I’m getting a lot of mileage out of the story about Dave and Kristin’s lovely mid century modern living room. They used J.C. Penney’s Supreme pinch pleat draperies on their windows. A commentor said these have been discontinued, but I’m still seeing stock available online. I also like the look of the Jewel Tex III, but I’d really need to see the fabric in person… In any case, it’s really hard to find pinch pleat draperies for sale off-the-shelf. JCP has the biggest selection that I have found so far. Also, they offer free ship-to-store, and if the purchase isn’t right, you can return the drapes via mail or take them back to the store (even if you ordered them online.)
JCP does not call out “pinch pleats” as a standalone category on their website. You must type “pinch pleat” into the search bar. Also, never buy curtains full price. There’s always a sale soon enough.
Link:
15 new Marimekko flower power prints – including reissued fabric designs from the 60s and 70s 
Another stash of NOS drapery fabric on ebay 
Get our retrolicious free newsletter.
I tried ordering the Aqua the other day and it said they were “no longer available.” I ordered two pair of cream and got an email stating “Backordered – We will ship on or before May 19.”
Just an FYI. I don’t know about any of the other colors.
Pinch Pleat update: Lo and behold I just received my two pair of cream Supremes. So much for backorder and waiting until May! 🙂
I just bought two pair of cream via catalog and they are nothing like the previous Supreme draperies that I have bought. Fabric is still and no where near the quality of those in the past. I understand they had problems getting quality fabric for them and are now discontinuing them. Unfortunatlely there are not too many stores out there to buy ready mades anymore; these are better than nothing, but definitely not the same quality.
Thank you for the report, Judy. So sad to hear this, though. Vintage. That seems to be the answer: Vintage! Or: Try to find someone locally who can make them for your… or make them yourself!
You ARE getting alot of mileage out of this house, but it’s a kool house. Can we see pics of more of it? Kitchen? The rest of the bath?
I ordered the color pony brown, and I think it was soft gold-in two separate orders, weeks apart. I first got an email saying back ordered. Then another saying “no longer available”. I was surprised by this and went to the store to see what was going on. The gals in the drapery dept. were the ones who told me the little factory who did the Supreme line had shut their doors. They said that Penney’s was going to try to find a replacement, as Supreme was a big seller.
Just an FYI, they also told me that they are having a problem getting the very popular sheer “Lisette” and were worried about its future.
So…I went to the semi-custom stuff on the back wall. Where all the little pinch pleat samples hang on a giant rod. If you watch, you can get these at 60-70% off. In addition, if you do the survey on the back of one of your sales receipts, you can get an additional 15% off that price.
Thanks, Lynne, I know you put this in the post the other day… but I wanted to get a standalone story up about JCP’s draperies for the record in any case considering their other styles and the potential that they will find a replacement for this style. Many thanks for the continued “reports from the front!”
Oh no! I had Supreme in my former home in Linen color and they were always excellent quality. I didn’t use them in this house because the cats tend to pull on them, and DH hates curtains and drapes. That’s a bummer about the Lisette sheers, too.
Oh my gosh! I hope that they Penney’s can get someone else to do the Supreme line. That’s what we got and they were very high quality and there were some really vintage colors. It was a real lifesaver for us to discover them at Penney’s – and we found it very cool that they’ve been sold for so long. Fingers crossed that they pick up the line again. Like Lynne says above though, you can still order from the custom area – they have some really nice fabrics back there too…some really cool woven ones too that look like they’d be perfect in a vintage or vintage inspired home.
We also have been waiting for the sales and using the coupons that they send us from signing up for email alerts online. And Lynne is also right that on the back of your receipt, you always get those offers to save 15% if you do a quick survey online. Both have been real lifesavers to us as we are on the new homeowner budget.
: ) Also thanks to buying those drapes, we got some amazing coupons at Christmas time and got a bunch of Christmas presents from there for free!
I find it interesting that the drapes on the JC Penney website are displayed on curtain rods. This is so not in-period! Isn’t the whole point of pinch pleat drapes that they be deployed on the old-fashioned mechanical rod with the pin-type curtain hardware? Because otherwise you could just do any retro-patterned contemporary curtains and gather them a bit by hand before attaching the clip hardware I hope Penney’s figures out a way to bring back the Supreme line–see, there’s a niche, hope some business steps in to fill it.
Ami- Often the “decorator” rods cost more than the draperies! Added sales!
Some people don’t want the retro rods. Who cares how they show them as long as they are the same curtain?
You are right, Patty. Gavin, for example, does not have traverse rods. One advantage, though, to traverse rods in that they make the curtains SO easy to open and close. If you have wide windows, that can be an important plus.
I love my J.C. Penny pinch pleat drapes!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spins_lps/3766264011/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/spins_lps/5306897116/
Those look great, John! And the dinette and chairs… and the light! When I get back home from my trip, I will look at all your photos! Thanks!
Ok, gang here’s more than you ever wanted to know about hanging draperies:
First off are the hooks. Years ago, “slip-in” drapery hooks came in many different sizes, which determined how far up or down the heading of a curtain hung on a rod (these are the type that look like grasshoppers). In the past decade, these seem to have become just one standard size. The other main method of hook is the “pin-in” type, which allow you greater freedom (and greater chance of damage!) when adjusting for height. The way most ready-made curtains are constructed today, usually only allow this type of hook. Remember when using them…do NOT pierce the drapery itself…but either slip the straight part of the hook inside the base of the pleat OR grasp the pleat and gently slide the straight piece of hook between the stitching which creates the pleat. Do not just stick the hooks into the drapery fabric, as the fabric is usually not strong enough to support the curtain and will rip and tear. The heading is made up of a stiffened fabric (sometimes paper) called buckram which gives crispness to the pleats and stabilizes the heading. This is the peice you want to “catch” with the hooks. You DO usually have to jab this hook into the ends of each panel…and this is where most damages happen….make sure when you enter the hook-you grab a bit of this buckram with the hook.
