I think I'd just put them on the rod as is and see how they look before I went to the trouble of altering them. They might look ok, even though they are separate panels. Of course, if you've already done this and don't like the look, you will have to join them. I have to say that I personally don't really like sewing curtains, I find them surprising tricky to do well and I'm a professional quilter and make fairly elaborate historical costumes, so it's not that I don't know how to sew. If you do want to go ahead, get a pattern for lined, tabbed curtains, or a book that shows you how to make them so that you can get an idea of how they went together in the first place.

Annie

Thanks for the quick reply, Annie. I'd leave the panels as they are if they were going to be stationary. However, we'd like to pull them open during the day, and close them at night.

I kind of thought drapes would be tricker than they seem...if for no other reason than there's so much material to handle.

I wonder if it's possible to just somehow tack the panels together (edge to edge) on the back side, rather than try to sew them??? Or would that look awful?

Hi:
It's not hard to do. Undo the side seams of the drapes and lining. You will also have to undo the header and the hem. Then simply put right sides together and sew.

Also you may have to take out one of the tabs. Once you have the seams out and the panels together you will be able to see if you need to remove one.

Another idea if you really don't want tabs, you could make reverse tabs by simply sewing the tabs down on the back side to the drape header. You then run the rod thru the tabs in the back. This will give you a little different look, almost like a soft pleat. It does look quite nice.

Hope this helps.

Bonnie

Thanks for the information and the encouragement, Bonnie. You make the process sound doable...even for a novice like me. :-)

And I love your idea of turning the tabs into reverse tabs. I think I would prefer that look.

Wish me luck!