Fit 2 Stitch

- Today on Fit 2 Stitch, Susan's back to teach us the essentials of drapes.

Draperies are labor intensive and therefore very costly.

Making them ourselves can save us money and give us the satisfaction of creating something that reflects our own personalities.

The types of fabrics, the colors and textures, lined or unlined, what will give us the perfect look for our home?

Today on Fit 2 Stitch, we'll learn to make the right choices for a more successful outcome.

(upbeat music) (piano music begins) - Fit 2 Stich is made possible by Kai Scissors, Bennos Buttons, (piano music continues) OC Sewing, Orange County, Vogue Fabrics, Pendleton, Imitation of Life, and Clutch Nails.

- I've invited Susan back today.

Susan is a consultant to interior designers and the showroom is beautiful and it's large.

And you know, after we finished with pillows, I really just kept asking questions about this and that.

And so I really asked her to come back and teach us a little bit more about draperies.

And I feel like draperies are such an important part of home decor and they just seem to lend themselves.

But I, my son bought a house and he said, "Mom, I want drapes."

I'm like, "No, you don't, you want blinds."

He goes, "No, I want drapes."

And I made drapes for him, he doesn't like them.

- Well I admire you for taking on that challenge.

(Peggy laughing) - Well, it's probably a little more, not smart than admiration, but if you could just guide us through this process, because I think the things I did wrong were a little obvious, but I just didn't know.

- Well, I, I believe the first step is really good planning.

- Okay.

- Once you decide which window you want to cover, the first thing to do is set a budget.

- Okay.

- Draperies can be very expensive.

- They are.

- And they're very, very time-consuming, lots of details that have to be taken care of.

The fabrics can be expensive, the hardware can be expensive.

Your time is worth something.

- Right.

- So you really do need to have a very good plan.

- And so when I, when I was going through that process, what I noticed is we didn't know.

A lot of those answers were, gee, I don't know, I don't know.

And so we found as we visited places that really helped.

- Absolutely - Because it helped us communicate about what he wanted and what I, I understood him to want.

So I found that was a big part of the process, but if I'm going to make drapes and I- for an event, how far out should I begin?

Realistically, how long would it take?

- It depends on how well of a sewer you are.

- Okay.

- I would give yourself at least a month, if not longer.

- Okay.

- And it depends the, on the scope of the project.

- Sure.

- How many windows you're trying to cover.

- And if I'm ordering fabric, or having it there locally, or - Well, now with the pandemic being over, I find that a lot of fabrics are taking longer to come in once they're ordered.

- Longer.

- Longer, yes.

- Oh my, you would think it'd be just the opposite.

- There's a backlog of mills that are producing.

- Okay.

- So find your fabric first and get that on hand, then set yourself up for a good plan.

- And so if I'm going to put aside money because so many, so many choices seem to come back to money, it seems like to me, you know, how do I even know where to start on that, is there an in-between for say like a full window?

We were going floor to, you know, not floor to ceiling, but we were going like 84 inches in length.

So if I'm going two windows, and I know windows vary in size, but what's a ballpark where I- - As far as price goes?

- Yeah, just, I know it depends so greatly on so many different things.

- It really depends on the fabric that you choose because there are nice inexpensive fabrics.

And then there's very expensive fabrics.

- And I know we're going to talk about fabrics in a little bit and maybe we can cover that a little bit more.

- Absolutely.

Because my problem is I say, "Okay, well I can do that for a hundred dollars."

And the rod cost me 300.

So I'm so far over budget before I even start.

And it's kind of frustrating to me.

- I would say a thousand or more.

- Okay.

Okay.

- To do a, a good quality job.

- Per window?

- Per window, yeah.

That helps.

Even if someone is gasping now but at least they know that that's what it's going to cost.

- It could be less than that, it really depends on the hardware you select, and your fabric selections.

- Well, I noticed even though we didn't get a real expensive fabric, there was so many yards involved, that that's where it added up.

And then we lined it, and there's so many yards of that involved that I can see where that price of a thousand is really realistic.

It's not where we started.

- Definitely.

- It's just where we ended up.

- Definitely.

- So I really do appreciate that.

- And it typically takes more fabric than you expect- - Okay.

- to actually get a pair of draperies to close.

- So you over plan?

- Yes.

Over plan.

- Okay.

- For the money.

For the budget.

- Yes.

- I think that's reasonable.

And then I take measurements.

That's where we started was measurements, is that... - Measurements are one of the key factors that you need to begin with.

- Okay.

- For instance, let's just pretend this is a window in your home.

The first measurement you would take is the width of your window.

