Custom drapes shrunk - what to do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drapery workroom owner here. To clarify, is it just the face fabric that appears to be shrinking, or the liner also (i.e., is that bottom of the liner closer to the bottom of the drape than it used to be, or is the distance the same)? Are you seeing any puckering in the side seams?

Is this a high humidity room? Are there wall or floor vents behind or directly under the drapes?

I asked about the side seams and she said no puckering, which seems impossible? Or maybe they’re only shrunken in the middle?

Yeah, I saw that and it didn’t make any sense to me either, which is why I asked for clarification.

OP here. I admit I’m not entirely sure what to look for regarding the liner. It looks normal to me. I probably have never even turned the curtains over before to look at the lining, so not sure if it’s the same as before. It’s not a blackout liner.

NP. If the fabric is shrinking and the liner isn't, then you would definitely notice. The fact that they are both shrinking at the same rate is weird.

While not a professional, I have made a lot of lined custom draperies for myself, my sister and my mom. And I am in contact with a bunch of people who are the same advanced hobby seamsters as me. None of us have ever heard of both the fabric and the lining shrinking at the same rate. Especially since I believe you indicated above that you used upholstery fabric. Upholstery fabric is heavier and thicker than drapery fabric and that makes it more durable. And that goes doubly true for liner fabric, which is much more lightweight.

Yes it’s upholstery fabric.

All I know is the drapes are off the floor and now measure approx 3 inches less than from the original order.

I don’t think it’s possible that the face fabric and the blackout lining have both shrunk 3 inches. Idk what is going on but that can’t be what happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never heard of such a thing. Your home must be humid or something. The designer didn’t make the fabric. The upholtery guys just made the drapes. See if the Upholterer can work with the hem.

Ok but we have drapes in many other rooms and I don’t live in a humid part of the country. This hasn’t happened to the drapes in other rooms.

Have the drapes ever been taken down for any reason before the installer lowered the rod?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drapery workroom owner here. To clarify, is it just the face fabric that appears to be shrinking, or the liner also (i.e., is that bottom of the liner closer to the bottom of the drape than it used to be, or is the distance the same)? Are you seeing any puckering in the side seams?

Is this a high humidity room? Are there wall or floor vents behind or directly under the drapes?

I asked about the side seams and she said no puckering, which seems impossible? Or maybe they’re only shrunken in the middle?

Yeah, I saw that and it didn’t make any sense to me either, which is why I asked for clarification.

OP here. I admit I’m not entirely sure what to look for regarding the liner. It looks normal to me. I probably have never even turned the curtains over before to look at the lining, so not sure if it’s the same as before. It’s not a blackout liner.

NP. If the fabric is shrinking and the liner isn't, then you would definitely notice. The fact that they are both shrinking at the same rate is weird.

While not a professional, I have made a lot of lined custom draperies for myself, my sister and my mom. And I am in contact with a bunch of people who are the same advanced hobby seamsters as me. None of us have ever heard of both the fabric and the lining shrinking at the same rate. Especially since I believe you indicated above that you used upholstery fabric. Upholstery fabric is heavier and thicker than drapery fabric and that makes it more durable. And that goes doubly true for liner fabric, which is much more lightweight.

Yes it’s upholstery fabric.

All I know is the drapes are off the floor and now measure approx 3 inches less than from the original order.

I don’t think it’s possible that the face fabric and the blackout lining have both shrunk 3 inches. Idk what is going on but that can’t be what happened.

I have been thinking about this and all I have come up with is that a dog peed on the drapes and someone swapped them with panels from another room or window to cover up the crime.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drapery workroom owner here. To clarify, is it just the face fabric that appears to be shrinking, or the liner also (i.e., is that bottom of the liner closer to the bottom of the drape than it used to be, or is the distance the same)? Are you seeing any puckering in the side seams?

Is this a high humidity room? Are there wall or floor vents behind or directly under the drapes?

I asked about the side seams and she said no puckering, which seems impossible? Or maybe they’re only shrunken in the middle?

Yeah, I saw that and it didn’t make any sense to me either, which is why I asked for clarification.

