Pages

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

How to Make Lined Pinch Pleat Drapes

 I am so excited to share this tutorial with you.  My fabric arrived last week and I spent one whole evening sewing drapes for my guest bedroom.
It all started when I found this awesome fabric at Calico Corners.
Image from Calico Corners

I fell in love with the fabric and ordered six yards on the spot to make new drapes for my guest bedroom.
I started by rolling out the fabric and cutting the fabric to the length I needed.  I determined this length by measuring from the existing rod to the floor.  In my case the finished length of the drapes would be 85".  I added 6" for the bottom hem and 4 inches for the top for a total of 95".  After cutting the first 95" length I took the fabric and laid it over the cut piece and lined up the pattern and cut a second 95" length for the second panel.  This way I made sure I would end up with two identical panels with the pattern lining up.
For the lining I bought two flat sheets from Walmart for $5.00 each.  Flat sheets work so well for several reasons.  First of all they were a much more cost effective option.  Second, the flat sheet already comes hemmed.  I ironed both sheets.
Next step...the bottom hem.  I started by folding the fabric up 2" and ironing it.  Next I folded the fabric up an additional 4" for the bottom hem.  Then, for a professional look,  I blind-stitched the hem.  I will do a tutorial on blind-stitching later in the week. It was the first time I did one, and let me tell you, it made a world of difference to the final product.  

Next it was time to add the lining.  I laid the lining (the flat sheet) with right sides facing together.  

I pinned the lining on the sides and on the top making sure to leave approximately two inches at the bottom.  I then sewed along all three sides.  Then turn the drapes back to the right side and press the sides and top flat.
As you can see, the flat sheet already has the perfect hem.  One less step...yay!!
I was now ready for the pinch pleats.  A few years ago I bought this pleater tape from JoAnn's always wanting to try this on drapes.  I figured this was the perfect opportunity.  It worked awesome.  All I did was place it near the top of my drape, measuring from the hook to ensure the proper length.  I then sewed it on the top and the bottom making sure not to sew over any of the openings for the hooks.
Then I inserted the pleater hooks.  The pleater hooks have four "fingers".  I skipped every other pocket for each finger and then skipped two pockets in between each hook.  Then I pushed the fingers in as far as they would go.
Then, I fixed the pleats to line them up exactly.  I then pressed the pleats to help them keep their shape.
Finally I sewed each group of pleats together using heavy duty thread.  I only put two or three stitches in each group of pleats.
Then I simply hung the hooks over my curtain rod.  These are dummy panels so they won't be moving.  If you have a transverse rod, you would have the hooks in the traverse rod and then you could open and close the drapes.
This was the first time I have ever made lined drapes and the first time I made pleated drapes.  It was time consuming, but really not difficult at all.  If you can sew a straight line you can make these drapes.

You can see how the pattern lines up in the photo.  Make sure to cut both panels of fabric at the same time to ensure the finished patterns line up.  

I am so happy with the end result.  They add so much life to my guest room.

I hope you will try this.  If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me.  I'd be happy to help you.

Don't forget to stop back tonight for my weekly linky party.  The link opens at 8pm EST.  
Hope to see you then.

-Judy


Partying with  Freckled Laundry

79 comments:

mary beth said...

What a great tutorial! Thanks for showing us the steps..I think I have the courage now to try this myself..I have a lot of windows just waiting for me to give them some personality!

Gina said...

Your drapes are fabulous...I wish I knew how to sew.

I see you came up with a Fall into Fall button. I like it. When you asked me yesterday if I had any ideas, that's the only thing I could think of was Fall into Fall. Apparently, we were thinking alike!

Modern Country Lady said...

I love the fabric- no wonder you ordered it up straight away. I always make my own curtains and have to compliment you on your clear tutorial -you are right- more thabnanything, it is very time consuming but so rewarding. Lovely job.xo Bea

Janel from NellieBellie said...

Love the pattern! I didn't even know they made pleating tape...thanks!

Dana said...

Your drapes turned out gorgeous! Fabulous fabric!

Goldie said...

