How Much Do Custom Drapery Panels Cost?

Draperies are a mainstay in interior design.  They frame the view, add softness and color, keep the cold air out, deaden the sound of loud echoes, and sometimes they are the showstopping focal point in the room.  We make them in all shapes and sizes for our design partners — tall, wide, pleated, arched, operable….if you can dream it, we can make it.  With all these different options, you may be wondering how much custom drapery panels cost and if they are an option for your client’s window treatment budget.

The most common question I am asked by designers inquiring about our services is “How much do you charge per width for the labor to make draperies?”  And sometimes the response I get is “How much?!?”

A beautiful drapery panel is so much more than a simple header and three hems. 

There are three main considerations that can impact the labor cost of a drapery panel:

1. Hems & Headers
2. Pleating strategy
3. Fullness

Hems & Headers

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The length of a “standard” header is 4”.   We take into consideration the length of the drapery panel when determining the size of the header.  For these 16 ft. long panels, our pinch pleats were 8” long and for the short bunk bed curtains, our pinch pleats were 3” long.

As an extra service to our designers, we also experiment with pleat style and send a picture of options to our design partners for final decisions.  

Pleating Strategy

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We start every project with determining how we can best display the customer’s fabric.  And this is never more important than with draperies because the material is selected from sample books or hanging samples where it is viewed flat. 

But draperies have fullness and hang in gentle columns of folds.  This can drastically change the look and feel of the fabric.  Should we pleat to pattern?  How much material should be put in each pleat? (hint — the taller the panel to more material you need in each pleat so that the folds hold their shape the full length of the panel and don’t flare at the bottom).  Even with a classic stripe there are many possibilities, with each one giving a very different look when hanging.

Fullness

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We calculate yardage by hand for each quote — no set formula or spreadsheet that spits out the same answer no matter the circumstances.  We can adjust the fullness to a bare minimum for budget reasons or push it to the maximum when you want the luxurious feel of fabric at the window.  Very tall panels or pleating to pattern will affect the fullness and yardage requirements.  And when fabricating ripplefold panels, we use our snap press to customize the spacing of the snaps to achieve exactly the fullness desired.

All this to say, there is no simple answer to the question “How much do custom drapery panels cost”. When you partner with our custom drapery workroom, you will experience many advantages over the service and capabilities of commercial workrooms and the little old lady down the street who sews. Parkway Window Works has the skills, knowledge, and equipment needed to provide exceptional service and attention to detail for every project.

A good starting point to the question “How much do you charge per width for draperies?”  is that we start at $115 per width for the labor for single width, stationary pleated panels up to 100” long.  The cost per width increases based on the number of widths per panel and the finished length. You can be confident that you will get our years of experience and expertise in the details of each panel. Every custom project will turn out even better than you had imagined.

Parkway Window Works is an award-winning workroom.  Our fabrication expertise and attention to detail are what truly sets us apart.  If you want a partner that will bring your window treatment designs to reality with a hassle-free process that takes care of every logistical detail, contact us to get started.