OP here. I admit I’m not entirely sure what to look for regarding the liner. It looks normal to me. I probably have never even turned the curtains over before to look at the lining, so not sure if it’s the same as before. It’s not a blackout liner.

NP. If the fabric is shrinking and the liner isn't, then you would definitely notice. The fact that they are both shrinking at the same rate is weird.

While not a professional, I have made a lot of lined custom draperies for myself, my sister and my mom. And I am in contact with a bunch of people who are the same advanced hobby seamsters as me. None of us have ever heard of both the fabric and the lining shrinking at the same rate. Especially since I believe you indicated above that you used upholstery fabric. Upholstery fabric is heavier and thicker than drapery fabric and that makes it more durable. And that goes doubly true for liner fabric, which is much more lightweight.

Yes it’s upholstery fabric.

All I know is the drapes are off the floor and now measure approx 3 inches less than from the original order.

I don’t think it’s possible that the face fabric and the blackout lining have both shrunk 3 inches. Idk what is going on but that can’t be what happened.

DP. Agree. Three inches is a LOT, and to have two different fabrics both shrink exactly the same amount (to that degree) seems impossible.

[Anonymous]

Is it possible that the drapes were not the size you ordered to begin with? Did you measure them at installation?

[Anonymous]

I cannot fathom this as a physical possibility.

So here's where my imagination goes: Did your husband think the cost of these custom draperies was exorbitant? Did you fight about it, and he lost? Set up a camera in the room with the draperies. You will find your husband sneaking into the room at 3 a.m. with scissors and a basting needle and thread. Mystery solved!

P.S. get a divorce lawyer ASAP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drapery workroom owner here. To clarify, is it just the face fabric that appears to be shrinking, or the liner also (i.e., is that bottom of the liner closer to the bottom of the drape than it used to be, or is the distance the same)? Are you seeing any puckering in the side seams?

Is this a high humidity room? Are there wall or floor vents behind or directly under the drapes?

I asked about the side seams and she said no puckering, which seems impossible? Or maybe they’re only shrunken in the middle?

Yeah, I saw that and it didn’t make any sense to me either, which is why I asked for clarification.

I agree, if the face fabric shrunk 3 inches, but not the liner (which is blackout liner like in 100s of other houses where it doesn’t shrink), wouldn’t the liner now be showing from underneath? And wouldn’t the side seams now be a big mess? 3 inches is so much. I think something else must be going on I just don’t know what it could be.

If a face fabric were sewn to a lining 3” shorter, there would be puckering. But if the face fabric has shrunk after seaming, not necessarily. The seam is stabilizing the fabric there. Also fabrics often behave differently along the selvage (where they are stretched during manufacturing).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it possible that the drapes were not the size you ordered to begin with? Did you measure them at installation?

I don’t think so because they skimmed the floor after installation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drapery workroom owner here. To clarify, is it just the face fabric that appears to be shrinking, or the liner also (i.e., is that bottom of the liner closer to the bottom of the drape than it used to be, or is the distance the same)? Are you seeing any puckering in the side seams?

Is this a high humidity room? Are there wall or floor vents behind or directly under the drapes?

I asked about the side seams and she said no puckering, which seems impossible? Or maybe they’re only shrunken in the middle?

Yeah, I saw that and it didn’t make any sense to me either, which is why I asked for clarification.

I agree, if the face fabric shrunk 3 inches, but not the liner (which is blackout liner like in 100s of other houses where it doesn’t shrink), wouldn’t the liner now be showing from underneath? And wouldn’t the side seams now be a big mess? 3 inches is so much. I think something else must be going on I just don’t know what it could be.

If a face fabric were sewn to a lining 3” shorter, there would be puckering. But if the face fabric has shrunk after seaming, not necessarily. The seam is stabilizing the fabric there. Also fabrics often behave differently along the selvage (where they are stretched during manufacturing).

Okay but surely then the face fabric would be making an arc, higher in the middle? And the liner would now show in the middle?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drapery workroom owner here. To clarify, is it just the face fabric that appears to be shrinking, or the liner also (i.e., is that bottom of the liner closer to the bottom of the drape than it used to be, or is the distance the same)? Are you seeing any puckering in the side seams?