Your drapes turned out great! And you explained how you did it very well!

Jean @ Flower Hill said...

They are stunning! Love the fabric!

Kathy@ Gone North said...

Nicely Done, Beautiful fabric, Great tutorial....
They really add a pop to your room.

A small tip on drapes... if you make the lining a few inches less in the width & then sew together at the sides, they will fold in at the sides & have a small (1" or so) side hem...
(I bought a HUGE amount of pleater tape just last night a GW...for $1.00.. never know when I will need it next : )

Mandy said...

Hi Judy, this is a great tutorial! I'd love it if you shared it on my Link Party today at www.projectqueen.org - I'm your newest follower. Enjoyed your blog!

At The Picket Fence said...

Those looks so beautiful Judy!! I have made lined drapes before but never attempted pinch pleats. You make it sound so easy! :-) That was an excellent tutorial and they truly do look gorgeous! :-)
See you tonight,
Vanessa

Debbiedoos said...

Absolutely genius idea. They are gorgeous and look like you paid a pretty penny to have them done. Love that fabric!

At The Picket Fence said...

The key word being "if" you can sew a straight line. Something I seem to struggle with. lol They are so fabulous Judy and I am jealous that you can just "whip" something like these up. You are so talented and they turned out just beautiful!

Heather

c-Mo Love! said...

My DH and I just bought our first home and I have been waiting for find the right material to make drapes and this is pretty much the best thing on blogger. Just a great and simple tutorial... This is great thank you so much.

Love them!!!

PS could you post a pic of what they look like closed?

Jamie said...

These turned out so pretty! I love pinch pleats...
~Jamie S.

Promosyon said...

Step by step information you shared, which is very easy to understand. I think I have the courage now to try this myself, I have a lot of windows, your idea will helps lot.

Anonymous said...

THese are so pretty! I buy flat sheets from Walmart to use for a bunch of sewing projects as well. I love how much money it saves!

gregcalico said...

Hey Judy--
Love how your draperies turned out. This is a brand new fabric for us at Calico Corners, and it has already proven to be a great seller. If you go on our website, calicocorners.com you can see an entire room done in this fabric. I know you have a lot of talented folks following you, but for those that can't or don't have the time to sew-- Calico can make the draperies in addition to just selling the fabric. After seeing our photos of the room that this fabric was featured in, I had hundreds of requests for the paint color-- Ben Moore Dill Pickle, if any of your readers are interested. Thanks for being a Calico Corner supporter, and I like your blog--

Greg Lawrence
VP, Creative Affairs
CalicoCorners Calico Home

gregcalico said...

Hey Judy--
Your draperies look beautiful--
Even though the fabric you choose is brand new, it has already proven to be popular. There are more pictures of rooms done in this fabric at calicocorners.com. The paint color we used to go with the fabric you chose is Ben Moore Dill Pickle (sharing this as I've had hundreds of emails about this). I think your blog is both educational and inspirational-- but for those of your followers who are not up for a drapery challenge, we will sew the draperies for them as well as providing the fabric--
Keep up the good work
Best
Greg Lawrence
VP Creative Affairs
CalicoCorners Calico Home

cheryl @ nefotlak. said...

really lovely - great tutorial.
cheryl xox.

At The Picket Fence said...

So glad you came over and shared this at Inspiration Friday Judy! It gave me a chance to see your gorgeous drapes again! :-)
Vanessa

Katie @ OhhBaby said...

This is such a great tutorial! And they look amazing. I love your fabric choice! Would love for you to link it up to Fabulous Friday! http://ohhbabydesigns.blogspot.com/2011/09/fabulous-friday-5-easy-artwork.html

Lindsay said...

Awesome tutorial! Thank you so much! I think yours turned out so beautiful! What a great way to dress up your windows! Thanks so much for sharing at Show & Share!

Chris said...

These turned out beautifully! I love the fabric you chose, and I love that you went with pinch pleats. They're perfect!

Mollie said...

I'm so excited to give this a try! I am currently picking out fabrics for curtains in my dining room. thanks for the tutorial!

