insulated drapes

[dragonlady7]

I have resolved to make insulated drapes for my house.
My mom gave me a "pattern" consisting of the following advice:


Length of window plus 18" (at least)
2 lengths of 45" material for regular window; for non-standard window, at least one and a half times the width of the window

same amount of material for lining (use insulated lining material, or white muslin)

Put lining and curtain right sides together, sew side seams, turn right side out
Hem bottom of lining and curtain separately-- lining should be shorter than curtain-- and let hang.

For the top: Either sew a pocket for the curtain rod to go through (easiest, but hard to open and close) with 1" above the pocket, OR
Sew pleats into the curtain, attaching hooks at top of pleats-- you will need closing system to attach to hooks-- easy to use but expensive
Sometimes you can get a buckram with hooks already in, and sew pleats to that.


Does anyone have any advice on curtains that I should know?
I have a picture window in the front that's about 110" wide, so I figure I'll need a lot of fabric-- and it'll be expensive... and dominate the room. So I'd better do it right.

Comments

[jennnlee.livejournal.com]

It kind of lost me with the whole "sew in pleats" thing, I would think the pocket would be easier.

Seems pretty straightforward a pattern. You're right about it being a lot of fabric though. Maybe figure out the yardage and make sure that for the cost of the fabric, buying them already made wouldn't be cheaper (or not that much more expensive that it's not a pain in the ass)? Handmade doesn't always mean "cheaper," but I'm sure you know that.

[dragonlady7.livejournal.com]

I haven't been able to find any premade that are in reasonable colors or sizes, and certainly not insulated.
The pocket at the top thing is good and easy, but if I want to be able to open them more easily, especially if they're lined with insulation (and thus quite stiff), I'd have to pleat them to a buckram with hooks and put them on one of those pull-cord-to-open systems, which are expensive but work well. My mom uses them for most of our curtains in the house, and they do make it a lot easier to handle the curtains.

I also could sew in pleats and then use loops at the top to hang the curtain. A thick curtain just won't be able to be pleated onto a rod with a pocket-- it'll wind up too bulky, and won't stay open if I just push it back on the rod. I don't want to have to screw tie-back-hooks into the wall, especially since the bedroom windows are kind of wedged into corners...

[jennnlee.livejournal.com]

Oh, well, tie-backs were my suggestion till I got to the end there. Dang. Good luck!

[dragonlady7.livejournal.com]

I'll still consider them, but there's just not much clearance between the windows and the perpendicular wall, so I don't know that they'd fit. As it is I'll have to return the ornamented curtain rods I got, because the tiny scrolly ornament at the end is too big to fit in the corner. Rrgh.