Is this a high humidity room? Are there wall or floor vents behind or directly under the drapes?

I asked about the side seams and she said no puckering, which seems impossible? Or maybe they’re only shrunken in the middle?

Yeah, I saw that and it didn’t make any sense to me either, which is why I asked for clarification.

I agree, if the face fabric shrunk 3 inches, but not the liner (which is blackout liner like in 100s of other houses where it doesn’t shrink), wouldn’t the liner now be showing from underneath? And wouldn’t the side seams now be a big mess? 3 inches is so much. I think something else must be going on I just don’t know what it could be.

If a face fabric were sewn to a lining 3” shorter, there would be puckering. But if the face fabric has shrunk after seaming, not necessarily. The seam is stabilizing the fabric there. Also fabrics often behave differently along the selvage (where they are stretched during manufacturing).

The selvage would have been cut away before makign the drapes. No one uses the selvage in a finished product.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drapery workroom owner here. To clarify, is it just the face fabric that appears to be shrinking, or the liner also (i.e., is that bottom of the liner closer to the bottom of the drape than it used to be, or is the distance the same)? Are you seeing any puckering in the side seams?

Is this a high humidity room? Are there wall or floor vents behind or directly under the drapes?

I asked about the side seams and she said no puckering, which seems impossible? Or maybe they’re only shrunken in the middle?

Yeah, I saw that and it didn’t make any sense to me either, which is why I asked for clarification.

I agree, if the face fabric shrunk 3 inches, but not the liner (which is blackout liner like in 100s of other houses where it doesn’t shrink), wouldn’t the liner now be showing from underneath? And wouldn’t the side seams now be a big mess? 3 inches is so much. I think something else must be going on I just don’t know what it could be.

If a face fabric were sewn to a lining 3” shorter, there would be puckering. But if the face fabric has shrunk after seaming, not necessarily. The seam is stabilizing the fabric there. Also fabrics often behave differently along the selvage (where they are stretched during manufacturing).

The selvage would have been cut away before makign the drapes. No one uses the selvage in a finished product.

You’re clearly knowledgeable. OP says the drapes have a blackout liner and they’re now 3” shorter, including the liner, and the bottom is straight and the side seams look fine. Is that possible? How?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Drapery workroom owner here. To clarify, is it just the face fabric that appears to be shrinking, or the liner also (i.e., is that bottom of the liner closer to the bottom of the drape than it used to be, or is the distance the same)? Are you seeing any puckering in the side seams?

Is this a high humidity room? Are there wall or floor vents behind or directly under the drapes?

I asked about the side seams and she said no puckering, which seems impossible? Or maybe they’re only shrunken in the middle?

Yeah, I saw that and it didn’t make any sense to me either, which is why I asked for clarification.

I agree, if the face fabric shrunk 3 inches, but not the liner (which is blackout liner like in 100s of other houses where it doesn’t shrink), wouldn’t the liner now be showing from underneath? And wouldn’t the side seams now be a big mess? 3 inches is so much. I think something else must be going on I just don’t know what it could be.

If a face fabric were sewn to a lining 3” shorter, there would be puckering. But if the face fabric has shrunk after seaming, not necessarily. The seam is stabilizing the fabric there. Also fabrics often behave differently along the selvage (where they are stretched during manufacturing).

The selvage would have been cut away before makign the drapes. No one uses the selvage in a finished product.

OP here. There doesn’t seem to be any disagreement from the designer or me that there has been shrinkage. The curtains have been measured and the designer has seen photos of how they are now off the floor.

My question isn’t about if the curtains shrank, but what can be done about it?

[Anonymous]

If custom, there should be an 8 inch hem (4” X 2). Reduce the hem to the correct length. Hopefully, the hem line pressing doesn’t leave a line. Also, these are panels right? I would measure all the panels to see if they are all the exact measurement.

[Anonymous]

What is the fabric made from? Is it interlinked? What is the lining made from? Contact your designer/workroom. Maybe there’s something that can be done with the seams at the bottom to lengthen the drapes?

[Anonymous]

^ sorry, I meant hem, like the PP just before.