You can put rings on flat panels. A 2" rod is quite large. Have you found rings that will fit?
What's a pole top panel? Are they meant to be sheered (gathered) onto the pole? If so, they wouldn't be meant to open and close. I suppose you could; but it would be bothersome to have to fuss with them to get them back in place evenly, etc. I assume they have no heading and will not be very full or gathered?

You would not want to have to slide them across the rods constantly if you are planning on shirring them on the rod. They would also require lots of adjustments to lay nicely, as annie mentioned.

I would also be concerned about how the fabric would be to have to slide over the twists of that rod constantly - and rings might not move that well, either. That rod to be would be better for drapery that is going to hang in place and not be opened and closed daily.

Drapery rings are intended to be used on all kinds of panels. Just be sure that you have enough rings so that the panels are properly supported. You can get clip on rings, or rings that you can actually sew onto the drapes, or you can use drapery pins to attach the drapes to the rings.

For drapery that is constantly going to be moved, I would seriously consider a traverse rod. You can get decorative ones that are very nice when showing, but will move the drapery well instead of you struggling daily to open and close and arrange them.

annie - 'pole top panel' - you got me. that's what it read on the package. :) I think there is a little bit of a heading. There were rings there with all the other fun, separate accessories you need to buy with the rod. They were very large.

Les - i was going to shirr them. widow is 78" i have 216" of drape to work with. (2 panels on each side). Last time i checked out traverse rods i about fell over at the price.

Maybe i should forget opening and closing and just buy blinds. It sucks because i can look at a picture and be like,"yeah i really like that. looks good." but when it comes to putting this stuff together i struggle.

thank you guys so much. I sometimes really feel like a pesk but i seriously don't know the answers to this stuff. you guys are always so much help!!!

this traverse rod is cheap but not very attractive..

gotta search for something more attractive.. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: traverse rod

I really don't think you could clip rings on your panels; you have more than 2.5 times your window width, and your heading being flat , you'd need an enormous amount of rings , it would not look good, imo.

The rod you showed is beautiful but once you gather your panels on it, you'll only see the middle part , if anything. Not worth it in your case.

Flat panels meant to be used with rings usually have a stiffener in the top part. Without a stiffener in the heading, a thin fabric will droop a lot between the rings, unless the rings are closely spaced, hence a lot of rings.
It's a casual look that is sometimes desired.

As for the traverse rod, isn't that meant to be used with pinch pleat drapes and those hooks that are pinned on the underside of the heading ? it's unattractive because it's not meant to be seen, lol........

hopefully Chelone will pipe in and set me straight, she's the pro.

alright, alright... i'm taking back the taffeta panels.
:(

i had that gut feeling to just leave them last night. blah.

ha i'm going to have to check out those traverse rods in person. i'm not sure how everything attaches.

so now that i've been eyeballing these up for a couple of days and the 20% coupon code ends TODAY! oh what to do. Yes i know these aren't lined and don't appear very heavy but i still like the look of them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Morgan Pinch Pleat

Pole top panels are basically the same as flat panels, but the top *hem* is open on the sides for the pole (rod) to go through. You can use clips on these also, I have a pair of velvet panels in my great room used like this. The top is generally *stiffer* or heavier because the fabric is doubled, but it would depend on what kind of fabric. Taffeta or silk might not be stiff enough. Also, consider the way you are going to hang them (clips or shirred) in the length.

In fact, one catalog I receive suggests the option of using the panels as shirred on (pole top) or using clip rings with them. As one poster suggested, you would need to be careful about the width of each panel. Mine look great on the rings with a decorative rod, but I never pull them closed. They have the right amount of fullness pulled to each side, but if I closed them (which we did not want, we also have wood blinds on the windows), they would not look full enough. I basically wanted the look of the window being framed, and not functional (open/close) drapes. I prefer the look of the clips to the shirred on look.

tina

Hoping this might help you out some. I also have a site to decorative traverse rods. That might fit the bill!

Here is a link that might be useful: installing pinch pleat drapes

JCP has them, although this is not the website I had in mind. I'll continue to look, but in the meantime...

