not for showers but for regular drapery, the kind that theoretically you could put a drapery pull in to move the drapes back and forth? I'm not sure what they're called, I did a search on curtain pins and keep getting shower curtain pin references. I'd just like to finish making my drapes so i can get rid of the bolt of fabric that's been sitting in my hallway for months but I don't know where I'd find those pins!

thanks
jt

i think i know what you are talking about, and i think they sell them at joann's with the curtain rods, etc. perhaps you can get them at joann.com, too?

i got some at ikea, and i've also seen them at target--if you are looking for what i am imagining: they are like silver binder clips with rings attached....

both kinds had fairly small rings, but they probably come in larger sizes somewhere!

Ditto what carrieM said.

I googled "drapery hook" and got some images of the single-hook kind, but couldn't think of a word to get the kind that has several "fingers" that you slide into the pre-channelled drapery tape.

Still, asking at Joann's would probably be the quickest route to what you're after.

And good luck with the drapes! Years and years ago, my mom and I made some for her living room. With the pre-done tape, they're really not that hard to do.

luci mama
is this the single hook? http://doitbest.com/shop/product.asp?mscssid=ERUV03QK6EJV8GQ52BJ7E91HE7K92FCB&dept%5Fid=2144&sku=618497

now that i'm looking at them i can't remember what they should look like. I couldn't find them on joanns.com, thanks everyone for the suggestion, if the worst comes to worst I'll just have to wait until feb when I go home and my mom can help me find some. I just don't know the fabric stores around here well, the one I go to (home fabrics) only has fabrics, and SOME thread, no notions or accessories.

jt
eta
hmm or is it this?http://www.brandnametools.biz/hardware/c/Curtian_Accessories/_1286719.htm

maybe a trip to ace is necessary which is great b/c it's about .5 mile from my house :)
jt

Both those things are drapery hooks, and neither of them are my favorite!

Both of those pictured are designed for pre-pleated drapes (the kind that you couldn't lay flat to iron unless you pulled some stitches out of the top pleats).

The pointy ones are for fully-sewn pleats, and the second link, the ones with the loopy ends, you use with drapes that are already pre-pleated, but which have a little set of dual pockets (if I remember correctly) on either side of the pleat. Thus, the pointy kind just sticks like a needle into the center of the pleat, and the loopy ones go into pockets that straddle the pleat. I've noticed drapes that use the pointy ones don't hang as neatly, but maybe that's "operator error" (i.e., someone didn't know what they were doing, that hung them).

Now ... the kind I prefer look different from both those, although they tend to use a single hook similar to the loopy kind on each end of the drape.

Let's see if I can explain without drawing pictures....

First, how the drapes are constructed. You've got a flat, finished drape, probably lined. Along the top edge/hem, you've got about a 4" deep "header tape" .... BINGO!

Now that I remembered that term, I got a better result from google:
>http://www.denverfabrics.com/pages/static/decorator/window-drapery.htm

Instructions and everything!

Luci

ETA: I looked at the picture again after I closed this -- that's the tape I've used before, but the hooks are a LITTLE different that what I'm familiar with, based on the kind of hardware already attached to my mom's walls. You'll want to figure that out before buying hooks -- my hooks were kind of a combination of what's pictured and the first, pointy hooks you had: mom's drapery rod required a hook to attach the drape to the rod (i.e., each little slidy thing on the rod had a piece that came down with a little hole in it -- the "hook" part of the contraption was actually a hook, as seen in the pointy version, vs. a plastic thing as seen in the link I gave you just above.)

wow, thanks!

Unfortunately after looking at these I don't think I can use them. I have sliders and I bought the widest fabric I could find, which is almost exactly the width of the doors, so I don't have any extra room for pleats. I guess I'll have to make some boring tab top ones :(

I was thinking of just making a space for the rod to go through but then I don't think i can push the curtains to the side so I can get out the door...argh. Tab tops it is unless someone else has a brilliant suggestion... :-D

jt

Welllll.....