- Okay.

- And then the height, from the top of the window to the floor.

- Okay.

- I think it's also important to measure how much space you have from the top of the window to the ceiling.

- Okay.

- Then the other measurement... - And I'm going to say, let me, let me just mention this, because we had a problem because all of our windows weren't even.

We were doing a wall, from the top, crack of the wall to the top of the window, they were all different.

- Well if they're all on one wall you probably want it to be more consistent.

- So, it doesn't even matter, the windows.

- Exactly.

- Okay, I see.

- Don't worry about the misplacement of the windows, just get that measurement from ceiling to the top of the window.

- I see.

Decide where you want that drapery rod to go.

- Okay.

- So when you enter the room, it'll all be consistent in one line that your eye goes to.

- Sure.

Sure.

So top, top of the wall to the top of the window, and then - Yes.

from the window to the floor.

- Then you also need to get from the ceiling to the floor.

- Okay.

- Because that will help you come up with your finished link that you need.

- Okay.

- Then you also have how much wall you're going to have on each side of your window.

- Okay.

- That's an important measurement too.

- Then are there standards for how far beyond that drape goes, beyond the window?

- There's not really a standard, you definitely want your drape to cover the end of that, that window.

I typically go out six inches on both sides, up to 12 to 15 inches.

- Okay.

- Depending on how much fabric you want to sit in the window glass, if you don't want to cover up a lot of your window, then your rod... - Oh, that makes sense, when they're open.

- Yes, when they're open your rod can go out further.

- I see, I see.

But the further you take your rod out, the more fabric you need.

- Sure.

So I noticed one thing with his is we were trying to get those windows to be completely visual.

So the draperies could open and not even cover the window at all.

- Correct.

- Oh, that's great, okay.

All right.

- So measurements are very, very important.

- Okay.

- Then you get to decide... - Are measurements like down to the inch or just kind of ballpark?

- Down to the inch.

- Oh, okay.

Okay.

(Peggy laughing) - Down to the half inch.

- Oh, okay.

- Every little detail is very, very important.

- Okay.

I appreciate that.

- So be very, very precise on your measurements because it will make a difference.

Then you get to choose your construction style that you want.

There's all different types of headers.

We've got pleated, we've got pencil pleats, ripple fold draperies, cafe draperies, there's a lot of options.

- Sure.

- Before you start constructing.

Okay, so let's talk, let's talk style versus your home.

Our, we did pinch pinch pleats, but that's just cause what he wanted.

Are pinch pleats traditional, are they contemporary, or...?

- They can be either.

- Okay.

And that is a very traditional way to go.

You're never going to go wrong with a pinch pleat.

- Oh, okay.

- On this particular drapery, they're tacked at the top, which a lot of people call a French pleat.

You tack it at the top and then it starts fanning out towards the bottom.

- Oh, okay.

- The old fashioned way is when it was tacked down at the bottom of the pleat.

- That's what I did.

- And then it fans out up at the top.

- Yeah.

It's, it's, I say it's old fashioned, but many people still do it and it's a beautiful treatment.

- But I do think those details do make a difference, whether our drapes look contemporary, his house is contemporary, and the drapes, he just didn't like them.

- They definitely make a difference.

But I think there were details like that that really made the difference.

- Absolutely.

- So pinch at the top is more contemporary pinch at the bottom is more traditional.

It's, yeah, it fans at the top.

- And are there always three, little... - There, this is called a three finger pleat, you've got three little folds here, you can also do a two finger pleat.

- Okay.

- It really depends on how much, the two finger is a little less full looking.

And if you are on a budget, and you want to not have so much fabric, you can go with a two finger pleat, also.

- This is really, they're so pretty.

And then this is just decorative.

- This is just an added detail.

A lot of designers these days are adding trims.

This is the leading edge.

Those are the two edges that come together in the center.

- Okay.

- It's called the leading edge, and we typically add trims to the leading edges.

But you can add trims all over.

- Okay.

Yeah, I've seen some at the top.

- I used to have some designers that add trims across the pleat, trims across the bottom.

- I like this, it just gives it a really nice vertical look, and I never would have thought of, that, you know.

- It does.

And it adds a really nice custom quality.

- Let's talk fabrics.

- This, this fabric actually right here is a faux wool.

It's, it's a little... - Oh, I thought it was real.

It's pretty.

- Isn't it beautiful?

It's, it's a very nice fabric.

It hangs very nicely, it's got a beautiful drape to it.

It is a little heavier, but it, once it's hung on a, on a window, off the rods, it hangs beautifully.

- Yeah.