Jason said...

These are beautiful!! I have to go find this fabric, I have no idea how to sew though. I have white curtains now and I want to go to pinch pleats. This would give me the white I like for brightness and contrast with my gray walls along with the blue and greens I have as accent colors!

Unknown said...

Those are so pretty. And your tutorial is great. I sew a lot and have made drapes before but I still found your ideas very useful and easy to follow. The $5 sheet lining is genius!

Grommets Drapes said...

Hi,

Wow so beautiful! Pinch-pleat drapes are a standard in window coverings. They are versatile enough to fit any decor and attractive on a variety of window styles. Anyone who possesses basic sewing skills can make pinch-pleat drapes using a pinch-pleat tape. Once the standard drapery panels are constructed, you only need to sew the panel of pinch-pleat tape to the top of the drapery panel and gather the panels to form the pleats. Thank you...

Rachel Pratt said...

These are great and so thorough! I have a couple of questions. The first is that, since you are hemming lining and curtain fabric together on 3 sides, it's like a pillow case of sorts, right? And then flip and press. No additional seam to fasten them together? Does this hold its shape well? And second, when you sew on the pleater tape, I'm assuming you used a simple stitch on a sewing machine. Yes? Did the stitches show on the outside of the curtain? And was that ok? Did you consider stitching in a different way so they didn't show?

Thanks!

Rachel Pratt said...

These are great and so thorough! I have a couple of questions. The first is that, since you are hemming lining and curtain fabric together on 3 sides, it's like a pillow case of sorts, right? And then flip and press. No additional seam to fasten them together? Does this hold its shape well? And second, when you sew on the pleater tape, I'm assuming you used a simple stitch on a sewing machine. Yes? Did the stitches show on the outside of the curtain? And was that ok? Did you consider stitching in a different way so they didn't show?

Thanks!

Rachel Pratt said...

These are great and so thorough! I have a couple of questions. The first is that, since you are hemming lining and curtain fabric together on 3 sides, it's like a pillow case of sorts, right? And then flip and press. No additional seam to fasten them together? Does this hold its shape well? And second, when you sew on the pleater tape, I'm assuming you used a simple stitch on a sewing machine. Yes? Did the stitches show on the outside of the curtain? And was that ok? Did you consider stitching in a different way so they didn't show?

Thanks!

Sew Can Do said...

Can't tell you how much I love this tutorial - I've been looking to make some drapes but had no idea how to do the pinch pleat (or that there was such a thing as pleater's tape!!). Using the flat sheets as lining is genius for keeping the price low too. Now I can put my late grandma's drapery supplies to use since I know what to do now:)

Love the fabric too!

Jackie Toye said...

Thanks. Great tutorial. (in my head ... "I can do that!") again, Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hello Friends,

This blog shows very beautiful Pleat Drapes . Hanging curtains in the kitchen is an easy way to add a bit of whimsy to the kitchen or to give it that finished feeling and look . We spend a major amount of time in to today's kitchens. Today's kitchen curtains come in all shapes, styles, sizes, patterns, colors and fabrics. And also these blog gives the idea how to make a Pleat Drapes. Thanks for providing valuable information.
Silk Curtains

Anonymous said...

What a great tute!! Very easy to follow. I will be making new drapes very soon for my new home that has a golf course view with very wide windows. This has given me inspiration!!

Anonymous said...

I have been looking to replace some pleated drapes in my living room. I am going to Joann's to look for the "pleating tape". Yea - Now I can do this myself. Thanks!

Inggy said...

Thank you so much for taking the time to make this tutorial.
I have very odd sized windows and can’t seem to find any pinch pleated curtains that I can buy.
You made it look simple and I know I can sew a straight line so I think it will be possible to dress up my windows.

Jackie Toye said...

Ditto. Thanks for making the tutorial. I've tried the no sew deal, but it lacked "something" ... I like the pleated look. Thanks. definiteley on the To Do List

Anonymous said...

Found you through Pinterest. Can't wait to try this! Thanks so much for posting this!

Leah

Eyelet curtains said...

