Exquisite Fabric-Trim Pairing

Are you familiar with Bart Halpern fabrics?  If not, just take a quick peek at the website.  This company pleats fine fabrics onto a tricot knit backing in a dozen or more different patterns.
I was lucky enough to be asked to make shades out of a sheer linen pleated into the "wide wave" pattern.

 It was paired with this delicious Osborne and Little decorative banding.

I didn't take any fabrication photos, because the process was a little nerve-wracking, and I wanted to stay focused on the work.
My biggest concern was to not shrink the linen fabric while applying the trim.  I carefully tabled the fabric, aligning the "waves" with the table grid, and hand-sewed the side hems. 
I planned the trim layout, pinned it to size into the U-shape, and machine-sewed the mitered corners.  The corner seam was clipped and pressed open.  I used Bortenfix adhesive tape from Dofix to apply the trim- after first having tested the fabric to be sure it wouldn't distort. 

As you know if you read this blog often, I do sometimes use adhesives for shade side hems, but only when the ring stitch would be on the hem section to provide backup security for the hem in case the adhesive failed. 
In this case there were several reasons for hand-sewing. 
First, I knew I was going to be applying steam when it came time to fuse the trim to the face, so I wanted to keep the steam to a minimum. 
Secondly, I wanted the fabric to lay naturally, and sometimes an adhesive will secure the grainline in an awkward way- especially with a delicate, grainy sheer.
Most importantly, I wanted the hem to not be wider than the inner edge of the trim, and I wanted the rings to not be sewn through the trim, so, therefore, because the rings would have to be placed past the hemline, I wouldn't have those ring stitches to provide backup security for the hemline.  Which is why I hand-sewed the side hems.  Whew, I hope you followed that!

There were three shades in a bay window, but sadly I was not present at the installation and do not have any photos of the shades in their new home.  We have a lot of homes in this area with double-hung windows like these, and there isn't a lot of room for an inside mount.

I was pleased to get a report back that the shades "fit like a glove"- here you can see that I notched out the back corners of the board so it would nestle into the limited space.  The shade is a 1/2" wider than the board to allow the fabric to fill in the outermost beveled edge of the window frame.

 A success story!