Triple Pinch pleat curtains

Well, these were a big fail! They look fine for the purpose - but I would not go this route again. I am not sure if it was the pleating tape itself, or the fact I was using a polyester suiting fabric, but overall results were subpar.

Most of the rooms in our house already had traverse rods installed. These are the rods that have a cord that you pull to open and close the drapes. The drapes are generally attached with hooks.

I was trying to match these cream faux silk curtains - that belonged to my great grandmother (and namesake) - that we have in our bedroom. They have very nice triple pinch pleats, so that is what I was trying to match.

I found some tan polyester herringbone suiting material at Joann's in the clearance bin, which was the closest color texture match I found that didn't cost and arm and a leg. The fabric was 54 inches wide, more than enough for my purpose.  I also bought a couple yards of pleating tape. The idea behind pleating tape has a series of cords that you can pull to gather your material after you have sewed it onto your material.

I followed the excellent directions from this website, but when I pulled the cords I got a lot of bunching and general messiness. I straightened out the pleats as best I could, but still nothing to write home about. Next time I will try using 4 prong drapery hooks or sewing pleats by hand...