In time for Holiday Entertaining

The homeowners requested that their living room and dining room be completed in time for their holiday party.  The furniture was delivered, the technique painting completed, accessories in place- and we were happy to oblige with window treatments.

I think my favorite part is the dining room cornices.  It was fun planning the proportions so I could create identical scallops on different sized windows.
Thanks to my mom for teaching me when I was very little how to draft patterns!  It was my grandmother who taught me to sew, but my mom taught me the joy of developing the technical foundation that supports creativity.

Squire valances in the living room were made from a heavy upholstery weight fabric.  Since the horizontal threads on the reverse side show through when the sun is shining, this fabric was lined with the French blackout method- our regular white sateen, then a layer of black sateen to block the light, interlining, then face fabric.

The four layers of fabric created a lot of bulk.  I love my electric rotary cutter for stacking and cutting multiple layers of heavy fabrics- a real time saver, and it doesn't hurt my hands.

Empire valance we made in January 2010

Squire valances

I like Squire valances for three reasons.  First, they are dressy without being overly formal.  Second, they are the perfect solution to a situation where you need to create an illusion- a deep valance that is not too massive.  The teardrop bottom silhouette allows a deep long point with a short point 9" shallower, filling in space yet allowing lightness.  This valance is 22" deep at the long point but 13" at the short point, in contrast to this 22" long Empire valance which is boxier.  Third, the Empire valance has five or six pleats whereas the Squire has only two.

Are you wondering, who makes up these valance names?  M'Fay, that's who.  Many of her patterns have become industry reference standards.