All the Best, Part 2

The qualities of wool that make it luxurious are also the qualities that dictate special handling when using it for window treatments.  Wool's fluidity and drapiness make it prone to sagging and rippling, so we add internal structure to allow it to look its best.

The gridded canvas table is our most valuable workroom tool.  We ensure that the fabric is straight on grain by aligning it with the grid.  The bottom hem was calculated to be even with the top of the trim, and it was pressed and opened back up so the interlining could be layered in.

I considered options for making sure the wool did not sag below the fold line, which was even with the bottom of the trim.  Using my "best of both worlds" approach, I ran a line of Jewel adhesive tape to secure the wool and the interlining right where I wanted them.  Yes, I did consider joining the layers with a herringbone stitch.  I was still a little leery of the wool sagging below the trim, and chose the tape instead.   You'll see in a moment that the top was secured in such a way that I was confident that it would not sag.

Borrowing a technique from English curtain-making, the lining was folded up so the raw edge would be even with the raw edge of the wool, and hand-sewn into place.

Stabilizing the top edge was the key to keeping the fabric from sagging.   The interlining ends right at the board line, to reduce bulk; therefore staples won't hold it in place.  So the first step is to secure it to the lining.

A running stitch exactly at the board lines bastes the face fabric to the lining.  When the valance is stapled to the board, the layers naturally shift a bit from the "turn of cloth" but the layers shift at different rates.  They automatically grade themselves.  That's why they have to be basted exactly at the board line.  If they're secured further back, then there will be a little buckle in the layers.

 I leave the thread ends on the right side so that after the valance is stapled I can easily find the basting thread to remove it.  To keep it from loosening up or coming unstitched, I weave a bit back through the stitches.

The sides are hemmed by hand.

A variety of threads were chosen for the hand-sewing- here they are, along with the Jewel tape.

And now the valance is ready for mounting to the boards, and that will be the topic for "All the Best, Part 3," coming up later this week.

Fitted valance with cutout

Following up from yesterday's post about the 13' one-way 175" long ripplefold panel for Crosstown Shade and Glass- that valance!
The tricky part of a 13' valance, inside mount with a fitted cutout, isn't actually the fabrication.

 It's making sure that it will fit when it gets to the installation site.

We worked closely with Jeff from Crosstown Shade and Glass, discussing every detail, to ensure that installation would go smoothly.

The basic fabrication was simple.  The valance was self-lined and interlined.  If you remember from yesterday, the fabric is a lightweight 100% linen.  To keep control of the fabric while stapling, we basted across the top at the board line.  And instead of moving the pressed valance to the sewing machine, we just ladder-stitched the sides closed by hand.

At the cutout end, we marked the board line and basted.

The excess was cut away and the fabric snipped down to the board line at the pleat.....

And at the cutout corner.
The corner was also staystitched with small backstitches to keep it from stretching out of shape.

The face fabric was folded back and the interlining was basted to the back of the valance then trimmed away.

The board was assembled, and the corners reinforced with angle irons, which Jeff could remove at the installation.

Stapling the valance was a breeze.  We added top welting to disguise any possible irregularities in the ceiling line.

NEXT UP..... that gigantic shaped tieback looks simple, which was the goal, but fabrication was anything but!  Tune in tomorrow......

Getting comfortable with oversize

At last I can post photos of the 173" long and 156" wide ripplefold panel!  35 yards each of 100% linen and napped cotton sateen lining went into the panel, valance, and tieback.  After fabricating this treatment for Crosstown Shade and Glass, I am feeling pretty comfy with oversize.  Jeff and Steve thought through every detail to ensure a perfect fit and smooth installation.

I hinted at this project in my last post, which was a whole month ago.  To backtrack and fill you in on that month- my friend Rosemarie Garner and I were co-presenters at the NJ WCAA chapter's annual Windows to Success event.  Organizing all our material and samples was an exercise in down-sizing!- we had so much to choose from and had to edit carefully.  It was a fantastic experience and we're both grateful to the Chapter for inviting us.  The preparation ahead of this presentation kind of ate into my blogging time, but now- I'm back!

