The way to Determine Number of Fabric Needed for Pinch Pleated Drapes



Classic pinch-pleated drapes, sometimes called French-pleat drapes, can establish the mood of a space. The pleats, evenly spaced across the surface, add volume, fullness and an elegant look. Leaving your drapes can help save you money, lets you to choose the fabric and allows you to custom make them to match your room’s decor. Along with a few basic sewing skills, it’s critical to know how to ascertain the amount of material to purchase. With precise measurements and calculations, then you can avoid buying too much cloth or running short before the drapes are complete.

Calculate the Fabric Length

Put in your curtain rod, pole or traverse monitor in the desirable location in line with the manufacturer’s installation guide. When you’re using a rod or rod with rings, slip on the rings before measuring. Installing the rings first gives you a more accurate length measurement.

Measure and record the duration of these drapes. When you’ve installed a monitor, hold the end of the tape measure 1/2 inch over the monitor and measure down to the desired finish span. If you are going to hang the drapes from rings, measure from the base of the rings into the desired span.

Calculate your cutting span by adding 8 inches to the measurement. This allows to get a 4-inch top casing and a 4-inch hem. As an instance, if the vertical length is 88 inches, then the cutting span will be 96 inches.

Calculate the Fabric Width

Measure the width of the installed rod, pole or traverse monitor. Do not contain the lengths of finials. Whether there are return brackets, include their lengths in your measurement. Return mounts move from the front of the rod into the wall or window frame.

Add 12 inches to your center overlap in case you’ve set up a track. This is the place where the left and right panels overlap from the center when closed. Record the total width.

Multiply the total width by 2.25 and recording the result. This allows to get the proper amount of fullness for the pleated drapes. As an instance, if the total width is 84 inches, then multiply 84 by 2.25 to receive 189 inches, then the calculated fabric width.

Calculate the Yardage

Divide the calculated fabric width by the width of the cloth you’ve selected to ascertain the number of widths needed. Fabrics are usually available in widths from 40 to 60 inches. If your fabric measures 55 inches wide, at the instance, split 189 inches by 55 inches. The end result is 3.4 or rounded up to 4 widths.

Multiple the number of widths by the cutting length to determine the amount of material required in inches. In this instance, multiple 96 inches by 4. The total amount of material required is 376 inches. Divide this by 36 inches to determine the total yardage.

Insert the duration of the pattern repeat to the cutting span if you are using a print material and you want to match the pattern in the seams. This span is usually indicated on the roster in the fabric store. With this new cutting span, use the calculation method in the preceding step to ascertain the total yardage.

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