I have pattern 9207 for the swags, and my finished length will be 18” I am going to gather the tails to 6” at the pole. My pole is 169” long, so if I subtract 12” for the tails, the space for the swags will be 157”. If I use 5 swags, there will be 31.5” approx. space for each swag. How do I determine what size swag to use?
I did the “string” measurement for the top and bottom of the swag. For a 32” wide space with the top of the swag being 4” from the bottom of the pole the top measurement was 33.5”. The “string” measured 42.5 for the bottom. This is with the side seams gathered to 6”.
None of these swags overlap, therefore your swag measurement of 31 ½” is your swag size. You are wise to use a string measurement because you can alter the top of the swag to be the size you want. Since these swags hang from underneath the pole instead of wrapping over it, the swags will hang deeper. Altering to your string measurement at the bottom will allow them to hang the way you want. Only one end of the outside swags come up to the top of the pole. Gather these ends to about 3” to 6”. This swag can be made a different size (per your string measurement) if you wish. Swag patterns 9303, 9304 or 9305 could be used instead of 9207, if you prefer.