Here is a link that might be useful: JCP traverse rods

wow my brain hurts from thinking about stupid bedroom curtains. :P

the ones i have are lined and seem pretty heavy.
kmcg - that site did have a lot of info. the master carrier thing has me a bit confused.
those traverse rods are unavailable at jc penny right now. i think i may go out tomorrow night on another hunt.

Maybe i should forget opening and closing and just buy blinds. It sucks because i can look at a picture and be like,"yeah i really like that. looks good." but when it comes to putting this stuff together i struggle.

It is because the drapery world is much more complicated than it used to be. And that's why window treatments are so expensive. And why there are people who make a career out of just draperies - there are lots of details to take into consideration, and measurements need to be precise in order to get it all right.

Consider doing this. First, deal with the privacy and light control issues - blinds, cellular shades, Silhouettes (my favorite, but pricey, even for the knock-offs). Then put up the rod and the panels as stationary panels. You can shirr them on the rod or hang them from rings and clips. If you are going to do the rings and clips, I would sew pleater tape to the tops and turn them into pinch pleated.

The big question here is, what is your budget? That will determine what you can do.

graywings - i never even knew there was such a thing as pleater tape. cool.

my budget is i'd rather not spend gobs of money on bedroom curtains. We just built this house and spent money on all kinds of other stuff. Plus, people aren't going to be hanging out in my bedroom. I think that's why i keep going back to those "on sale" morgan pinch pleat ones. Really don't want to spend over $200ish on the drapes themselves. Plus then if i use blinds, sheers..something to hang all those drapes on.. but then on the other hand i tell myself (and DH) that i won't be changing these for a long time so the amt. of money to spend is ok. i'm really glad i don't have tons of windows all over my house!

i have some reevaluating to do. also need to look up...Silhouettes :)

Can we see a picture of the window area. Window treatments are a huge investment in time and money and energy! You want to get it looking like something you want to live with for a good while. And once the right kind of hardware is in place, you can change out the curtains periodically or even seasonally without much effort, especially if you pair them with shades that will remain in place. I agree with a poster that said that's a lot of rings to consider if you're thinking of going that route and they're not inexpensive. It took 20 rings for this little tiny WC window. We don't move the two panels but they're still being trained to stay in place. They'll need to be weighted.
{{!gwi}}

how do you weight the curtains? I guess i would need A LOT of rings for those curtains. Here's a pic of the window.
{{!gwi}}

bedding
{{!gwi}}

won't be painting the walls for awhile but either way they won't be real bold.

Next step, what are you trying to accomplish? It is a bedroom, so I assume you need privacy. Do you want the window treatments to darken the room? Or is light filtering enough?

Off the top of my head, I would suggest a roller blind and JCPenney antique satin drapes in a soft gold color. Maybe these tab backs would work? Check to see if the tabs would fit on the pole that you like. You would save the cost of buying rings and clips.

Depending on your budget, change out the roller blind for a cellular shade.

Here is a link that might be useful: JCP Antique Satin drapes

i was originally anti blind. i think just because i grew up in a house with lots of them. The longer i'm at the new house the more i'm realizing i like em. the darkness of the room doesn't bother me. I just like the look of heavier, silky, taffeta ones. i love how they look when they're all gathered with tiebacks. I will def. check into getting some type of blinds.

i'm happy with the price of those drapes. "antique satin" does this mean they have that nice shine? "Create a modern, pleated look by sliding a decorative rod through tabs located on the back of the panel" - is this what's going on in the sample pic?
tab curtains..they're the ones that hang by sections of material off the rod? i don't care for the look of that but again, i like what they did in the sample pic.

so if i bought these curtains and my window is 78 1/2" wide. I want the 84" length. Would i only need four panels? I don't want it to look skimpy when they're shirred. If i'm going with the blind option i won't really be closing them.

And color - i love soft, muted golds. Most of the golds in curtains in see in the stores are rather obnoxious grandma gold so i'm scared to order that color. :) I also need whatever curtains i pick to match this bedding. i could only find a pic of the material and it really doesn't do it justice. (SEE LINK)

gold curtains would match both but again, scared of the nasty gold. think the vintage gold would be to dark or the linen to blah.

also there's a jc penny store near me but the selection is horrible. I think, if i read the policy right, if i were to order curtains from them i can return them to the store??

