really stumped. The curtain part that hangs down reminds me of a gored skirt that flares at the bottom and is narrower at the top. Imagine they were laid out flat on the floor. Do you think they form a rectangle that simply has tuck pleating of some type at the top? Or are they actually the shape of a piece of pie with the tip cut off and then tuck pleated at the top? They do appear to be loosely pleated at the top, with the pleats facing in toward the center of the panel on both sides. How do you think that was done? Were they just folded inward toward the center point, and then basted along the top before lining them?
FABRIC CHOICE
Doesn't it look like these were done in maybe a silk taffeta? Or? I haven't sewn silk before -- how much of a pain in the neck is it? Should I look for a particular weight beyond it just saying it's drapery fabric? Is drapery fabric silk easier to sew than shirt-weight silk? Would it be signifigantly easier to sew them in cotton drapery fabric?
I doubt sincerely I can find any fabric with the dots like that one has. Will it still look great with just plain stripes, and possibly in three colors instead of two?
LINING
What fabric do you recommend for lining? Should I cut the PANEL lining pieces exactly as I cut the striped pieces because it would hang better or something? Or would you make the lining in one piece on the straight grain?
Again, I want these panels to each appear approx. 32" wide at the top as they hang. We know that with normal curtain panels we want 2-3 times the width of the window in fabric. Do you think these panels follow that same rule (if they're rectangular)? Or?
I'm trying to visualize the layout of the long panel fabric on the diagonal and I'm not sure if it can be accomplished without piecing it? Did whoever sewed this have access to fabric wider than 54"?
How in the world do I figure out how much yardage I need for this project? Can you help me out? This makes my head hurt!
CURTAIN RODS:
It looks to me like I will need three rods:
1.) The inner (closest to the window) rod would hold plain cream fabric with a rod pocket at the top. This layer can be pulled all the way across the window for privacy. It would "L" turn back to the wall at the outer ends. I know how to figure the yardage for that.
2.) The next rod outward from the window would hold the long panels of drapes that would likewise turn back to the wall at the outer ends. These drapes would not pull shut. Now please look at the panel on the right. The front-upper panel is striped and only hangs half way to the floor; the back panel is solid and goes clear to the floor. Wouldn't you want to attach those two together at the top and hang them as one piece from the same rod? These two rods could both be simple ugly metal utility rods, but they would need to be hidden behind the valance so you don't see them.
3.) The outermost rod would be the decorative straight rod that only holds the valance. Does that sound correct to you?
OR...
If you look at the closeup picture, does it look like the valance and the panels are all hung on the same decorative rod and the cream colored curtains are on a second rod? If that is the case, then how are the valance panels and the long drapery panels attached to one another at the top? I just don't get how to do that and have the valance lie so nice and flat.
Finally, are you able to look at the photo and see how these were made? Do you think you could do it yourself? Or would you advise me to run away from this project as fast as I can go and pick something simpler? Even if I don't end up making them I'd still like to figure out how it was done. It's like a jigsaw puzzle to me now! lol
Thanks a million if you read this far!
clt3
oceannaOriginal Author
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