Exercise in efficiency: one dozen bay window valances

Here's what has been keeping the workroom occupied!- a dozen bay window valances.  The woven medallion patterned fabric is fire-retardant with Silky Diablo fire-retardant blackout lining.

I pulled out every efficiency process, method, and technique I've ever developed, to streamline getting these valances cut, sewn, and mounted.   A full bolt of fabric was sliced into 65 cuts, and another full bolt of lining was sliced into railroaded strips.   Then each section was trimmed to size and the valances assembled.  Of course none of the windows were exactly the same size!  The new walking foot machine eliminated the walking and puckering that would otherwise result from sewing cross-cut face fabric to railroaded lining.
I think I spent 8 hours just ironing. 
Creating a mounting space is the biggest challenge, so we wanted to get all of them stapled in one go, so we could get the workroom back to normal asap.

We used a combination of stands to create a stable space.

 I was lucky in that all the boards were cut and delivered to me!  John assembled them then covered the undersides with lining, in preparation for stapling the valances..

These all were hinged in the center to make them easy to transport.

We asked Merrill Y. Landis to fabricate the 206 single width panels.  They're a great company to partner with!  Here's about 10% of the panels, ready to be loaded.  This was an adventure!

Retro Yellow!

Workrooms receive all sorts of fabrics for creating home furnishings, and it's difficult sometimes to imagine some fabrics in their eventual homes.  One thing you learn as a wholesale workroom: make no presuppositions, because context is everything!  Such was the case with this two-room project we fabricated for Crosstown Shade and Glass.

We were jolted by this brilliant yellow fabric, a Madcap Cottage print from Robert Allen, and couldn't imagine how it was going to look made up.  It was such a joy to work with these fresh colors and a thrill to see the final product installed.
Both of the treatments, above, were a little under 12' wide.  The swags were wider than a width of fabric, so the cuts were pieced, then aligned precisely on the table so we could stack cut.

The Parkhill Swag System makes swag-making a breeze.  I'm glad, however, that I had years of practice making swags without it, first with M'Fay patterns, and later drafting by hand using Ann Johnson's book "Anatomy of a Swag."  Those early experiences made it easier for me to improvise using the Parkhill.
Anyhow, using the Parkhill chart we set the template and marked the shape for cutting.

The beauty of the Parkhill is the finger cutouts which allow mounting with minimal bulk on the board.

Mounting the straight window was textbook, but mounting the bay swags was fiddly, requiring some improvisation.  For the swags overlapping the angle, I wanted all of the folds to stack on the "arms" of the bay which resulted in some excess fabric to disguise.   To achieve that I snuck in a 7th fold on each of those two swags in the angle.  

 In addition to the bay angles, we also had to find a way to trick the eye into believing that the two "arms" of the bay were the same size; in reality, the right arm is 2" longer.  I think we pulled it off.

 And, hey, if you've read this far, please accept my apology for the sparse posting so far this year- January was a crazy month. 

NYC before and after

Nothing like a NYC installation!  We were a three-person team to install an 11' cornice, drapery panels, and 8 shades on East 88th between Madison and 5th Ave.
We were super lucky- we got a free parking spot right around the corner from the service entrance, and it was good for an hour and a half until we had to move it due to alternate side parking that day. 
That gave us plenty of time to get down a flight of steps with all that stuff, then up in a snug elevator, and we only had to make two trips, using the handcart and rolling tool bag set-up. 
You need a great style sense and ability to visualize when confronting an awkward wall like this one in the master bedroom.  If it had been up to me, I have no idea how I would've turned this into something attractive, but luckily I'm NOT a designer!

Instead, Arielle of Paris Interiors had a vision, and when we were finished the master bedroom was transformed.  The hinged cornice fit like a glove, thanks to my big orange measuring stick and a cardboard template.  It's welted on all sides to hide any irregularity of the wall.   The stationary drapery panels are interlined with Domette, pleated to pattern, and hung on simple curtain rods.  The beautiful horizontal striped sheer shades will be mostly down, to filter the light; they're lined with batiste.  Behind them are motorized blackout shades for light control.

Thought you might like to see the in-process photo:

 Close-up of the cutout corner:

 In the living room, the trickiest area was this bay:

Treated with Roman shades, the space is brought down to size and softened.  This Holly Hunt fabric has a 103" repeat.  We lined and interlined with Domette and Napped Sateen for full, fat, plush shades.

A smaller shade to the right, and the adjacent kitchen with a linen geometric print:

And the largest shade to the far left:

Bay Window relaxed romans

Here is one way to deal with shades in a bay window.

The wider center shade has no returns, i.e. the fabric does not wrap around the sides of the board.
The smaller shades do have returns on both ends.  All the shades are on 1.5" boards, so at the inner edges the returns are 1.5".  On the outer edges, the return extends beyond the board 3" for a return of 4.5".  That's why there is a bit of a tail on the outer edges but not in the bay corners.
The larger shade snuggles up to the 1.5" returns which helps make the shades look continuous.
Just to be clear- there are no pleats, tucks, or folds in the shades; they are flat at the top.  That is the natural droop of the fabric.  

Bay window Roman shades

The Roman shades with the VersaRail clutch with a 1" headrail, from Rollease, were installed last week.

Yes, we did work all this past week, but since the camera was mis-placed, there are no pictures, yet.  We were busy making shades, and beautiful hand-sewn unlined panels.  There should be photos, not this week but the following week, when we return to that house to install the rest.  

A Miscellany

Here is a collection of recent projects.

The first picture is my very own hybrid: a flat Roman shade, ribbed in back, with relaxed Roman folds over a straight bottom.  We wanted the bottom straight so the relaxed folds didn't pool on the shelf and also so the bottom corners would not be uncovered.  I've never seen a shade like this anywhere else, so as far as I know, I invented this myself!

If you're interested in how this is made, I'll do a separate post about it.  Let me know in the comment section at the end of this post. 

Imperial valances with jabots, self microcording

          Kick pleated valance in adjacent kitchen bay window.

  

Remember these pillows?  Here they are on a campaign bed, with the tapestry hanging.

Another "winter trees" shade- it just never gets old!

Calvin Klein sheer, Roman shade

Self-lined, hand-sewn.  This reminded me of fine Madras.

They jogged my memory.....

Today I hung some curtains in the home of a very personable couple who are the parents of clients we made window treatments for a couple of years ago.  The parents told me how much they love the work we did with Diane Satenstein for their son's home, and when I got back to the studio I wanted to take a look back at those treatments- and here they are for you to see.
The dining room swags are board-mounted, the living room swags on poles.
Diane loves full, gathered swags and jabots which makes me really happy, because so do I.
These treatments are hand-sewn of imported silks, interlined, and trimmed with luxurious tassel fringe.
In both rooms the shades are hand-sewn of sheer silk with delicate glass bead trim.

Empire Swag Valance

I'm taking a quick little break to show you the Empire valance, as well as the hinged treatment all folded up and easy to transport.

Bay Window Hinge

When I started making window treatments and heard about "hinges" for bay window treatments, I took that literally, not realizing that the hinges were not actual hardware.................
Now I know that the hinges are made of fabric; however, I still use actual hardware hinges for bay windows. I like to be able to fold the treatment compactly and securely. I like seeing them. I like that the installer can lift the treatment easily and unfold it on the ladder if necessary. I like that if the homeowner climbs up on a ladder and looks at the top of her treatment she'll see real brass hardware up there, unlikely though that may be.
Some people have told me it's a waste to bother with actual hinges that cost money instead of a little strip of fabric that's free, but really, how much do they cost- I don't mind spending two dollars on them, and I like them.