- So I do a lot of faux wool fabrics.

I've got some others over here that I'll show you.

- Okay.

- I have, when people are asking for silk, we recommend this polyester.

- As opposed to silk.

- As opposed to silk.

- Stay away from silk.

- You don't have to stay away from silk but we have found that silk will disintegrate faster with the sun.

- Oh, I see.

- Polyester will last longer.

I would add lining to this because that is one more way to protect your main fabric.

- Sure, sure.

- So we've got beautiful, solid, faux silks.

There's more faux wools.

- And I noticed too, these colors are, are really more neutral based.

- I, I like to recommend going with neutral colors simply because drapes, as we talked, are expensive.

You, if you stick with more basic traditional colors, you're less likely to get tired of them.

And because they're expensive, you, I hate to see you start doing drapes every few years, just because you get tired of it.

- And then the pillows we can use, like we talked about, to spruce it all up and change out the inexpensive, I was going to say the cheap stuff, change out the inexpensive stuff.

- Absolutely.

And leave your drapes cause they're, they're much, they are expensive.

- So you could take just a simple off-white drape, like this fabric, add trim to it.

- This is really pretty.

- Changes it up.

Even in a few years, if you want to get rid of the trim.

- Oh, that's a good idea.

- You can take that trim off, put a different color trim on it, it gives it a whole new look.

- That's a great idea.

- So it's, it's just a great way to make the drapes last for many, many years.

- So these natural fibers aren't necessarily the best thing when it comes to drapes.

- Exactly.

These, that I have here on the table, do, are a blend.

This is linen and cotton.

I have some that are linen and polyester.

- Okay.

- So, those... - So you get a linen look- - You get a linen look- - but you get the life of the poly.

You don't get the wrinkles, and it lasts a little bit longer.

This fabric right here is a really beautiful sheer if you ever want to do lightweight draperies without lining.

- Okay.

And then behind them, you'd just put a blind or something?

- You don't even, a lot of people do the sheers like in dining rooms, where you don't need the privacy.

So you don't always have to have a blind or something behind a sheer.

- So they really have the drape, just for the beauty of the drape.

- Just for the beauty of the drape.

- And when you're doing that, do you recommend a three pinch or the single or does it, does that matter?

- It doesn't matter but because sheers, because sheer fabrics are thinner, you typically add more fabric to get your fullness.

- So those, those pleats are, this would be less fabric because the pleat is not- - This pleat is more simple.

This is called a pencil pleat.

- Okay.

- And it's similar to a goblet pleat.

The goblet pleat is much, much bigger here.

- Okay.

- This is just a simple pencil thin line.

We actually even put a dowel, - Yeah, you can feel something in there.

- There's a dowel inside.

- To keep it nice and round.

- Helps keep it shape.

- Oh, that's a trick.

That's a great little trick.

- Absolutely.

- You just cut them to the length they are and slide them in.

- Yes.

And you can see here, this is a one panel that belongs to a pair.

This is your leading edge.

- Okay.

- And they put a really nice, beautiful decorative trim on there.

- Would it be too redundant to take the same trim and put it on pillows?

- Not at all.

- Okay.

Or just, sometimes... - Not at all, that way you kind of... - Gets too matchy matchy, a little bit.

- Well, but it's, it's a beautiful look.

- And you know, when we were originally looking at drapes, we actually shopped for drapes and we could not find a single lined drape.

Do I need to line drapes?

- I strongly suggest lining drapes, simply because... - Because it's custom looking?

It's... - Absolutely.

- Okay.

- It gives it a custom look.

The linings also protect your main fabric.

And the main fabric typically is going to be the most expensive part.

- The main fabric.

- The main fabric.

Because it's, it's got a pattern, it's, it's more likely to be more expensive, so your linings are going to protect.

- Well, I know as we talked about yardages, you really double the amount.

And I think that's why a lot of people say, "Oh, do I have to line them?"

But I've noticed the difference between drapes that are lined, and drapes that are unlined is... - Definitely.

- It's a big difference.

- And if you're going to spend the time and the money, I would definitely line them.

They will last longer.

- Okay.

- When you, discussing linings, we've, there are lots of options too.

You've got, this is just your basic cotton lining that would go on any drape.

You can also add a flannel inner lining.

- Oh, for warmth.

- And this goes, for warmth, but also it gives it a much more plush, heavier look, adds, it's a beautiful addition to any like, a thinner fabric.

This just adds a little more substance.

- That makes sense.

Just gives a little more body.

It's almost like a fusible interface inside of clothing.

- There's also a bump lining, which is this right here.

