Making such a simple valance look sleek and sophisticated is not as effortless as it would seem.
The two previous posts showed how much effort went into hand-sewing the trim, assembling the layers by hand, and preparing for board-mounting. Scroll down to read Part 1 and Part 2.
Where the valance is pleated, there is additional bulk. This results in an uneven top line unless additional steps are taken to even it out.
The first step was to sew mitered corners at the ends to get as little bulk as possible underneath the pleats.
The seam was trimmed closely and pressed open.
The bottom edge was nice and heavy due to the trim, but thin ribs helped keep it from waving.
Between the pleats, the fabric is raised up to the height of the pleats with the addition of layers of tacking strip. Sometimes we use rolled fabric, but in this case that looked to soft; the wool needed a sharper edge.
Two of the valances were extra-wide, so we hinged the boards for easier handling and transportation. Yeah, we use a literal hinge.
The top is finished so the hinge barely shows.
The sitting room had two right-angle corners. We made two individual valances for these. Corners require careful measuring- as you can see, the individual valances do not come all the way to the corner- a deduction in the board width is made, equal to the return size of the perpendicular board.
We were not sure if we needed a gusset in the corners of the sitting room, but I made some and brought them to the installation.
Once the corner valances were hung, it was obvious that the gussets weren't necessary.
Finally, Susan echoed the blue tones in the adjacent kitchen space, with a playful geometric pattern and button grosgrain trim, in the same treatment style.
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