Hey, awesome tutorial to make the Pinch Pleat curtains. I am happy i visited here as i added a new skill in me of making beautiful drapes by my own. Thanks for informative post.

Custom made curtains said...

Curtains are made out of different types of fabrics. The curtain fabric that you choose for the windows of a room should blend with the material of other upholstery and soft furnishings.

Margaret DeLany said...

This is a very good tutorial, and the fabric you chose is lovely. I am wondering if you'd comment on using sheets for drapes. I see Walmart mainstay sheets that match my comforter, and I'd line them with the sheets as you have. I love the idea of making the curtains out of kind size sheets and saving all that money. But I am not sure the drapes wouldn't turn out too flimsy. Would drapery weights offset the possible flimsiness?

Unknown said...

You can know how to make lined pinch pleat drapes with help of the post here. Useful information

Curtains

Angie said...

Thank you for posting this! I'm going to try making these for my living room. Love your curtains!

Unknown said...

Very nice and useful tips. Please share more such interesting notes
Carpets

Unknown said...

Wow, this is interesting. Thanks for the updates through your blog


Curtain

Jules said...

Hope I can word this question so you understand what I mean. How do you make the fabric and the pleater tape come out even? Seems simple but is there a rule for where to put the first pleat so that you get the right number of pleats for the width of the fabric? Thanks.

Unknown said...

Awesome tips. I like it. glass sliding doors . I always make my own curtains and have to compliment you on your clear tutorial -you are right- more thabnanything, it is very time consuming but so rewarding.

pukekome said...

They look great! Please, would you be so kind to let me know. What width pleater tape did you use? Many thanks.

tyleragent said...

Thanks for the post, and I really like that little craft. But I think I might have to do something like that, because the drapery rods and drapes that I want to get are apparently too expensive according to my husband. So we're going to have to somehow compromise.

Fabrik ETC said...

Thanks a lot for sharing this amazing knowledge with us. This site is fantastic. I always find great knowledge from it.
Curtain

Savannah Attic said...

Just Beautiful and Once again You made it look so Easy Love the look and colors Great Job Lisa

Unknown said...

Hi Judy, I'm contemplating making my own pinch pleat drapes for my tub surround. I usually "assist" in these types of projects, so making that first cut is very scary. I already have the fabric. Now I just need the courage. Thanks for the tutorial.

charlotte byrum said...

Hi Judy,
Im having a little trouble trying to figure out how you work in the 4 in for the top seam of curtain...you havent mentioned in your tutorial the extra 4in you alloted when sizing/cutting the fabric for the curtain. Can you please help me. Im lost.

charlotte byrum said...

Hi Judy...I just posted last comment re top seam...can you please email me thanks

Unknown said...

• I am very conscious about my privacy,therefore,I ordered a set of curtains through this theblindspot.biz to give me some privacy on my bed room sliding glass doors which face the public areas. Moreover, I wanted to let maximum light in the bed room so I would not have to turn on any room light on during the day. But when I opened my vertical blinds open all the way it seemed that people walking by had an inclination to look into my bed room and I hated that. I don't like inquisitive eyes. Finally these curtains put an end to that. People can't see in during the day, I can see out. And my living room gets lots of natural light now.

Topik My ID said...

Just because you’ve made yourself an archetypal villainous lair doesn’t mean you can’t bring your own personal style with you. One easy way is with personal photographs–family photos will humanize you, while pictures of your enemies in their final agony will up the intimidation factor. Just make sure you have no pictures of murdered family members in their final agony on display, or you will be regarded as especially cruel and probably get kicked out of the Despot’s Club. Another simple way to add “pop” to a drab chamber is with accent colors. Wall hangings, curtains, bejeweled skulls, and throw rugs are all good ways to complement the natural ambiance of your hideout in precioushomedesign.com. Important evil tip: select fabrics which won’t stain if you intend to commit atrocities in the same room as your accent pieces. It may seem like an afterthought now, but certain bodily fluids are almost impossible to remove from a throw rug!

