Anyone made pinch pleat drapes?

I have a great book, two actually with very thorough instructions on how to make the panels, measure and divide the fabric into pleats, etc.

BUT . . .

What I cannot find any info on is how to estimate the setback. I want the rod to extend past the window frame so that when the curtains are completely open they do not cover the glass at all. But how do I know how much it will bunch up when open? Because I have to add that to the length of the rod and the width of the finished panel. Is it just me or does this seem like a chicken and egg sort of problem?? 

And to complicate things further, one of the windows is a huge picture window so it's really going to make a difference on that one.

Anybody have any experience, ideas, encouragement?

Do you know how many hooks or rings you will need to hang these curtains?  Your spacing and the number of hooks should help you estimate the width of the curtain when the curtain is fully open to expose the entire window.

For example- say your hooks are eight inches apart and you need 11 of them to support 80 inches of fabric (one hook at zero, then 10 more hooks from spots 8, 16, 24 ...80).

Pin a few hooks at that spacing to your fabric and bunch it up as much as you believe it will get pulled when completely open.  This should enable you to figure out how much space each hook and the fabric around it will take when the curtains are open.  You can probably do a trial run on a towel bar or something that's not 2 feet over your head.  From three or four hooks you should be able to extrapolate to the width needed for the entire set.

Your hooks may not start right at the beginning and end of the fabric so you will need to take that into account as well.

hope that helps, it's been a while since I did it so the explanation may be a little lacking.
Trina

Thanks, that does help!

I have really wanted to make a set for my living room, but thought it would be crazy difficult. Any words of wisdom to offer?

I haven't done it yet so I don't really have any words of wisdom, lol. 

I have two books that give really good directions though so I think that will help. One is the Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing which is a decent overview of all sorts of sewing tasks, and the oterh is Mary Picken's Singer Sewing Book which is fabulous!

I also went over to my neighbor's house today and examined hers. That helped too.

Maybe I'll have some words of wisdom after I'm done. I'm shooting for September/October, when it starts to get colder here and we'll want to close them at night for warmth and privacy.