Sewing drapery panels together?

Have any of you ever sewn pleated drapery panels together? I had to buy 4 (FLORAL) panels to fit my big double window and I need to sew 2 together for each side. My question is: Should I try to completely open the seams on the the side of the panel, then sew them together or just stitch them with the seams left intact? I'm not sure how they will look because I will have sheer curtains behind them. Also how hard is it to seem together the pleats at the top and make them look like they are all one piece of fabric? I'm new to sewing and fell in love with these curtains when I saw them. I hoping with some help I can tackle this project. Thank You for any suggestions.

Sewing drapery panels together?
You should take them to a professional if you want a professional look.



If you're going to try it yourself, you'll have to open up the seam, then measure your pleats to see how many inches the pleats are away from each other, then you'll have to allow for your seam allowance when you resew it together. It's not as simple as that, they sew the bottom and top after sewing the sides so you'll have to take the stitches out of the top and bottom in order to open up the whole seam.



If you don't care how it looks up close, I suppose you could measure how close your pleats are to each other and then just lay the right of one panel on top of the left side of the other panel and pin or baste them together so that the pleats on top are the correct distance apart - it'll get your windows covered ...



It all depends on how much you want to spend to have it done correct professionally or how quickly you want them up.
Reply:Take it to a professional. The pleats need to be evenly spaced and if they aren't, it would be obvious. You probably wouldn't be happy if it looks homemade. Draperies are harder if for no other reason than because there is so much fabric to handle and most people aren't equipped with a cutting table big enough to make it easier. Of course, if you have a large hardwood floor area and can bend and squat, maybe.



You'll definitely need to open the seams before stitching both parts together Take it to a person who does alterations at your local drycleaners and ask if they can do it for you.