Portiere pinch pleat panel

An open doorway needed a two-sided pinch-pleated drapery panel on an inside-mounted track with glides.

After much trial and error, I devised a way to sew glides in between the two drapery layers, so the fabric could be pleated outward on both sides.

To make the panels, I sewed right sides together - - - by hand with a ladder stitch.  I did not trust my machine-sewing skills enough to get these edges matched perfectly.  The layers are interlined with thermal lining.

At the bottom, I slipped in drapery weights.....

And closed the bottom with a few inches of stitching.

At the top, one layer has buckram folded into the header, and the other layer has the thermal lining folded into the header.

I pressed them down and basted about 10" down so the layers would not shift when I transferred the fabric to the sewing machine to create the pleat back-stitching.

Each side is pleated separately, to pattern of course!- and the sewn-in glides join the layers.

A Deceptive Simplicity

Kim Freeman of freemandesigngroup designed the window treatments and chose the fabrics for the upstairs of this home on the Long Island Sound.

Most of these fabrics should look familiar to you because I've gradually been showing peeks of them over the past few weeks as we've been completing phases of the project.

Cafe curtains for the Master Bath are made out of the same pleated fabric I used for shades a couple of weeks ago.  We like how it gives privacy yet allows light in.

The Guest Bath pin-tucked cafe curtain is a linen sheer with orange grosgrain ribbon, topped with a London shade in William Morris Co's "Honeysuckles".
We agreed that the cafe curtain could be a little longer to achieve a better balance, so we went ahead and hung this up for now but we'll make a new, longer curtain and raise the rod.

The best best best of all, in the dressing room, pin-tucked curtains out of a floral, banded with blue silk, and see how the pin-tucks created a new floral pattern!

Flat Roman shades out of the William Morris "Mary Isobel" for the study:

The portiere drape in the doorway from the Master Bedroom through the Dressing Room to the Master Bath is an interlined silk blend, self-lined, pinch pleats facing in to the dressing room, and the "wrong side" facing the master bedroom.  I like how the back side of the pleats fall in sort of box-pleat folds.  The trim is on the bedroom side.  I forgot to photograph it from the other side!

The blue floral embroidered linen Master Bedroom drape is lined with French blackout technique- that is, four layers of fabric to achieve near blackout.
The layer next to the face fabric is white interlining; then dense black sateen which is what blocks the light; and on the back, white sateen lining.
Heavy!

That beautiful Sanderson fabric appears in the Guest Bedroom as pinch pleated drapery. 

All the drapery are pleated up into slender two-finger pinch pleats with fullness of just barely over double.

Those gorgeous panels....

At last, the sewing is done, and the panels are installed- five windows!
Take a look back at April 16 for a post on how these were made.
Mostly hand-sewn, of course, except for where a machine was essential.

To me, the heavy tapestry drapery completes the feeling of a high-ceilinged, dusky castle great room, together with the heavy beams, stone fireplace with its faux deer, fabulous cool, earthen wall finish, and rustic wood, iron, and leather notes in the furniture and accessories.

In a series of work over the past year, Diane Satenstein of D. S. Interiors has carried the earth-and-sky brown-and-blue palette through much of this home, stretching traditional treatments by blending deep color, exotic pattern, and rich texture to create a comfortable but stimulating and slightly mysterious atmosphere. 

Well, at least, that's how I see it!
For me, as a fabricator, these have been some of my favorite projects, ever.  Below are some of the other treatments we've made for this home:

More flat panels, banded.

Relaxed Romans with a coin trim.



Swags with tassel fringe, and a little flat Roman shade with bead trim.

Fab Fabric Friday again

Is this perfect for Fab Fabric Friday, or what?

(The colors aren't as true as I'd like.  The brown is more chocolate, the embroidery is deep as the bluest summer sky.  The contrast lining matches the embroidery but I couldn't get it to look that way.)

Anyhow, this fabric is in the process of becoming flat panels, interlined, with a contrast decorative lining.

I've folded the lining side over to show the lead edge and the return edge.

The portiere lead edge has our signature narrow band of face fabric wrapped to the back, and topstitched.  There's no trim to hide the topstitching, but because of the dark color the stitching disappears.  I like this technique because it secures all the layers so they don't bag open.

The return edge, as well as the bottom face fabric hem, is hand-sewn.

At the top, 2" translucent buckram is folded in and stitched securely on the back side.   Narrow "grooves" of vertical stitching hold it all in place and provide a secure place for the drapery pins.  Again, thanks to the dark color, the stitching blends right in.

We like to use the translucent buckram on flat panels because it adds structure with fluidity.  These panels won't droop between the rings, but they also won't be rigid.

These panels are 116" long.  Because of the portiere edge, I can't think of a way to make these without tabling them twice..... lots of walking!

Relaxed Ribbed Roman?

There's no telling how the text and photos are going to arrange themselves on this post- I don't have much control over where they wind up!
Anyhow, here is phase one of an installation; the second room's fabric is backordered so this is going into the family room tomorrow.

The draperies, lying on the table, are interlined; lined with a special blackout lining along the lines of Apollo; portiere; tassel-trimmed; and pleated with two-finger Euro or top tack pleats.
The swag and jabots looks kind of forlorn in the back hallway, but dressed in its window it'll look fantastic.  I am not real big on pleated swags, but gathered swags are right up my alley, and also I enjoy making them.
The shade is something really really great!  It's a ribbed flat Roman shade with a relaxed bottom.  It goes up & down like a charm, and the relaxed part never needs dressing since it's fixed.  I think this is going to become my new signature shade.

Portiere Draperies

This week has been busy with a job that is almost ready to be photographed.  There are several components, one of which is Portiere drapery panels.  These photos illustrate our portiere fabrication method, which has been used on the draperies that haven't been photographed yet.
"Portiere" drapery, traditionally, is heavy draperies hung across a doorway (derived from French "porte" which means door).  The fabrication method takes into account the fact that they are seen from both sides... there is no "back" or "wrong side" and therefore a regular rolled side border is not appropriate.  The lead edge of the drapery needs to be "knife-edged" or "pillowcased" and may or may not have a trim.
Nowadays "portiere" might refer to any drape where the lead edge is made this way rather than rolled and blind-stitched, even if the drape isn't going into a doorway.  Usually the lining is a decorative contrast fabric.
What bothers me about portiere draperies is when the fabrics gap away from each other at the lead edge, which might happen because the fabrics don't cling to each other, or because of the weight of trim applied on one side.  I wanted to find an attractive way to secure the lead edge to prevent that.

We devised a fabrication method for draperies with top-sewn trim that yields a beautiful edge on each side.  The face fabric is rolled around to the back about 1/8" and "stitch-in-the-ditch" topstitched.  The tassel trim covers the topstitching on the face side, and on the back there is the illusion of a microcording.  This method has been effective with a variety of applications.  The photo shows a workroom sample we made as a show-and-tell for clients.
The seamstress needs a good eye and a steady hand to topstitch perfectly!  No extra caffeine til the sewing is done.
I must mention here that the only song I've ever heard that contains the word "portiere" is Warren Zevon's "Disorder in the House."