A motif that made its own border

Sometimes a pattern motif makes itself into a beautiful border.

For these shades, the designer left it up to me to decide on the ribbon placement.  It was total serendipity that the diamond shapes came right to the edge of the shades, so I could center them between the ribbon and the edge.  The shades are pleated to pattern, too!

After mitering the corners, I applied Dofix Bortenfix tape to the trim....

then fused it to the shade, starting at the bottom.

I use a separate square of Bortenfix tape in the corner so I have more control over its application.

After the trim is fused, I take small hand stitches in the outer corners to keep the fibers from straying.

For extra assurance, I apply a tiny dot of glue to hold down any loose fibers.

I hated to see these shades leave!

Mocking up a skinny shade with spring lift system

We hastily mocked up a skinny shade to test the smallest (1.2) Easy Spring Plus cut down for a 16" shade. There's no room in the tube for a stop on such a narrow shade, but since the spring is so small it doesn't have much "oomph" so it just naturally stops on its own. John adjusted the rotations so it stops right where we want it, without an actual stop. We mocked this up because we had a half dozen skinny shades to make and wanted to test the parameters first. FYI, I lined this sheer with a grey voile, just for fun. The shade has only two lift lines, and a self-fabric pull tab is sewn into the permanent fold in the back. I spent way more time than I should have, trying to level this stubborn little guy. Shades with two lift lines take a lot of fussing because you can't average the cord tension over a series of lift lines. I also discovered that the wavy pattern created a disparity in the fabric "give" and I didn't quite hit the center of the wave so it has a permanently wonky look. And...... that's why we make mock-ups!

Our new dig: front pull tab for spring roller romans

We are diggin' this front pull tab, hidden under the permanent bottom fold.

This is an outgrowth of the back pull tab, which I've been using all year instead of a pull ring.

Spring roller shades do not strictly require, but work much better with, a permanent fold at the bottom, to make it easier to engage the spring mechanism and not over-pull the shade.
We used that permanent fold to hide a pull tab, made of self-fabric with a bit of flat bar inside so there'd be something rigid to grab hold of.

We made the shade our usual way, adding 6" for the permanent bottom fold.  This shade is interlined and has ribs sewn in.

We turn the hem into a machine-sewn weight bar pocket which provides security and stability, and that is where the pull tab is sewn in.  Here, the shade bottom is folded back so you can see where we pinned the tab.

The bottom row of rings are held by tiny twill tape tabs for even more security.

The raw edges of the tab are trimmed after it's attached.

The hem is folded back to encase the tab.

The second stitch line is sewn to complete the weight bar pocket.

The weight bar is slipped into the pocket, and I also added a rib to keep the bottom hem perfectly straight since this fabric is a little loosey-goosey.

When the shade is strung, the bottom two rings will be pulled up close to each other with an orb and then tied.

Ta-da!

Re-purposing

We've spent considerable time in the house with the huge hobbled shades for Denise Wenacur, and last week it was time to go upstairs to the master bedroom, where we re-purposed the homeowners' existing window treatments.

Crown molding was added, so for two windows, the draperies needed shortening. 

And the turret had a full set of draperies until the seating area was built, so they were re-made into Roman shades, the band and rope lead edge detail transformed into bottom shade detail.

Ribs ensure that the folds do not need dressing, a helpful feature in shades that are mounted high and are not so easy to reach.  We sew, rather than glue, ribs onto interlining in between the rings so the folds will have some rigidity.

Dofix 6" fusible buckram provided support for the bottom banding.

Re-purposing generally involves some improvisation, to make the existing materials work for the new application.  In this instance, we had to fiddle a bit to make the banding work.  Although we usually make a double bottom hem, the banding was just wide enough to create a single hem, so Dofix Bortenfix was used to secure the hem below the weight bar pocket......

then Dofix fusible gimp covered the raw edge.  The rings were sewn through all materials so the stitching would provide extra security for  the band and the gimp.

After the weight bar was inserted into the pocket, the gimp end was tucked in and secured....

Then the bottom pocket ladderstitched closed.

Dofix 8" fusible buckram gave body to the topper, which I wanted to be somewhat supported but not quite as rigid as a soft cornice.  We mitered the top and fused Dofix velcro to the back edge so the topper could be mounted easily on installation day.

Fabric staples secured the fabric layers at the top......

and because these shades are reverse mounted, Dofix fusible velcro was added to the front.

The shade snaps off of the headrail for easy installation, then just as easily snapped back on.  The lift system is the Rollease SS38 from Designers Resource, chosen for its awesome gear ratio that allows this shade to be nearly fully raised with just one pull of the continuous bead loop chain. 

The little toppers behaved just as I wanted them to.

Ta-da!  (and yes, we fabricated those cushions, too.)

Shades and panels

I've decided to write about these treatments today, because designer Denise Wenacur has featured them in her blog post today for Greenhouse Fabrics.   Please click on the link and check it out!
We made 8 shades in all for this dining area, kitchen, hallway, and foyer.  In the dining area, the shades are flanked by narrow sheer box-pleated panels, mounted on the molding, which soften the room and draw the eye up.
The door is treated with a stationary roman shade valance.

This wide bank of windows needed three shades, each about 65" wide. 

Around the corner in the hallway is a 98" window tucked behind a staircase.  This shade is full-length, but tied off to be stationary.

Here's the other end of that 98" hallway shade, adjacent to the foyer shade.

Over the sink another stationary shade is tucked under the soffet.

I have a new super-cool method for stationary shades for doors, like this one. I'll be doing a post about this method soon.

Meanwhile, a sneak preview: it's on the tiniest headrail imaginable, that is completely unseen.  This is the AL1 from Dofix, and I've been finding interesting ways to use it.

 

In fact, the AL1 was used to hang the narrow sheer panels.

 I made a set of pleat mockups for Denise so she could choose the number of pleats and panel widths.

To keep the panel widths consistent, we extended the headrail at the ends, stabilizing it on the outside with a tiny L-bracket to which we added velcro for the panel return.

One side required a cutout to fit around the ceiling.

This little headrail made installation go so smoothly!  The panel tops are finished with hand-sewn facings and fusible velcro.

More on this project next time!

Westchester Home Design Awards

I am so happy to report that two designers with whom I work have been named finalists in the 2017 Westchester Home Design Awards!  It's a thrill to see one's work in a space that has been recognized as one of the top three in its category in the county.  I'm so fortunate to work with these (and many other) talented, driven, and committed professionals.  When they let loose their creativity, they allow the work of so many fabricators to shine. 

Katherine Stern was nominated for the category Library or Home Office.  Katherine and I brainstormed to create some of the most exciting roman shades I've ever made.  You can read about them on this blog post which details how we broke up the 54" wide fabric and re-constructed the pattern so it would fit in the space.   Click on this article link and scroll down to see the entire room after it was finished, and the brilliant way in which Katherine has used color and industrial metals to create what she calls "a dynamic tension."

 In the category Best Use of Small Spaces, designer Denise Wenacur was nominated for transforming a bonus room into this tranquil meditation space.  We fabricated the roman shades and window seat cushions.  I love how the light enhances the texture of the pale grey linen blend which was lined in a sheer.   Click on this article link and scroll down to Denise's entry, to see gorgeous photos of the whole room, completed.