Help three widths pinch pleats!!!!

[smiley]

Hi Sue (lady who helped me before), anyone else who can help me please!!!!!

Sorry it has taken me a long time to get going on these curtains and I have now finally cut them out, interlined them and the lining and buckram are going in tomorrow, so would REALLY REALLY appreciate a point in the right direction for working out the pleats and spaces for the top so here goes with my measurements.................

The track is 275cm and finished drop is 231cm I have made a pair of 3 width curtains, and am still deliberating whether they are in fact too wide, but would like the fullness as the room is lovely and with the bay and the curtains when they are done it will look lovely I am sure. The finished width of one curtain is 422cm.

As you remember I had a problem in that I have to make sure the back edge is 11.5cm and the front edge is 14cm.

I usually use 3cm per width of fabric for tolerance and also 10cm for centre overlap, but I don't think I will need the centre overlap as I need to use the measurements I have given for the front edge and the back edge. Confused ...............!!!!!

Can you help me at all, it would really be appreciated. Any other measurements you need just let me know, I will be eternally grateful

regards
smiley

[Schuhby]

Re: Help three widths pinch pleats!!!!

To be quite honest you do have too much fabric for this track - But here goes anyway..

Finished width minus your return and leading edge is: 396.5cm

Track divided by 2 is: 137.5 - I'd make each curtain to 145cm allowing 7.5 tolerance.

13 pleats at 19.34cm and 12 spaces at 12.08cm, the pleats will be full and the spaces quite small.

Or

12 pleats at 20.91cm and 11 spaces at 13.18cm each.

I have based this on 2 curtains measuring 145cms plus leading edge and return, I have considered the leading edge and return as extra as I don't know why you're having the larger return and leading edge - So be aware that the leading edge will extend the finished width even more. If you want to make the finished width smaller then you should make the pleats bigger thus reducing the finished width.

• Return: 11.5cm[/*:m:1nidey26]
• 12 pleats @ 20.91cm = 250.92cm[/*:m:1nidey26]
• 11 spaces @ 13.18cm = 144.98[/*:m:1nidey26]
• Leading edge: 14.5cm
  [/*:m:1nidey26]
• Fabric required: 421.9cm[/*:m:1nidey26]

If not pleating to the design of the pattern you would normally only use 2.25 to 2.5 times your track width and plan your pleating while calculating your required fabric.

You paper plan should look like this:

R P S P S P S P S P S P S P S P S P S P S P S P L - L P S P S P S P S P S P S P S P S P S P S P S P R

[smiley]

Re: Help three widths pinch pleats!!!!

Hi Schuhby
Thanks for your info, I am a bit worried now as I have been making pinch pleats for years and thought I had the theory all sewn up and worked out the width would be a pair of 3 width curtains given the measurements I gave, is this not correct then???? I just worked out that for the width of the track and the drop measurements 2.50 times this was a pair of 3 width curtains and now I am even more confused.

The reason I have such a large leading and back edge is that the curtains are going on a track which I have never done, the back edge there is an eye to the back wall and then the space between that and the first eye of the track is the measurement of the back edge, as I did not want a pleat before the track started.

Hope I have not confused you but I am now totally confused and think I may have made the curtains far too wide?????#


regards
smiley

[Schuhby]

Re: Help three widths pinch pleats!!!!

Hi Smiley

Sounds like you've made a mis-calculation here - Your track is 275cm wide and 2.5 x this is: 687cm, which is around 2.5 widths per curtain which would have been more than enough if not pleating by design - 2.25 to 2.5 times the track width is usually more than enough, and again, this is why it is important to do a plan before buying the fabric. You have to make an educated decison and round up or down, in your case I'd round down to the nearest 1/2 width - giving you 2.5 widths per curtain.

You have 844cm, which is 3 widths per curtains, you can hide this in the pleats.

With regards using a track, if it's corded you wouldn't need so much tolerance as the curtains are pulled taught and kept taught by pulling the cords. You would also need to calculate a reduction in width based on the overlap arm.

Philip

[Rosie]

Re: Help three widths pinch pleats!!!!

And the back edge return to the wall? How large is that?