It's very, very thick and plush.

A lot of designers... - And this can be used as a lining.

- It, that's what it's meant for.

It's very, very nice.

- I wonder, that lining just gives it a thicker look, more like the wool drape.

- Yes.

- So it would be more like a Northern look as opposed to southern?

- True.

And you can put, you would put this between these two.

- Oh wow.

- So you've got three layers of lining.

- So when you're doing the linings, I noticed that when, again, I'm referring to myself, cause it was completely disastrous.

One of the mistakes I had or one of the difficulties I had, and I noticed at your showroom, you have these massive tables and I didn't have any space like that at my house.

And so it was really difficult for the cutting to be exact when I couldn't lay it out, you know, I'm laying it out on my floor.

I'm just laying it out in places, any place I could get, because when you think about 84 inches and then the top part, and then the bottom part, I don't have a room that's that big.

- You do need a lot of space.

If you do have a nice big table, that's the best way to cut.

Therefore, your, all your cuts are the same length.

- Right.

- It's going to be a little more consistent.

- So that was the hard part for me.

- I can completely understand.

- I need to go out on the sidewalk and just roll it out on the sidewalk on a beautiful dry day.

But the lining, and getting the lining to be exactly, to match the drapes so that they don't pull, or something like that.

- Exactly.

So they all have to be cut the same, same size.

- Yeah.

- There's also blackout linings, which will give you complete darkness in a room.

- Okay.

- This is one type right here.

This is another blackout lining right here.

It's a little more fluid.

This one is a little stiffer.

- Right, right.

That is interesting, the difference, they'll both do the job.

And they'll tell you what amount of blackout they'll give?

- Yes.

- And then of course, you can... - If it's considered a blackout lining, it will give you complete blackout.

- Oh wow.

So you don't have to do that with a fabric, you can do it with a lining.

- Yes.

- I think that that's just really interesting, how they have all these new options for linings.

- There are lots of options.

- Wow.

That's really something.

- This panel right here, this is called a ripple fold drape.

- A rippable?

- Ripple, fold.

- Oh, ripple fold, okay.

- There are no pleats.

However you see here on the back, this is called a snap tape.

- Okay.

- You sew your snap tape up at the header.

So, and it goes on a track, that has glides, that also have snaps.

So this snaps into your track and it just gives it a smooth ripple- - Oh, pretty.

- instead of gathered pleats.

- So this is very easy to sew.

- It's, it's very easy to sew, it's a little cleaner, more contemporary look.

- Yeah, I like this.

I've never heard of this.

Rippled?

- Ripple fold.

- Ripple fold.

- That's really pretty, and you can do all your different fabrics and everything.

- Absolutely.

- Now, does this stuff come with these, probably comes with those snaps in, so I could buy it and I wouldn't have to put the snaps in.

- Right.

You buy snap tape and it comes with these snaps.

- Okay.

So all I have to do is sew it together and then get the... Let's talk about those rods, because I noticed when we were shopping for rods, that was tough.

- Yes.

So we've got, again, lots of options when it comes to drapery hardware.

There's metal finishes, there are painted finishes, there are basic track, that are not decorative.

- Yeah.

- So there's a lot of choices.

What I have here are the metal finishes.

I'm seeing a huge trend in brass.

We do a lot of brass hardware.

This is your basic round ring or round rod that would hold the round ring.

- Okay.

Brackets with... - And then the drape just falls, right under there?

- Yes.

The drape just, the draper pin just hangs right there.

- Got it.

And I love that look.

It's so pretty.

It's a real updated version from just that pleated drape.

- True.

- Where it was a hidden rod and, I think that's what looks more contemporary to me.

- A lot of, a lot of people feel that the drapery hardware is just as important as the drapes themselves.

They add, it's kind of the jewelry of the window.

- Yeah, that's a good analogy.

- Absolutely.

- That's a really good analogy.

- This is a very, very popular now, the acrylic drapery hardware.

- Wow.

- So with this acrylic, you can use brass, you can use the chrome, or the nickel hardware.

It's also got brass and nickel brackets.

- I see.

- This bracket right here, because it's got the square shape, would hold a metal rectangular rod.

- So these rods, so that's something that we found very challenging was rods because we started off again with this very low budget and we found that rods exceeded our budget.

The rod exceeded our budget.

- Most definitely.

- So we couldn't figure out really, where do we go get rods?

And we noticed that a lot of them that we shopped for, they looked, they looked the same.

You know, we couldn't really get a unique look.

- You can get your basic hardware at any hardware store, probably.

- But it looks like all the others.