Here is a link that might be useful: Laura Ashley ISABELLE

tab curtains..they're the ones that hang by sections of material off the rod? i don't care for the look of that but again, i like what they did in the sample pic

Half the struggle with drapes is learning the lingo. :) You are thinking of tab tops - I don't like them either. These are tab backs, and yes, that's how they are pictured.

Every JCPenney store in the country carries some version of the Antique Satin drape, and they are likely to have the soft gold. Buy a panel in the color you like - it doesn't matter what size or anything else - and take it into your bedroom and see how it plays with the bedding and the light. If you don't like the fabric, then we can move on.

I used to think the antique satin fabric was granny-looking. Now I realize it is just good looking fabric (and an incredible value) and only looks like granny's drapes if you hang them like granny did. With pinch pleats, it looks quite formal. But I had them in a family room in the soft gold in a less formal style.

Bamboo stick blinds might be an interesting choice in place of roller blinds. Be careful, though, depending on your privacy and light control needs. You can see right through some bamboo blinds.

How many rings are needed per foot or yard?

"How many rings are needed per foot or yard?"
that ring question was my next question. ...don't you just need one ring per pleat??

It's amazing how much my taste has changed even in the last 6 months with housey stuff.

"Every JCPenney store in the country carries some version of the Antique Satin drape, and they are likely to have the soft gold. Buy a panel in the color you like "

our JCP store is horrible. A lot of the curtains only had one or two colors to actually buy. I'm sure i could have them order me a panel but then i have to wait some more.

let's assume i'm going to buy these antique satin drapes.... i guess i need to decide what rod i'm going to use. that wooden one is 98" ..widow 78.5" i would need curtains to fit the width of 98", therefore if i'm learning anything i would need to buy 6 panels in these??? if i bought an adjustable rod i could swing 4.

i still keep finding myself going back to the morgan pinch pleat. check out the ascot valance. i think that shows the color in antique linen. I like the texture. (SEE LINK)

then there's the pinch pleats in the antique satin. i could order the 96" for $104 (plus 20% off coupon) but then i would need to buy those lovley rings. (see first question)

do you actually have or know what the antique satin drapes texture is like? is it shiny like the silk/taffeta? or just solid.

can you tell i'm really eager to get something up on my window other than a large, ugly blanket?? :)

Here is a link that might be useful: ANTIQUE LINEN COLOR AND TEXTURE

or what about these. (one of my original thread mentioned this listing on ebay)
since i love the look of silk.... only thing is these are in amber gold. i emailed the seller and she said the color towards the right is pretty accurate. I'd be saving over $100.00
yes then i would have to buy the rings...

Here is a link that might be useful: LA SCALA AMBER GOLD

If you're doing pinched pleats, you'll only need one ring per pleat and one of each end. If you're doing flat panels -- it's a little different. Looks like you're leaning toward pinch pleats, though.

Take a deep breath.
My advice to you is to go to HD and get paper pleated shades that sell for about $6 each (maybe cheaper) so that you will have something on the windows. You can cut them to size if needed or use 2 for double windows (they stick on). Trust me with this. People don't realize they are paper. I've had them in my house for over a year and plan to replace them one at a time as rooms are completed.

What's the rush? You just moved in. Enjoy your beautiful home and get a feel for your space. I know, it's so easy to get NHO (New Home Obsessed).

yes i'm definitely new home obsessed. Every once in awhile i have to have a talk with myself to relax. It takes time to make a house a home.

I was looking at the curtains i bought for the bedroom again last night and I like them. I like the color, texture and am just going to sit on it for awhile. Here's some pics i tried to take of them with the bedding. Please ignore the other stuff in the pic
{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}
the carpet isn't as yellow as it looks in this pic.

I tired to iron them last night to see how well it would work. Took awhile but almost all the creases are out of that panel. Is it possible to them ALL out of that kind of material.

You should be able to get the creases out of all the panels. The drapes look beautiful.

are those the scala drapes from ebay? it is a nice color, very neutral.

mitchdesj - no actually i bought these at bed bath and beyond. I think they're called argentina or something like that. color is "linen" but they look to me a subtle, neutral gold.