The huge ripplefold fabrication began with the 156" motorized rod.  We insist, for good reason, on having ripplefold tracks in the workroom before cutting the fabric.   Crosstown Shade and Glass ordered the track and delivered it to the workroom. 

This project provided a great illustration of why it's so important for the workroom to have the track.  For starters, the manufacturer had rigged the master carrier backwards, as a left stack instead of right stack- not at all difficult to switch, but what installer wants to do that on-site on installation day?

For another thing, the return had removable snap pieces that I might not have known about if I hadn't had the rod.  Lastly, the master carrier on the lead edge was unlike any master I'd ever worked with before, and because it's essential that the tape be fitted, cut, and re-joined so the snaps fit perfectly, it was a good thing I had it in the workroom.

I leave nothing to chance with ripplefold.  I cut the tape and snap it on all the way across, labeling the forward and backward "ripples" in order to plan seam placement.  Seams must go alongside the snaps, not halfway between them, so they'll be the least visible when the curtain is hung.  

This curtain used 7 widths of fabric, and with 185" cuts, it was a monster to handle.   We joined pairs of cut lengths, then joined those; that way I didn't have to handle all the weight quite as often. 

Keeping the grain true and achieving the correct finished length took discipline.  For each cut I pulled a thread to be sure I cut on grain.  Jen and I made the curtain in stages, starting at the bottom.  After hand-sewing the return side hem, we worked the panel across the table, basting both vertically and horizontally.  The horizontal basting line became the reference line from which to measure the finished length after the bottom of the entire 7 widths was tabled.

Photos of massive amounts of basted fabric are pretty boring, so here is the last stage when we finally reached the lead edge!  The vertical line you see there is the estimated lead edge of the panel- it isn't going to be cut and finished until after the ripplefold tape is sewn on.  The reason?  The tape will most likely "walk" a bit as it's sewn onto the fabric, so it's important to leave a little leeway and finish the curtain where the tape actually winds up.

Jen daisy-chained the hems together every quarter-width to keep the layers from billowing apart from each other.

After the bottom was done, we shifted the whole curtain downward to work on the top.  We measured up from the basted reference line and basted the top fold line.  Then we turned the panel to run the top along the length of the table.  We trimmed, folded, pressed, then basted yet again.

 The top edge was finished neatly even though it was going to be covered with ripplefold tape.

Since our sewing machines are on glides, we were able to slide the straight stitch over to the table, instead of dragging the curtain over to the machine.  I wanted to be comfortable while sewing the ripplefold tape!

 

Eleven yards of snap tape later.....

It came out to within an inch and a half of the projected lead edge!  Do you know how happy I was to see that???

NOW we finish the lead edge.  Using nice long John James needles with silamide thread, this was a peaceful and relaxed ending to the panel fabrication.

NEXT UP: HOW ABOUT THAT FITTED VALANCE AND GIGANTIC SHAPED TIEBACK?
TUNE IN TOMORROW!

Oversize panels

Until this project, I had never made panels longer than my 12' table.
When my designer friend Liz began furnishing her Florida home, she asked me to fabricate her 14' long draperies in my NY workroom and ship them to her.

We first mocked up the pleats to determine the pattern layout.  This fabric lent itself beautifully to inverted pleat.

The embroidery was irregular, so I worried a little about the geometric shapes not aligning perfectly, but at a height of 168" the small variation is totally not noticeable!

 The family room panels are pleated to pattern with a two-finger pinch pleat and 5" buckram.

Most of the panels in this home were 1.5 widths, but this corner required a 3-width panel.

I've made plenty of oversize shades, so that experience was helpful in managing the fabric volume.  It also helped to have taken Ann Johnson's excellent "Super-Size Me!" class on how to handle all kinds of oversize treatments.
First I worked the bottom 12' of the panel, shifting my way across the 3 widths, making sure to baste a precise horizontal line so I'd have an accurate reference line for shifting to the top.  (You know I love to baste!)  Once the bottoms 12' of the 3 widths were finished, I shifted the fabric to fall off the end of the table, and worked back across the 3 widths to complete the tops.

