It seemed to be a standard project of two pair of drapery panels with a 130" length and rod face of about 80", which would require two widths of fabric for each panel. I confirmed her required yardage and quoted her pricing and time frame and all was well.
After I received and reviewed the fabric, I knew that this project would require some special treatment in order to provide a well-planned and beautiful finished project.
First of all, the fabric is white, with a chocolate brown graphic design. It is a lovely pattern in a very current design that looks great.
However, since the white fabric had a dark colored design, the standard double turned hem (fabric folded in on itself twice) would allow the dark pattern to shown through the face fabric, providing an unsightly shadow and coloration.
The colorway selected |
A larger view of the pattern in a different colorway |
To prevent this from occurring, I sewed a 5" band of white lining to the bottom of the drapery fabric. Therefore, the face fabric was turned up once, with the lining folded inside of that, instead of the face fabric showing through. This prevented any pattern bleedthrough, and allowed the white fabric background to remain true and clear without shadowing. From the back of the drapery panel, the hem looks exactly as it would with the traditional method.
Lining piece pinned in place |
Lining is sewn and pressed at the seam line before folding again |
The white lining is folded inside |
Voila! A clean hem without shadowing |
A photo of what this fabric pattern looks like when not pleated considering the design |
The only way to avoid the seam-in-the-middle-of-the-pleat fiasco would be to move the pleats and spaces over 3 inches. However, this would mean that the side hem (industry standard is 1.5" double folded) would not show the fabric pattern, but instead would show the fabric company markings and words. Not good!
Shown: the registration markings that would have shown - not good! |
The side hem after seaming the 3" fabric piece to the leading edge, ready to blind hem into place |
I then made a mini sample of the drapery panel for my client that showcased two different pleat choices. The left three pleats are Euro pleats and the right three pleats are two-finger butterfly pleats. Both pleat styles are placed on the same pattern repeat. The only difference is the pleat heading. My client selected the butterfly pleat and we were ready to pleat and ship!
The photo below shows one of the completed panels fan-folded and ready to ship. I love the finished product and the extra planning and consideration was well worth it.
I love the symmetry and pattern placement! |
I look forward to shipping these panels out to their new home and also to seeing a photo of the completed and installed project!
Hope to see you soon!
Susan