- It does.

And it's not a real custom look.

- But if I made my drapes and then just came and bought rods, will a place sell me just the rods and then I can make the curtains?

- Yes.

- So I could kind of save, split the difference.

- Absolutely.

- Save money that way.

Just leave a little bit of budget.

Cause they're so they're, they're amazing how beautiful they are, and yet I couldn't find, you know, I couldn't find a lot of them.

- That, that is true.

You can find places online that will sell it or your... - The manufacturers, do they sell it more exclusively just to- - Just to the trade.

- The trade.

- Yeah, so you could contact an interior designer and they could probably get this for you.

- Okay.

- I want to show you this too, because this is very popular.

The acrylic- - It's beautiful.

- rectangular rod.

And it's got a rectangular ring that hangs on here.

- Oh my goodness.

- And then this is your bracket.

- So there are lots of fun and lots of decisions to be made.

- Lots of fun, lots of decisions to be made.

- Is the acrylic, is it more expensive than metals?

- Not necessarily.

- Okay.

Tell me about this.

- This is just a beautiful cafe drape.

- Okay.

- And when we say the word cafe, a lot of people turn their noses up, they think- - I know, I was going to say- - of very old-fashioned, diner-type draperies.

- It does sound kind of like that.

- So many designers are doing cafe drapes, especially in bathrooms where you have windows in front of your tub that you still want sunlight to come through, yet you don't want to cover, you still need privacy too.

- Sure.

- So you can do a cafe drape, which only goes like two thirds of the way up inside your window.

- Oh, that makes a lot of sense.

- So, you've got a window, let's say, this tall, your drapery can come here.

So you've got glass here where there's sunlight's coming through- - Sure.

But down here, where you need it, you've got your privacy.

And we do this a lot - That's really smart.

in kitchens also.

- And then you can also really bring the fabric to really match your decor- - Yes.

to do whatever it wants.

- Absolutely, so- - So it's the same pinch drape.

- Same little pinch pleat.

- It's just got the little rings sewn at the top.

- Yes, on this particular one we did sew the rings on.

- And then the rod goes through there.

- Yes.

- So I know that you've been in this business a really long time, but not necessarily on your own- - True.

because you own this all now.

What, how did you make that leap from- - I had been in the interior design business for quite a while- - Like, quite awhile?

- Well from 2000 to 2012?

- Yeah, like a long time.

- A long time.

- 12 years.

- And loved it.

I love design, but ended up going through a divorce and found that the interior design business is not a steady income.

- Okay.

- I had the opportunity to work at a designer work room.

So I'd done draperies throughout my design career, so I knew a little bit about it, but learned more at this other company, but it just ended up not being a healthy place to be, for myself.

And with so many friends, and colleagues, and business associates encouraging me to move on and do my own thing.

- I love that.

- I kept saying no, I can't do it.

They finally pushed me over the edge and I jumped ship and started my own.

- I love that.

- And I have not looked back.

- If we had one really good tip to give those who are watching or to myself, what, what would you say?

- Go with your gut instinct.

If you find a fabric and you love it- - Don't let anyone talk you out of it.

- Don't let anyone talk you out of it.

- I love that.

Thank you.

- And just believe in yourself.

- And measure.

(Peggy laughing) - And measure right.

- I love that.

I feel like I'm, I'm really appreciative and I feel like I can try it again.

- I think you should.

- It wasn't fun to not do it right, but I learned so much in the lesson, I probably shouldn't have just jumped off the cliff, I should've done a little bit- - Well, you learn from your mistake.

- Thank you.

I should have talked to you first.

(Peggy and Susan laughing) Thank you so much.

- You're welcome, thank you.

I don't know about y'all, but I really am ready to try this again, and I think it was simply because the pricing and they're just so beautiful and yet they get very expensive very quickly and it was just something that I thought, "Okay, I can do this."

So I think we all feel like that, "Hey, we can do this."

But just caution, give you a few little tips and a few little tricks really make the difference.

So Susan, thank you.

It's much easier when you know a little bit more about what you're doing.

A tailor is the person who can rescue us when the garments we purchase are just not quite right.

Next time on Fit 2 Stitch, a tailor will teach us one of the most difficult alterations.

Join us to learn how.

(piano music begins) (piano music continues) - Fit 2 Stich is made possible by Kai Scissors, Bennos Buttons, (piano music continues) OC Sewing, Orange County, Vogue Fabrics, Pendleton, Imitation of Life, and Clutch Nails.

To order a four DVD set of Fit 2 Stitch Series 10, please visit our website at fit2stitch.com.

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