Curtain seam allowances

[jane Pins & Needles Find all posts View Profile Close jane]

Just about to join the curtain widths (2.5 per curtain) to make a pair of triple pleat curtains. The fabric (silk) pattern is two alternating 9.5cm wide vertical stripes and there's about 1cm selvedge each side. Having a dilema about where to join the widths.....

I can either loose 2 stripes at each join to keep the pattern match but that means massive seam allowances and I'd loose lots of width (I'd have 10 x 14.5cm pleats across 2.5 widths)

OR I can keep the 2 stripes at each join but only have 1cm seam allowances (and I'd have 12 x 15cm pleats across 2.5 widths)

......would I be ok with such a small seam allowance? These are primarly dress curtains and won't be drawn often if at all.

Heeeeeelp....pleeeeessssse!

[Schuhby Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Schuhby]

Re: Curtain seam allowances

Hi Jane

I suggest you follow the horizontal pattern of the fabric, if that means losing a few stripes then you'll have to work around that. If the curtains are triple pleat any pattern mis-match will show. I'd also recommend you decide the positioning of the pleats based on the design of the fabric if you can..

I can't understand why you're losing so much if you only have two different stripes - Can you not join two of the same stripes down the middle?

Philip

[jane Pins & Needles Find all posts View Profile Close jane]

Re: Curtain seam allowances

The fabric has a light stripe down one side & a dark one down the other side but if I turn one piece around, I can join it down the middle of a stripe and loose less of the width. Silk doesn't have a nap does it ? I can't see one

[Schuhby Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Schuhby]

Re: Curtain seam allowances

Jane, if you use a small seam allowance will that give you the correct horizontal flow? Using this seaming method may be easier for you to iron out if you only have a very small amount of fabric. And you could maybe lose a few cm off a stripe when joining.

Philip

[Tam Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Tam]

Re: Curtain seam allowances

Hmmmmmmmmmm, the only thing I would be cautious about with a small seam allowance when using silk is that the tension on the weave of the selvege pulls the seam allowance tight ,therefore the seam allowance may need to be trimmed back to avoid puckering along the seam ( learnt that one the hard way! ) Your fabric may never lay flat other wise

If you have no alternative other than to join with a 1cm seam allowance I would snip the selvege so it relaxes the tension of the selvege .


I hope you are getting on ok Jane

[jane Pins & Needles Find all posts View Profile Close jane]

Re: Curtain seam allowances

Thanks Philip - I'm going to do that. If nothing else, this has taught me a valuable lesson about taking vertical patterns into account when calculating fabric quantities - If I'd gone for 3 widths in each curtain I'd have had more leeway. Horizontal pattern matching is second nature but I hadn't come across this issue before. Thanks for your help. Guess I'll be working tonight to catch up on all the time I've wasted today

[Schuhby Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Schuhby]

Re: Curtain seam allowances

Jane, if it's any consolation I'll be working late too making a WHITE roman blind with B/O lining, 144cm wide x 211cm drop with a 17cm top lip! I hate working with white fabrics...

Philip

[jane Pins & Needles Find all posts View Profile Close jane]

Re: Curtain seam allowances

I've just finished 5 light cream romans with b/out (not as big as yours thank goodness). Why do we put ourselves through this ??

[Schuhby Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Schuhby]

Re: Curtain seam allowances

I had this conversation with Karen Rhodes earlier - We put ourselves through this because we want to produce and well thought out product.. A quality product requires, care, attention to detail and a little thought.....

Philip

[enid Pins & Needles Find all posts View Profile Close enid]

Re: Curtain seam allowances

Sorry if this does not make much sense, but I would worry about the small seam allowance, ( why do we worry, others do not ) and 10 pleats over two and a half widths does sound as though it could be OK . Sometimes all the rules need to go out the window and the fabric dictates what has to be done. You say that these are dress curtains, but add that they MIGHT be drawn.....skimpy dress curtains look awful, drawn or not. By the time you read this, Jane , you will have decided !!!!!!! so bin my comment if its too late. Decide yourself and be strong in YOUR decision. Its YOUR job and YOU are dealing with it.
As the American site says........... Its Big Knicker Time ( sorry P, ladies joke!)


Enid

[Schuhby Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Schuhby]

Re: Curtain seam allowances

Just to echo Enid's comments - Sometimes we have to stand back and think out of the box.. Forget the rules and do what is best for the project in hand. Use your minds eye to think through the project and see how the end result will look.. Then just do it...

Philip

[alic Needle & Thread Find all posts View Profile Close alic]

Re: Curtain seam allowances

Hi Jane i would not turn your fabric sometimes the light reflects differently on each piece and one side may look darker than the other i always mark the top of my fabri c when i cut it and also the right side so mistakes cant happen i also do this on lining as even that can look a different colour if turned if you have a small seam allowance will you still have approx same gap as between your other stripes or will it be a lot smaller ? If you have to lose a stripe could you take smaller side turnings to compensate for some of the lost width best of luck ali x

[jane Pins & Needles Find all posts View Profile Close jane]

Re: Curtain seam allowances

well.....I decided to join the widths using small seam allowances and the "pattern matching" method and I'm pleased to report it's worked absolutely fine.
I haven't lost any width and the stripes line up perfectly.

Thank you so much to everyone for your advice - it's so lovely (and a real confidence booster) knowing you're all out there with your experience, knowledge and words of wisdom. Thank you.