Drapes are almost always pieced, unless you've got a REALLY narrow window. I can't remember the calculation (and since it's late at night I'm disinclined to go find my book to look it up, sorry!), but I think you usually want/need at least a third extra to double the width of your curtain for the pleats (133% to 200%). Generally, rather than having a seam right down the middle, you'd put a full width in the middle of your single drape, then add to each side ... so you have two seams, but not in the most obvious place.

So can you get more fabric? And do you really want the formality/tradition of pleats, anyway?

I'm wondering ... if you really want a flat look, I wouldn't see why you couldn't add the pleater tape but then NOT pleat. In fact, I think you can buy a similar tape that doesn't have all the little pockets (and is probably/hopefully less expensive), and you could still use either of the two original versions of pins that you saw to attach it to the rod, straight. I've never tried that (here it sounds like I'm an expert, but I've really only made two sets of drapes in my life, so take my advice from that perspective).

Are they a weird sorta "N" shape with a sharp point on one end? Sorta like a fishhook? This is for pleated drapes, right?

They have them at hardware stores - home depot has them, as well as fabric stores like Hancock - i haven't seen them at joann.

if i'm way off base - sorry! :)

any hardware store will carry them.. home depot,Ace hardware...

The expensive part is having the mounting rods for those puppies... we inherited these heavy yellow velvet curtains from a church once and could not afford the rods to hang them so I put hooks up along the top of the window casing and strung tauntly some small swing chain and inserted the drapery hooks in that and it worked great....just could not fling open the drapes...

Home depot has the metal hooks for pleated drapes, as well as the round rings in various sizes that you can clip or sew to the fabric. Any hardware store should carry them. They are a pretty basic thing.

Okay, these hooks are typically called 'pleater hooks.' I see Ace calls them drapery hooks from the links. You can get quite a variety of types, some are just the mushy N shape with a sharp point to stick in the drape. Those are not technically pleaters, since you can use them on almost any hem or reinforced casement. There are ones with long blunt fingers for multiple pleats in various number and some that have sharp points.

Even the small Jo-Anns should have all the necessary tapes and a variety of pleater hooks. I might buy the tape there, but would buy the hooks elsewhere. Cheaper. Don't expect any staff anywhere to know for sure how they are used, but someone may.

The general rule of thumb on fabric width for draped curtains is one and a half times the area you want to cover, up to three times that dimension. Two is kinda typical, but you'll get more detail in lavish prints or figured laces with less fabric. Like the gargoyle face may not show up in a heavily pleated 2x tapestry.

luci's link to the drapery supply place has a good set of directions for making your own header with the purchased tape and hooks.

The tape is kinda necessary if you don't want to tear the fabric. In theory, it seems you could do without the channeled tape, but the weight and the way drapes are pulled will be too much.

The rod is typically called a 'traverse rod'. It's the kind where you pull a cord at the side and all the little nylon/plastic tabs the hooks are set in draw the drapes in whatever directions. Traverse rods are wonderful, but expensive and utilitarian. They sorta need to be hidden with a valance or cornice.

jt, for very simple, almost flat drapes you are describing, tab top is probably the way to go. It may look odd unless it's a fabric you want to showcase. If it's not lined, you may not like the way it hangs. For something this simple, I'd sew a liner of a complementary color, maybe making the tabs and wrapping the new color hem to the front of the curtain panel for a little more width and some framing of your chosen fabric. You can find simple cottons or cotton-polys in solids or calicos at most fabric stores. Look for quilting sections maybe. You should be able to select something for under $3 a yard. It will likely be 44" width, though.

You may also find the cafe pinch rings at jo-ann. My store carries them. These look like fat brass hoop earrings, but have alligator clamps at the bottom to hold onto the fabric. An alternative to tab tops. Again, I'd buy them at a hardware store or a big chain like Target or Walmart if I needed them.

wow, thanks for that wealth of info. I am going to go for it today i think, with the tab tops...I figure I can always make a valance if I'm dying for one....
thanks again!
jt

ok so it took me almost a month after saying "i'm going to do it today" but I did it, I made tab tobs, thanks for all of the help and advice! :)
jt
ps They came out great except I forgot that since they have a pattern they'd have looked way cooler if I matched it up...c'est la vie