Unknown said...

ok - I have noted the name of the spa - was not planning on returning to Barbados anytime soon (too many places I need to travel to)

Draperies

Unknown said...

I have the same question regarding the extra 4 inches for the top seam. At what point did you sew the top hem? Before you sewed on the lining?

kristinahojholt said...

With havin so much written content do you ever run into any issues of plagorism or copyright infringement? My website has a lot of exclusive content I've either written myself or outsourced but it looks like a lot of it is popping it up all over the internet without my permission. Do you know any solutions to help protect against content from being ripped off? I'd truly appreciate it. kids blackout curtains

mohammedsher said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Periocenter said...

Very Nice article. I always read your all blog posts in my free time, all pictures are very good and clear. Thank you!! Dental Implants The Woodlands

Tuckerjackk said...

Hi Very Nice Blog I Have Read Your Post It Is Very Informative And Useful Thanks For Posting And Sharing With Us And Your Writing Style Is Very Nice
TrendMiners
Trending Bees

Blogger said...

Read More
Read More
Read More
Read More
Read More
Read More
Read More
Read More
Read More
Read more

Mesothelioma said...

thank you for the very helpful info.
information about KITCHEN CABINETS

Micheal Alexander said...

I just want to thank you for sharing your information and your site or blog this is simple but nice Information I’ve ever seen i like it i learn something today. Pinch Pleat Drapes

Best Awning Company said...

These tips will help people who loves to decorate their windows just like me. I enjoyed reading your blog. Thanks!

Window Awnings Denver

wonderwoman said...

The Valuable product which is best in order to gor for outdoor camping, backpacking, and the hiking then you have the suitable products with your self so you can bring with yourself the best machete for self-defense, cutting and chopping trees etc.

Bob Swiming said...

Play a variety of betting games.Can play comfortably all the time for baccarat.It's a simple play. From the bet's house Through the computer screen or smart phone And wait to receive the prize money through the system to transfer to the winner's account Vegus168

Cricky said...


The coming valentine's day 2021 is a very special event that makes everyone feels special for their partner and they enjoy their day by arranging parties, inviting their friends and much more. Moreover, there are also very other things like gifts, wishes, quotes you can try on
https://festdeals.com/valentines-day-2021

Technology Data said...

Thanks for sharing this informative content with us. This is really very knowledgeable and beautiful content.
Charlotte

lemonsoup said...

Apply for Vegus168 with us and receive an instant bonus of 20% of the maximum deposit of 2,000 baht simply by Add Line id: @vegusgold.

Gareth Bale said...

The ideal spot where you can get marked coats for least price. The best outfits for your ideal winters. this site has all what you require. Stylish trench leather coat For Men

Gareth Bale said...

Visit this website for the best writing service. It is exactly what you need to do your task composing. Chemistry Assignments

Unknown said...

We are providing the best waist trainers for fat lose from tummy and back fat to get dream body shape for different occasions. Waist trainers are readily aimed at showing off your body curves in the right places and also. Control the lower body fat
These items can customize your overall body and hide your extra fat to look attractive. The Majority are using the waist trainer for lose belly fat well and you can stay active without leaving the house.

Unknown said...

Waist trainers are used to control tummy and back fat. It helps to reduce the fat from the lower belly and love handles. These trainer belts can be wear under clothes and reduce tummy fat within few days. Waist trainers are comfortable enough to wear during workout that boost your fat lose process.

Emman said...

Great drapes tutorials, I will link it back to my post here

Astrid said...


Your site has a lot of useful information for me best hair salon san diego

Amanda said...

Of course it was a hilarious journey in this wonderful website. The Lined Pinch Pleat Drapes look really gorgeous with elegant color. The window also look so beautiful and the most charming thing to me was window view.The green leafs remind me the natural allurement of the open space. Love your design and decor idea. My desire was to know about how to get replacement windows in Markham. Hence this was a magnificent tour definitely.

Jay Keygreer said...

Glass Window Repair
Liberal KS Rat Exterminator
Investor Friendly Contractors Kansas City
Home Contracting Near Me
Sell My House

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...