French Pleat Lined Drapes

When we moved into our house (summer 2012) I knew that this room needed drapes and I wanted them to be a statement piece instead of simple drapes.  I requested a quote from a custom drapery place nearby and got the biggest sticker shock!  It was then that I decided that some day I would make my own drapes and save a ton of money (so delusional!).

Sometime last year while visiting my cousin in McAllen, TX we shopped for fabric and I found this fabulous tangerine taffeta that would be perfect for this project.  The price was good and so I bought the taffeta as well as sheer fabric to make the inner drape.  The fabric sat in my closet (hidden away so that I wouldn't be reminded often) for almost a year until the time came when I could not postpone it any longer.

This is the hardest project I've tackled so far.  It consists of 2 VERY WIDE drape panels that have lining and french pleats.  There were a few mistakes during the construction but not severe enough that I couldn't recover.  I still want to go back and tweak some things here and there.

fabric: Taffeta
lining: Roc-Lon Sonata Sateen Fabric
inter-lining (going back to add this): Hanes White English Bump Drapery Interlining

Thank goodness for Pinterest since that's where I got the tutorial... 

Each panel is 4 yards wide and over 3 yards long... a bit heavy when it's all put together.