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!

Box pleats into French pleats

Box pleats seemed, at first glance, like a perfect drapery header for this geometric pattern from Pierre frey.

We made a lining mockup of the proportions the panel would have.

A sliver of fabric served as a pleating layout template.

The panels were made and installed, and the heavy fabric did not hang in graceful folds.

It was thick and clunky, really like a carpet.

So several months later I took them down, picked out the tacks holding the box pleats, and re-pleated into two-finger pinch pleats- while sitting on the floor in the living room.

The pinch pleats help the folds hang more regularly.

Are you curious about the sheer linen shade with leather trim?  I'm getting that story together for later in the week.

Extreme blackout; or, where are the pinholes of light?

"Extreme blackout"- this blog post title could actually apply also to my blog in general- I having been out of sight since early July!  I've checked the blog stats and am shocked (but delighted) to see that people are still reading this blog every day even though it's been 6 weeks since my last post..... 
Ever since returning from vacation, I have been swamped with very intense production deadlines.  It's hard to remember to take photos when working so hard, but I do have some, and a few stories to tell.
Here's one of them.

"Extreme blackout" is what I call this homeowner's request for her bedrooms.  We created three-layer treatments that came as close as one could get to total blackout, without fully covering the windows with draperies, which she did not want.
We installed phase one of her renovated home on July 31, the family moved in on August 1, and on August 4 their baby boy was born.  He came home the next day to his own very, very dark bedroom.

Now that is DARK!
Here's what you see by daylight:

More on the toppers in a future post- meanwhile, thanks to Joanna Braxton for her instructional DVD on making these sleek cornices....

Now, you might be wondering, where are the pinholes of light that are the inherent drawback to blackout shades, the thorn in the side for shade fabricators, and the bane of our existence?

Yeah, we solved that problem.








A double-sided shade with multiple layers of linings made it possible.  Here's what the back looks like (this photo is of a similar shade in another room.)   These are serious shades, folks, more like furniture than curtains! 

BUT FIRST.
Before going into detail, I want to acknowledge that my train of thought about those pesky pinholes of light began during an enlightening webinar by Susan Woodcock (Home Dec Gal) which I attended in the spring.  She developed her own clever way of dealing with the pinholes, which over a couple of months percolated through my brain and evolved into this method for this particular job.

First we made the shade using three layers of lining.  Next to the face, Bella Notte Silky Blackout.  Then interlining, and finally regular cotton sateen.

The shade is strung, using ladder tape on the outer two rows.

Another layer of Silky Blackout is tacked over each ring, one tack on each side of the ring.  So one layer of blackout hides the hole(s) in the other layer.  No pinholes of light!

Coming up next: more on the double-sided blackout; more rooms with variations on the three-layer treatment; more on the slender cornices; more on box pleated draperies.  No more 6-week hiatus for me.  Thanks for hanging in there, and coming back!

Pleating to pattern

Pleating to pattern distinguishes the artisanal workroom from the commercial.
Whether pinch pleats or box pleats, draperies or cafe curtains, roman shades or valances, pleating to pattern takes more time and attention but yields a pleasing product.

Here are some favorite examples from our workroom.

Cafe curtain...... Possibly my all-time favorite example!

Goblet pleat drapery: every other pleat matches.

Classic French pleated draperies.

Box pleats!

Pleating to pattern is especially effective here.

Mock hobbled valances.

Hobbled shades.

Inverted pleat valances.

A little serendipity on this Sheffield- the pattern matches across the horn and scallop.

On this roman shade, every other pleat matches.

 

A small motif but a big effect when pleated to pattern.

More French pleats.....

More box pleats......

And one more set of hobbled shades.

Sheer shades make good window treatments great

These box pleated panels on boards were pretty effective as soon as they were installed........

Living room before sheers

......but when Liz at Paris Interiors added sheer roman shades, the room lost its sharp edges in the muted light.

Living room with sheers

Across the foyer, the dining room was similarly softened with an embroidered linen sheer.

                                      Dining room with shades

 

 

Because the center shade was just wider than the fabric width, extra width was added using French seams that are as beautiful as the shade itself..... too bad they're hidden behind the panels!   The sheer shades, by the way, are all lined with batiste in winter white.










Pleating to pattern is equally important for draperies and shades. 

Living room with shades

Pleated panels with velcroed mounting strips

Velcroed boards shaped to fit bay angles