I think you're right, it doesn't look railroaded. It may be a drop repeat but I would go w/the 25.2" repeat myself & not worry about it. Often toiles won't match up as easily due to the 2 repeats, you have to choose the one that works for you, gen the vertical repeat.
I'd plan on 2 cuts at 126", that is 5 repeats of the 25.2" for each panel, making your yardage req'd 252", or 7 yards. Be careful sewing them together, they likely won't appear to match. We used to lay the widths next to each other face up before pinning them together because that drop repeat often makes them appear not to match selvedge to selvedge, if that makes sense.

There are a couple drapers who visit this forum, hopefully they'll chime in w/advice also. Good luck, your fabric looks pretty.

So this 120" includes 16" for hems (or whatever size you're using) or is that the finished length?
I can't tell from the pic if it's a half drop or not. Do you know if it's a pic of the full width or just a part width?
You may need to ask the place you're ordering from or else you would need to order a yard to check it out. Pics can be deceiving.
Unless it's upholstery fabric, it wouldn't be railroaded.
If it's not a half drop and 120" is your cut length, then you'd need 7 yards for 2 widths. It's always better to order at least an extra 1/2 yard. You can always make a pillow if you have too much fabric.

I agree with shadylady. But I would check the numbers for the repeat, what you have stated doesn't look correct to me. The vertical repeat (teeter-totter to teeter-totter) looks much less than the horizontal repeat. From the teeter-totter at the top middle, going straight down, there is not another teeter-totter. If you can see it in person, try to measure it yourself.

jomuir - Thank you for responding : ). I sent an email to two distributors who sell this fabric...got a reply from one this morning. They said it's not railroaded but did not answer the half-drop question. They also said they don't give fabric calculations.

You say to "plan on cuts at 126". Couldn't I make the first cut at 120", then use the remainder of the fabric to adjust up or down to match the vertical repeat?

shady2u - Thank you for responding, too! 120" is not the finished length. 104" is the finished length with a 3" double fold for the top and a 5" double fold for the bottom hem. So, I'll need the 16" for those double folds.
The panel will be attached to the hardware pole using rings with clips.

That's a good question about whether or not the fabric pic is a full or a partial width. I will try to get an answer about that.

Both you and jomuir suggest 7 yards, so that sounds good : )
A pillow would be great. Will that 7 yards leave enough leftover for a pillow or should I order 7-1/2 yards?

Laurie

clt3 - The repeat numbers are on the web sites that sell this fabric. I wish a local store had it so I could see it in full. I have a fabric swatch (too small to measure repeats) that's at my daughter's home. The back of the swatch has the repeat numbers on it, as well.

I see what you're saying about the teeter-totter : /
There appears to be a stagger in this pattern.

Laurie

You say to "plan on cuts at 126". Couldn't I make the first cut at 120", then use the remainder of the fabric to adjust up or down to match the vertical repeat?

No, because of your 2 cuts will not match. Gotta think in terms of repeats not nec. the amount you need. If you cut the 1st at 120", the top of your next cut will be a different part of the pattern the the 1st is. You'll be scrapping approx. 6" each width which really isn't much. If you cut them both at 120", the 2nd one won't match the 1st, in fact, they'll be way off. This is assuming the repeats is 25.2", which is pretty standard in deco fabric. 25-27 is the industry average, IIRC.

Toiles can be difficult. Once we were making shades and had a beam in the wall to work around, we spent a long time deciding how to cut the fabric, then the customer cried foul (or is it fowl if it a country scene toile lol) that a person's head was cut off at that point. Can't win for losing sometimes.

Thank you jomuir for giving me your words of wisdom. As you can tell, I've never worked with patterns including Toile which is proving to be quite a challenge!

Not sure if I worded my proposed plan (about cutting the first piece at 120", then using the remainder to adjust up or down) very well. My thinking was that if I order extra fabric to begin with, then, after I cut the first 120", the remainder of fabric on the roll will be enough to move up or down to make the patterns match. Then, I could cut off the bit on the top and bottom (of that second, longer panel) to line up with the top & bottom of the first 120" panel. Will this work?

A certain amount of math/geometry involved in sewing!

What a funny story about making shades (spending lots of time & effort) and then the customer upset about cutting off the person's (Toile print person) head.

I really appreciate everyone's input...jomuir, shadylady2u, and clt3. This GW forum has wonderful people who are always willing to help out : )

Laurie

If you've planned your cuts and know the exact placement of your top and/or bottom design you want to start or end at, you could cut at the 120", however, even then you want to leave a couple of extra inches for straightening. If you don't you may end up short. So cutting them both at 126" leaves you some play to figure out the best placement.
I would suggest making a double 4" header instead of 3". Will look better, especially at that length and is also standard. Why 3"?
As for enough left for a pillow, if you're making a small pillow, there should be enough, but if you want say a 20" or bigger pillow, you'll need extra fabric.

shadylady2u - Thank you. I am trying to learn more about sewing with every project that comes up! It's helpful for me to hear from all of you sewers who have experience and are willing to share.

I am going to make sure the first edge of fabric is square/straight before I do any measuring for cutting that first panel. I will follow what you and the others said and cut 126" so I will have room for adjustments of the pattern.

I am glad you brought up the header size. I was wondering about that (as well as the hem size). I bought a book from JoAnn's Fabric store several years ago. It's called "Windows with Ease". In the section on Flat Panel Curtains,
there's a chart for hem depths. It includes method of hanging (clip on rings in my case) and curtain length (brushing floor in my case). For bottom hem allowance it says 8", upper hem allowance 3".

In the directions, it says to "Press under a double-fold hem in the upper edge...." I also read & looked carefully at the pictures in the book describing How to Stitch a Double-Fold Hem.
Their pictures & descriptions shows a 3" hem allowance ending up with a 1-1/2" hem. A 8" allowance ends up being a 4" hem.

I followed their directions a few years ago when I made my DR & LR flat panel floor length drapes (using clip rings).
They look fine, except I felt that the finished top hem (where the clip rings attach) looks too skimpy (only 1-1/2"). The finished bottom hem is 4" and looks good to me, but I could see that an inch or two greater may look better. BTW, my home is not formal...more on the casual side.

For a finished header (not "allowance") and a finished bottom hem, what would you suggest?

Happy Memorial Day to all!

Laurie

I received an email response from two vendors about the width of fabric that's pictured on their web sites. Both say that the picture is partial width.

Laurie

I'm posting this update to say that everything turned out fine. I ordered 8 yards of fabric. Upon completing the drapery panel, ended up with 48" remaining. This will be more than enough leftover for a few pillows.

Before taking these pics, I just pulled the drape "wand" to the right to close the drape without easing the fullness.
The rings & fabric on the left side of the drape can be slid to the right, giving a more even look to the fullness.

Thank you DraperyFlow for creating a web tool for calculating the exact yardage needed.