"How Do I Store Pipe and Drape? " And Other Common Questions

"How Do I Store Pipe and Drape? " And Other Common Questions
June 11, 2020 874 view(s)
"How Do I Store Pipe and Drape? " And Other Common Questions

From a gorgeous wedding canopy to a portable photo booth for a company party, pipe and drape packages are a great way to create memories during all kinds of events.

Pipe and drape can serve a number of purposes. In addition to setting the right mood and making a space have the right look or style, you can use it for other things. 

These can be used to break up a larger space into smaller areas, which works well for trade shows, conventions, and political events

If you need to create an area where you have speakers or a spot where performers can enter and exit a venue, you can use your pipe and drape to create an area where they can come-and-go outside of your audience's view.

Why Should I Buy Pipe and Drape?

Before you invest in pipe and drape kits and packages, you probably want to consider what you’re going to use it for.

A weekend getaway to the maldives sounds great but if you’re claustrophobic and afraid of flying, you might want to just take a drive to the coast. The ends have to justify the means. 

So, if you’re interested in pipe and drape for your trade show booth once a year, then it might make sense to rent.

On the flip side of that, if you do several trade shows a year and you basically have the same set up, then you should certainly think about a one time investment in a kit rather than renting the same items time and time because it’ll add up. 

For companies like wedding venues, convention centers, churches, banquet halls, hotels and even schools that host the same big events, multiple times a year, buying pipe and drape is the way to go.   

We didn’t forget about you, party rental companies. You should definitely have a pipe and drape kit ready to go for all the reasons listed above. I guarantee you’ll have customers who want the kits, chairs and tables that’ll add up to a pretty profitable couple of days.

How Much Pipe and Drape Should I Buy?

This really depends on how what look you're going for. Typically we see a covering of 0%, 50% or 100%. What does this mean?

0% Fullness

When say 0%, we don't mean zero coverage. We're saying "zero" as in zero bunching or gathering of the drapes. In other words - flat or appearing flat.

To find how much drape you need for a flat drop, you should take the area you're trying to cover and multiply it by 1. If you're buying drapes that are 5 feet wide and you're trying to cover 10 feet then you need 2 drapes total. Basic math for a basic look.

50% Fullness

This is more common. It's a pleated look that gives your backdrop a more bunched up but gathered vibe like in our Wedding Arch shown in the photo above. 

For this trendy look, you're going to want to multiply the area you're trying to cover by 1.5. 

We'll take the example from above. If you're using 5 feet wide drapes and you're covering a 10' wide area, you'll need 15 total feet of fabric or 3 pieces of drape.

How? 10 x 1.5 = 15. Covering up the same area but we're bunching the fabric up to get that look.

100 Fullness

If the formal, luxorious look with maximum gathering is more your speed, then 100% fullness is the way to go. As for the math on how to figure out how much drape you need for this, you can probably see the pattern. 

Multiply the area you're covering by 2. A 10 foot area will yield you 20 feet of drape and if you're using a 5 feet wide fabric, then that means you need 4 drapes. 

How Do I Wash Pipe and Drape

The good news here is that if you know how to do laundry for your regular clothes, then you basically have the understanding and capability to wash your drape - albeit with a few caveats.

Here's a few tips on how to properly clean your drape products

  • Like colors should be washed together
  • Machine washed, delicate cycle, cold water, mild liquid detergent
  • ***For Best results: add detergent to washing machine during filling and before fabric is added***
  • Be aware: Detergent applied directly to fabric may cause color to streak
  • Dry in a conventional dryer using “air only” and ironed using cool iron. Your drapes may shrink significantly if exposed to heat over 120 degrees.

How Do I Store Pipe and Drape?

    • Carts. Drape carts are designed to store and transport your draping and poles with signicant ease. 
    • Canvas storage bags - Canvas is a more heavy duty material that will hold up when carrying heavy material drapes.
    • Drape hamper carts - There's no need to go out and buy a cart specifically designed for transporting drape if that's not your worry, especially if you don't own a ton of drape
    • Never store in plastic bags because they trap moisture. Moisture = mold/mildew. Mold/mildew = 
    • If you can - hang drapes a few days before you need to store them to air out any wrinkles. Just like your favorite button down
    • Store in a dark place where temps are stable then Fold along width then roll along length of fabric

 


There's plenty more to talk about when it comes to Pipe and Drape and we'll hopefully handle more of that in part 2. Until then, feel free to give us a call or send us a message so we can help you out in the meantime!


Author: Connor Rusinko

Connor is the E-commerce specialist and analyst at EventStable. He resides in West Hartford, Connecticut with many leather bound books that make his apartment smell of rich mahogany. You can find him in a local 30+ men's league still hanging on that dream of making it to the NBA

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