How to Do a French Pleat Curtain
French pleated curtains are among the most elegant of formal looks for draperies. It is not difficult to learn to do a French pleat, often referred to as either a triple pleat or a fan pleat. The knack is in the gathering of strings in the pleating tape if you choose to use it. However, learning to make a triple French pleat is so simple you may not want to use the header tape for this small job. With a little practice you can become an accomplished pleater with rooms full of your artistry hanging in every window.
Things You'll Need
- Measuring tape
- Material
- Light buckram or pellon
- Sewing machine
- Thread scissors
- Pins
- Heading tape (optional)
- Pleat hooks
Instructions
-
-
1
Decide how deep each pleat will be by experimenting with fabric. Take a section of fabric an inch in from the left hand edge. Make a ½ inch fold to the left, pin it in place. Make another ½ inch fold next to the first, pin both of them down. Make the third fold. Unpin folds one and two and pin them together perpendicular to the fabric in a triple fan shaped French pleat. This is a ½ inch deep pleat. Repeat and experiment with different depths of material until you know how much fabric you need to make the size pleat that works with your fabric and your window size.
-
2
Once you know that each pleat will take a determined number of inches of fabric, pleated, to accomplish a single French pleat, determine how many pleats you will need to cover the width of your window. Generally pleats are between 4 and 6 inches apart. Your first pleat will be at the left edge and the last pleat on the right edge. Take your measurement for fabric after you have determined how many pleats you will need in between, including the edge pleats. Add material per panel to the width for two 2 inch side seams and 8 inches to the length for a 4 inch header and 4 inch hem.
-
-
3
Make the basic curtain by sewing the two 2 inch side hems raw edges turned under, from top to bottom. Turn the top edge down, but before sewing it closed, insert a light piece of buckram or pellon to stiffen the header. Turn the raw edge under and stitch along the bottom of the header hem. Complete the bottom hem in the same manner, but eliminate buckram.
-
4
Begin making French pleats according to Step 1. Pin the top of the pleat ½ inch from the top of the header. Measure down 4 inches and pin the bottom of each pleat. This will accentuate the folds and depth of each pleat. Adjust the fullness across the width of the material. Once satisfied with the depth and width of each pleat, take a stitch at the top and the bottom of each pinned pleat to secure it. Continue across the width of the curtain to the end. Repeat for the second curtain.
-
5
If you choose to sew in a double row of heading tape, you will form your pleats by pulling on strings at the edges of the tape. It is a form of gathering, and you pin each set of three gathers the same way you did when you made your own pleats.
-
6
Insert pleat hooks on the back of curtains behind each pleat and hang the drapery on the traverse rod. If necessary, steam the drapes lightly with a hand held steamer to erase wrinkles.
-
1
