Drooping pinch-pleated drapes


  #1  
Old 07-25-09, 02:20 PM
S
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Unhappy Drooping pinch-pleated drapes

I installed some pinch-pleated drapes about a week ago (in a banquet hall), and now they tell me that they are about an inch longer than they started. Each finished panel is about 57 inches wide and are lined. Each panel has 12 pleats. I haven't gone to look yet (will on Monday), but I'm guessing it is the hooks or the rod. I used brace supports on the traverse rod. Do you think putting extra pin hooks between the pleats would help? I haven't seen that in any sewing publication. Any ideas??
 
  #2  
Old 07-25-09, 07:09 PM
Shadeladie's Avatar
Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA - USA
Posts: 4,897
Received 388 Upvotes on 316 Posts
Hi and welcome to the forum! It's hard to say for sure without seeing them. A couple things come to mind.
One, perhaps the fabric grew. What fabric were they made of?
Two, what are the size of the spaces? Doesn't sound like there's enough pleats for that size finished panel. If the spaces are too big, perhaps there's some drooping going on when opened?
 
  #3  
Old 07-26-09, 02:12 PM
S
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
The fabric is Tafetta, lined with 'basic average' lining material. The space between pleats is about 5 inches, and the pleats themselves used 9 inches of fabric. I haven't seen them yet either, but I wouldn't think that tafetta would stretch. Oh well - if it did, guess I will have to shorten them. That won't be fun. I'm going to try the extra hooks to see what happens if the fabric didn't stretch. Thanks for the input. Any other ideas are welcome. I'll be going there on Monday around 10am.
 
  #4  
Old 07-27-09, 09:28 AM
Shadeladie's Avatar
Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA - USA
Posts: 4,897
Received 388 Upvotes on 316 Posts
5" is a little big for spaces, but if they have buckram, they shouldn't be big enough to make them droop. If you add pins to the spaces, will they be able to open OK? I think that might interfere with the workings. Another thought, if it's the fabric growing, they may shrink again when it gets cold, then you'd have to lengthen again.
Hope you'll let us know what the problem was.
 
  #5  
Old 07-27-09, 05:50 PM
S
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Thumbs up


Mystery solved. When I went to check them out today, they were fine. I still added the extra slides to the traverse rod and the extra hooks in the spaces to distribute the weight more. That did not interfere with the working of the rod or the pull. Apparently, the day they were 'droopy', it was very rainy and humid. The drapes are in front of a service door at the banquet hall that doesn't seal very well. It would appear that the fabric temporarily 'absorbed' some of the humidity and the extra weight made them hang 'longer'. Nothing I can do about that unless they fix the door. Hopefully, distributing the weight more will help. The banquet hall owner understood that it's the door seal - not the drapes. Hope this helps someone else out there.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: