Black and White Greek Key

Our first shade of 2018 featured a graphic white-on-black Greek Key:

The miters started with a paper template.  A test corner was folded, pinned to shape, sewn, and tested.

The corners were trimmed and angled in closely at the tip, like a dart in clothing.

They were pressed carefully....

and a dab of glue was applied at the points to hold down any stray fibers.

A little more pressing manipulates the miter into square.

We chose to apply this trim using Dofix Bortenfix tape.  The tape was trimmed to size with a rotary cutter.....

then applied to the back of the Greek key tape.

Blue painter's tape marked the finished size and provided a guide for applying the trim.

The sides and bottom were folded and pressed along the blue tape, and then the shade fabrication continued as usual.

The first row of rings started 9" up to allow the Greek Key shape to show when the shade is raised.

A make-over

A NYC client was dissatisfied with some recently installed treatments and I was asked to assess them and propose a way to make corrections.  
First let me show you the "after" picture:

When I arrived I was dismayed when I saw the depth of the challenge.   Here's a quick glimpse of what I found when I first visited this home:

The valances needed complete remaking, as the calculations clearly went awry and left no way to correct the existing treatment.  The fine satin required better fabrication techniques than the factory-caliber treatment it was given.

This talented designer worked brilliantly within parameters that he did not choose.
The decision was made to eliminate the valances to lighten up the room.  I had the opportunity to re-make the panels, by hand, with fresh imported Duchess Satin and wool/linen Greek Fret trim, and re-work the silk sheers, making them 10" longer to up fit into the recess.  (Yes, 10" longer.  THAT took some serious magic.)
The designer's choice of hardware was absolute genius:  rectangular Lucite poles with brass fittings, so the gorgeous matching 5" trim on the soffit could be seen through the Lucite.
6" cartridge pleats allowed the satin to drop in sleek, smooth columns.

The soffit was 12" deep.  That depth plus the returns on the brackets required a 15" return on the drapery, and it needed to be cut to shape around the shaped molding and faced.  Each panel was a slightly different length, and the depth of the cutout varied with each panel as well.  We labelled everything carefully and miraculously avoided any mix-ups!

The return needed to be held rigid.  My original plan was to insert a support into the pocket created by the facing.  It kind of worked, but not quite well enough, so we went back and actually stapled the returns into the underside of the soffit.

Satin in itself creates challenges, because the light enhances every ripple and dimple.  The heavy trim was not only on the vertical lead edge, but also across the bottom.  We experimented with sewing it on both by machine and by hand, but the satin puckered no matter what.  So, guess what?  I bought a Dofix to apply this trim.  

 

The fabrication and installation were so intense that I really didn't take the time to capture as many photos as I now wish I had.  The take-away: both homeowner and designer were thrilled with the make-over. 

A bunch of new tools and gadgets went a long way toward moving this project forward efficiently.  I'm itching to do a separate blog post about those.

Greek Key shade, continued-

Well, I have quite a backlog of projects to show you; I've been waiting for installations, client photos, before-and-after opportunities, or whatever, so I'd have the whole story.  This week I'll focus on getting some of those photo series posted.

For the Greek Key shades I just couldn't wait for the "after" picture, so I showed the workroom shots last week- scroll down to read the previous post. 
Today, yay, I can show you the shades on-site, courtesy of Daniel Silva at Fabric Factory Outlet in Fairfield NJ: 

I had a hard time deciding how to apply the ribbon until I read a post by Liz Hawkes on the CHF Forum about her stencil method, and then it all fell into place.

First I drew out the entire shade, 4 corners and all, on 1" gridded pattern paper.

I then cut a stencil out of template plastic and pinned it in place on the fabric.

I traced the entire pattern onto the shade with purple disappearing pen, which I tested beforehand on the glazed linen fabric. 

Starting at the spot where the ribbon overlaps itself, I sewed around the pattern, holding the outside corners in place with a seam ripper while pivoting.  The hardest part was turning the fabric, keeping the needle in place and stuffing it all under the machine arm trying not to crumple it! 

With just one side sewn, it's a little scary looking, all wobbly and a little unnerving- I wondered if I'd ever get it to sew down nice and crisp- (and professional-) looking.

But after the second go-round, and tacking down the corners, it was neat as a pin. 

Now I have to say something about the machine I used, my Juki TL-98Q, designed for quilters.  It can be instructed to end with the needle in or out of the fabric, and there is a button which clips the thread for you.  It makes a wonderful neat stitch with perfect tension.  For the mitered corners, I used that auto-clip at the beginning and end of every corner.  This machine has its issues, but I do love it for fussy sewing like this.

Here is the shade from the back, tabled and pressed, waiting for its lining:

I didn't want any stitching on the front, so I devised a new way (to me, at least) to insert the lining.  On the sides the lining is pressed under.  At the bottom it's pinned to the hem:

Then opened back up, transferred to the machine, and sewn in two parallel rows to create the weight bar pocket.  After it was back on the table and laid out, the sides were hand-sewn.

Greek key ribbon shades

Three shades embellished with grosgrain ribbon applied in a Greek Key pattern are among my top 3 most challenging, most fun, most satisfying, and most successful projects ever:

They're inside mounted and only 37" long, so when raised they don't go up very far because we wanted to show the corner pattern:

The fabric is wonderful, and perfect for this project- a sort of cotton duck but linen, and glazed like chintz.  The trim is 1" grosgrain.  Yes, it's still wrinkled here in the photo- but steamed out after installation.

I'll do a separate post on how I applied the ribbon.  But right off the bat I have to thank my CHF Forum Friends who provided so many suggestions for fabrication; but most especially Liz Hawkes whose method I adapted. 

The designer called as soon as installation was complete to tell me that they looked fabulous and everybody involved on the project was thrilled.