This entire project was intense!  I was working so hard, I did not take a single photograph during the fabrication, which I now regret.  Next time.  Ha. 
The master bedroom panels are a mere 126" long, by comparison a breeze.  I don't have good photos of this room yet so I'll just show the pretty pleats.

The embroidery made the pleat tops flare out too much, so I secured them at the back to control them and make them uniform.

My next oversize project is going to be a hobbled shade 158" wide and 75" long.  Always an adventure!

Curtains in 2017!

For someone mainly known as a Roman shade maker, I sure have had a LOT of drapery orders these last few months.  And since I acquired a few old/new-to-me sewing machines this year, I was able to handle the volume and enjoy the process.
I still LOVE sewing draperies by hand, however!  The penultimate drapery job before Christmas break was Ripplefold for 34' of window space, and these 20 widths of fabric were entirely hemmed by hand.  Nicole Gray of Suite Dream designed the treatment with 4 panels, each using 7 yards of a double-wide poly-linen blend.  Right now the Architrac rods are visible, but soon they'll be covered with a painted cornice.   This is the installation day photo- more to come after the job is complete.

 A few days before the Ripplefold, Nicole installed these 8 banded panels for a bay and two side windows.

Appropriate fabric choice is a key element of successful draperies.  Here the woven-patterned banding fabric paired perfectly with the medium-weight poly-linen blend.

The hems were pressed into the face fabric before the widths were joined, eliminating the need to table the bottom separately.

I'm loving my newly acquired machines!  From the straight stitch machine, the fabric moved to the new/old super-fast Rimoldi for the raw edges to be overlocked......

 .....then down the line to the blindhemmer for the bottom hems.

The banding fabric was basted in place with Dofix's Bortenfix K basting adhesive before sewing to keep it from shifting.  The banding was sewn at the 4" line so it could be wrapped with a full 4" on the back as well.  Although I'm showing the photo here, the banding was actually the first thing done, even before the widths were joined.  That meant less bulk to handle while sewing the band.

 I worked in pairs so I'd be sure not to make a mistake and make more lefts than rights.  The first panel took longer than it should have because I hadn't developed a method yet.  After the first one I realized I'd save time by doing as much of the bottom corner as possible before laying in the lining.  The edge was pressed, the bottom trimmed, and the panel laid into the Drawmatic clamp bar with the corner kept free.  The hemline of the band fabric was kept loose and unpressed, so the bottom line could be manipulated a bit in case there was take-up.

I shifted the corner onto the table so I could work with it more easily.  The corner weight was tag-gunned in place.

The band is folded up....

Tucked in...... (the first 4" of hem was left unstitched to allow for this step).......

And re-positioned under the clamp.

The lead edge was folded, pressed, and pinned after laying in the napped sateen lining.

The bottom corners were pinned in place.  The lead edges, with the banding, were sewn by hand, and the return edges were machine blindhemmed.

My favorite thread for hand-sewing side hems is Silamide thread.  It doesn't tangle, it glides easily, and has just a wee bit of give that keeps the seams from clenching up.   I use a single thread for most hemming, but for drapery bottom and top corners I double the thread.

The bay window panels had two lead edges with banding, for a total of 8 panels, 13 widths, and 10 lead edges.

Quite an adventure!  These 43 widths were made in addition to a set of sheer pinch pleat (14 widths), two pairs of lined and interlined top tack with decorative tape (6 widths), and two pairs of sheer lined with sheer top tack (6 widths).  A total of 69 widths in the 10 days before closing for Christmas break!  All side hems were machine blind-hemmed except for the ripplefold above, and the 10 banded lead edges.
Not shown: low-bulk method for tabling the tops, and the pleats being tacked with my new/old Chandler tacker- a super-time-saver!