Help! I think I'm going to make some curtains...

[BleedyGonzalez]

...but haven't actually sewn anything for 15 years.

First of all I need help with choosing the fabric - I'm going for velvet (hence the DIY attempt - far cheaper). I'm looking on ebay and need to know whether it matters which way round the pile goes...is that the right term? The fabric I'm looking for is just the right width and very long, but if the pile goes the wrong way will my curtains look odd?

Does any of that make sense?

Yes it makes sense, but it will really depend on the velvet, but as a general rule - YES most do have a "pile", but depending on the effect you want, it won't matter so long as ALL panels are cut with the pile going in the same direction - will look like 2 diferent colours otherise

if you want a rich deep colour & no sheen, then you need to make them so that the pile smooths upwards to the ceiling, & for gloss & sheen, smooth downwards, hope that makes sense