A Guide to 7 Common Drapery Pleat Styles
If you are creating custom drapes, one of the hard parts is choosing which pleat style you want. Should you go with an informal style, like the inverted box pleat, or go with a timeless classic, like the pinch pleat? Read on to discover some of the common styles you will find when creating drapery.
Pinch Pleat
Also known as the French Pleat, pinch pleat drapery is a more traditional style, but a bold pattern choice can easily make it contemporary. It is a series of pleats pinched and sewn in the center about two inches from the top of the drapery, usually with two or three “fingers” above and below the pinch, with the bottom fingers larger than the top. This timeless pleat style gives a room an elegant, finished look. They are perfect for custom drapery meant for elegant rooms, whether the theme is modern or classic elegance.
European Pleat
A variation of the pinch pleat, European pinch pleats feature pleats sewn and tacked at the top of the drapery panel, giving the fingers a diamond shape instead of a fan shape. The Euro pleat is a more modern take on the pinch pleat but still allows for a beautiful fabric flow.
Rod Pocket
A classic, classy, yet informal pleat, rod pocket drapes have a casing sewn onto the back of the curtain panel at the top that slips onto the rod, hiding the rod without a need for hardware. This gives it fullness with clean lines.
Back Tab
Back tab pleats give a tailored, clean look to drapes. Back tab pleats, as their name suggests, have loops or tabs sewn onto the drape header’s back. The drapes are slipped onto the rod through these tabs, with neither the tabs nor rod showing. This creates an illusion that the drapes are floating in space, leaving an elegant, clean line, especially with the drape rising above the rod. Back tab pleats are better for drapes that don’t open and close very often.
Goblet Pleat
If you want a very sophisticated look for your custom draperies, go with a goblet pleat. The goblet pleat features large pleats pinched and sewn together to create a goblet shape along the top of the drapery panels. Like the back tab, it is best for drapes with a more decorative purpose and is not ideal for frequent use as it could disturb the goblet shape. Draperies with goblet pleats have a large stack, meaning that when open, more fabric from the drapes will cover your windows.
Grommets
Grommet Drapery simply hangs from a rod using grommet rings, giving the drapery a dramatic appearance with deep folds. Like the back tab and grommet, it can be excellent for decorative use.
Inverted Box Pleat
The inverted box pleat is a neat, tailored style with a pleat that looks like a fold with a box inside. This creates a fullness on the drape’s back and a flat front surface perfect for contemporary spaces.
About Just Drapes
When a company sells a single product, the team tends to know it well, and the Just Drapes team are experts. Living up to its name, Just Drapes offers high-quality custom draperies and the knowledge to help you craft the perfect drapes for your windows. The brand’s window treatments are bespoke but affordable, and the timeless, designer drapes are created from your inspirations. Chain stores simply can’t match the quality of custom drapes. Just Drapes creates classic, elegant drapes to order, ensuring they are a perfect fit for your windows. The Just Drapes team helps you design each set of drapes, and you can create everything from the fabric and trim to the pleating and lining. When you create custom drapes, they are sized to fit your specific windows, giving you unparalleled window treatment quality. If you want to experience the impact a custom window treatment made with high-quality fabrics and excellent workmanship can make in your home, choose Just Drapes.
Create the custom drapes of your dreams and control every detail at Justdrapes.com
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| Custom Draperies |
Pinch Pleat
Also known as the French Pleat, pinch pleat drapery is a more traditional style, but a bold pattern choice can easily make it contemporary. It is a series of pleats pinched and sewn in the center about two inches from the top of the drapery, usually with two or three “fingers” above and below the pinch, with the bottom fingers larger than the top. This timeless pleat style gives a room an elegant, finished look. They are perfect for custom drapery meant for elegant rooms, whether the theme is modern or classic elegance.
European Pleat
A variation of the pinch pleat, European pinch pleats feature pleats sewn and tacked at the top of the drapery panel, giving the fingers a diamond shape instead of a fan shape. The Euro pleat is a more modern take on the pinch pleat but still allows for a beautiful fabric flow.
Rod Pocket
A classic, classy, yet informal pleat, rod pocket drapes have a casing sewn onto the back of the curtain panel at the top that slips onto the rod, hiding the rod without a need for hardware. This gives it fullness with clean lines.
Back Tab
Back tab pleats give a tailored, clean look to drapes. Back tab pleats, as their name suggests, have loops or tabs sewn onto the drape header’s back. The drapes are slipped onto the rod through these tabs, with neither the tabs nor rod showing. This creates an illusion that the drapes are floating in space, leaving an elegant, clean line, especially with the drape rising above the rod. Back tab pleats are better for drapes that don’t open and close very often.
Goblet Pleat
If you want a very sophisticated look for your custom draperies, go with a goblet pleat. The goblet pleat features large pleats pinched and sewn together to create a goblet shape along the top of the drapery panels. Like the back tab, it is best for drapes with a more decorative purpose and is not ideal for frequent use as it could disturb the goblet shape. Draperies with goblet pleats have a large stack, meaning that when open, more fabric from the drapes will cover your windows.
Grommets
Grommet Drapery simply hangs from a rod using grommet rings, giving the drapery a dramatic appearance with deep folds. Like the back tab and grommet, it can be excellent for decorative use.
Inverted Box Pleat
The inverted box pleat is a neat, tailored style with a pleat that looks like a fold with a box inside. This creates a fullness on the drape’s back and a flat front surface perfect for contemporary spaces.
About Just Drapes
When a company sells a single product, the team tends to know it well, and the Just Drapes team are experts. Living up to its name, Just Drapes offers high-quality custom draperies and the knowledge to help you craft the perfect drapes for your windows. The brand’s window treatments are bespoke but affordable, and the timeless, designer drapes are created from your inspirations. Chain stores simply can’t match the quality of custom drapes. Just Drapes creates classic, elegant drapes to order, ensuring they are a perfect fit for your windows. The Just Drapes team helps you design each set of drapes, and you can create everything from the fabric and trim to the pleating and lining. When you create custom drapes, they are sized to fit your specific windows, giving you unparalleled window treatment quality. If you want to experience the impact a custom window treatment made with high-quality fabrics and excellent workmanship can make in your home, choose Just Drapes.
Create the custom drapes of your dreams and control every detail at Justdrapes.com

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