Loooooooong Butterfly Pleats

I've been working on these draperies that were 180" long. They were lined and interlined, and weighed a "ton". The fabric was a linen upholstery fabric with a backing on it, which added to the weight. The designer requested a 12" butterfly pleat. When I was finished tacking the butterfly pleats, I could see they were not going to look as nice and crisp as a 5-6 inch pleat. They were too long and distorted. Also because of the weight of the fabric. they wouldn't pinch tight. After trying a couple of things, we decided to tack the butterfly pleats in the center and at the bottom edge. It gave it a simple tailored-like smocking effect. Everyone was happy with the results.