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:

Herringbone stitch

Sewing by hand is a meditative activity- though "meditative activity" is rather an oxymoron. 
I've become quite comfortable sewing by hand, and have recently learned new techniques.
The herringbone stitch is versatile; here it is concealed, on the inside of a shade, but it is also an attractive decorative finishing stitch.

Domette is a thick, plush, rich cotton interlining that adds a sumptiousness to layered fabrics that regular interlining cannot match.
If widths were sewn right sides together, the pressed-open seam would create a bump that must be avoided because the face fabric is a fine dupioni silk. 

Hence, today's meditation: joining overlapped widths of Domette Interlining by hand with a herringbone stitch.  

The visible herringbone will be the wrong side; on the other side it appears as two rows of running stitches.  The two rows make this join exceptionally stable.
After the fabric is lightly ironed and steamed to set the fibers and the thread, the selvedge melds into the other layer creating a very smooth join with no lump or ridge from a seam allowance.  This overlapped join is precisely aligned with the seam that joins the widths of silk.

Reconstructive Surgery

Katherine Stern and I had to take some liberties with this Designers Guild print in order to fit it onto the 45" wide shades.

It started life as a 54" wide fabric.  To use it as it was printed would have meant cutting off the design in an awkward spot on each side, so we decided to slice out the center border, and reduce some of the blank space on the sides.

Once we had that center border it seemed obvious to use it as a bottom band.  I split it to make a mirror image.

Katherine chose the topmost motif and I worked from the top down.  We mocked it up on the table first.

I stitched the bottom band to the face and pressed it down.....

Then folded under the bit of white at the bottom, topstitched it down......

Then folded it up on the yellow line so the excess white was on the back.

Katherine requested a softer, slightly puffier look than usual, so we chose Domette interlining for fat, soft folds.

The weight bar was tucked in under the side hems and secured.

There was little fabric for side hems, so the color bar shows partly, and I happen to think that is extra cool.

The shades look fantastic raised to any height.