Sharpening the Problem-Solving Skills

As John Lennon sang, there are no problems, only solutions.....

Two layers of this brown linen gauze..... though I had a plan for this shade out of this fabric, it turned out not to work, and instead I had to improvise at every step.

With a finished shade width of just 2" less than the fabric width, there was not enough of this flimsy gauze for substantial side hems.  We wanted a 2" brown border all the way around.  A piece of ancient, hoarded leftover brown cotton was recruited.  It was laid inside the shade as a trim, instead of outside, the usual way.   Hoarding justified!   The gauze was pressed over the cotton to create a crisp side hem.

Thread pulled to mark straight of grain for pockets

For the rib pockets on the back layer, a pulled thread marked the pressing line, and though the fabric was wobbly, it sewed up nicely into neat, parallel lines.

I wish I had a pedometer: laying these fabrics out and keeping the layers straight I probably walked 3 miles back and forth around the table.  The layers were joined with hand-stitching up both sides, rings sewn by hand, and clear ribs inserted into the pockets and secured.  

For the final challenge, I had to devise a weight bar pocket:  I made an outside pocket out of the last full-width strip of brown cotton and top-stitched it on, basting it first with that mother's little helper, double-sided adhesive tape. 
The lowest row of rings was attached to the cotton pocket at the stitching line, so no stress was placed on the gauze by the rings or the weight bar. 
The second row of rings was placed a half-space above the first row, so 2" of brown border shows at bottom when the shade is raised. 

Before moving it off the table the top was basted securely just above the board line.

On the very first draw, this fabric pulled up into even folds.  The opaque brown border worked out perfectly.  I joined every scrap of brown cotton I could find to cover the boards- barely a thread left over. 

The photo is deceptive: these shades are 58" wide and 75" long.