“Training Your Draperies”
After placing them spread open on the rod, with your eye- follow that pleat straight down to the bottom of the curtain…and mark that point with a common pin, a paper clip or clothes pin. Bear with me here: You are going to do this with each of the pleats.When completed-slide the drapery back on the rod to the opened position. You will need to lightly crease the center of the area between the pleats. With your fingers extended, slip a finger into each pleat (as if in an accordian) and GENTLY slide you hand up and down the length of the drapery. Remember-you are not aiming for an Ori
gami, but soft folds.
Cut a few strips of paper or fabric 3″ wide. Using these strips, tie or pin the strip in four or five places evenly along the length of the panel. Leave these in place for a few days and the fabric will “set” into this new shape. Untie and enjoy.
I know this sounds like a useless endeavor, but it really changes the way curtains hang.
One other thing-when ironing draperies, open the bottom of the curtain fabric and lining and slip the board inside the drapery. As you iron, rotate the curtain around and around. Try to never iron a drapery “flat” with a razor sharp crease along the edges.
Thanks Gavin – for taking the time to post this. I remember the other hooks besides the pin hooks that are available now. I also remember there being some sort of multi-prong hook that actually gathered the pleats in the hook, rather than sewing them.
Wow. Thanks so much for sharing.
Lucky for me (and the wife) our 12 foot, 3 panel picture window/sliding glass door came with a 14 foot long rod and drapes we can live with already hanging on it, and in a color we can live with. One of these days I will get around to sending a few pictures of the 1953 Ranch house we bought in Van Nuys, Ca from the original owner, who was moving to an assisted living facility.
Another use for those pins for hanging drapes? They work wonder at work on the fabric cubicle walls to hang pictures or calenders. I’ve always used them for 20 odd years in office work – & they don’t tear the fabric (well, that depends on the weight of the item your hanging). Push pins never stay in the fabric walls – but those drapery pins sure do!
Thanks for the scoop about the manufacturing issues to Pam & everyone else here (especially @ the factory shutting its doors…too bad!). I’ve wanted to get Supremes for our three front windows since we bought our home three year ago, and when I showed Hubby the current price (highly discounted) and noted they might be gone for good (*cough cough ahem*) he finally gave me the go-ahead! Hooray!
I do hope Penney’s finds a replacement manufacturer for these. My mother & grandmothers have always had them, and they look so gorgeous and luxe.
I’m so glad I scooped up my Supreme pinch pleats before they disappeared, but sad that I can’t get a pair for another window. I’m doing the curtain rod and ring look myself. I just wasn’t a fan of the heavy look of the old traverse drapes. To each their own, right! Now I just need to get a handy friend to help me install the rod.
Oh no! I had traverse rods in every room when I bought my house and got rid of them, and they were in great shape. What a dope I am! I wish I had found this site much sooner.
I had no idea JC Penney was discontinuing the Supreme line….but I will say I’m not surprise about finishing issues. I have been in love with the Supreme drapes from JCP for about 15 years. I used them in my first apartment. When we bought our house in 2007, I ordered the Vintage Gold color to cover a very wide and tall window. About four or five months ago, I was redoing one of our guest rooms and ordered the Supreme drapes. I was REALLY disappointed to see that the finish was nothing like any of my other drapes. The pinch pleats themselves were SOOOOO tiny and skinny, and not like a normal pinch pleat.
I was so frustrated, I ended up making my own pinch pleats…..lined and all!
Thank God for good ole Penney’s. I remember years ago when I moved in a brand new apartment in Philadelphia, Penney’s was only place I could find draperies for sliding glass door in stock. It was the era when everybody had to have those vertical blind things.
I would like to know if anyone with Penny’s Supreme curtains uses dry steam equipment to clean them. I have very high ceilings and the longest Supreme curtains and really need a light weight hand steamer or one with a long hose that is safe for these curtains. Or is there one that is safe and won’t cause shrinkage since they are dry cleanable? Just seems like a steamer would be a good idea to get inbetween the pleats and the draping valances that have so many folds. Any suggestions?
Marge
Bed Bath and Beyond has a style, “Paris” that is pinch pleat and also lined, and machine washable. You might have better luck with them. They feel pretty good in person – you can look at your local store, but they have more colors online.
I purchased JC Penney Supreme pinch pleat drapes before they were discontinued and am finally getting around to hanging them on traverse rods. Can you clarify how to train them. They came sharply pleated, but the fabric between the pleats needs to come forward and not back toward the rod since the rod hinders it. So do I need to press out the existing creases in order to make folds in between each one? Or do I want that crease at each pleat plus a soft fold in between? Also, can I safely use a steamer without fear of shrinkage?
Sorry, I don’t know this. Perhaps you should ask JCP…
JCP no longer makes the old supreme drapes. You will be sorry you order the new supreme drapes. They are not at all like the old drapes. Very cheap made in china. They were JCP best selling drapes, the new version will not be!
Ugh.