Catching up-

Oh I had the best intentions of posting every single day until Christmas, but really, the last two days got the best of me.  We made 19 shades and 7 valances, between Friday-Monday.  So I guess that's why I didn't have time to do a blog post!  Here is a sampling.
One of 15 relaxed romans, this one with dog-ears, 1" returns, and 1/2" top welt:

Antique satin makes a nice, drapey shade, and sleek top welting:

 Ten of the relaxed romans were machine-sewn, pillowcased with a 1" side hem.

We made all 10 at once, which speeded up the process.  Here are the other 9, waiting to be board-mounted and strung.  And guess what that cream-colored fabric is- yes, more antique satin......

This dog-ear valance was made a couple of weeks ago, same style, different proportions: about 45" wide, with 3 1/2" returns, rings set in 6" like the blue one above.

How about this embroidered beauty?

This is my way of making non-functioning flat roman shades to be used as valances.  Thank you Scot Robbins!   If you leave a bit of lift cord, the treatment is slightly adjustable with the orbs.

 This shade is part of a bigger story, to come later, but, this shot is useful for illustrating the kick-back of flat romans when they are hanging freely without a window to hold them forward.

Kitchen collection

My workroom career began part-time making pillows and then cushions.  I no longer often make cushions or chair pads, but made an exception for this varied set of 9, for Monica Plotka Interiors.  Shades, of course, we make week after week!

To help keep them from bowing in on the sides, we wrapped the sides back around the board about 1/2" each side.
There were 3 shades at about 31" wide:

And one was about 45" wide:

Most of the chair pads were knife-edge:

But this round one was made with 1" boxing:

In the powder room, two roman shades layered provide multiple privacy options.  Underneath, a lightweight faux silk, with an embroidered linen over.

I like the Dofix flat hem bars to help keep the bottom straight.  The first row of rings starts just 2" up because Monica prefers no "reveal" at the bottom.  I used two layers of Dofix fusible transparent buckram to keep the bottom smooth and straight without waving or wobbling.

A time to break a rule

Pleated gauze has been available for a number of years now, but this was the first time I'd seen it with the pleats running the length of the bolt instead of across the width.

For relaxed romans 53" long, we were just able to railroad the fabric, joining on a half-width at the bottom so the seam would be hidden behind the first permanent fold.

This project is a good example of when it's appropriate to use an alternate fabrication method to best suit the fabric and the product.  The designer- Berniker Decorators in Katonah- requested that we wrap the return halfway around the board, to help fill in the hourglass shaped gap that often is unavoidable with relaxed shades.

Our normal double 2" side hem which we have used if these were flat Roman shades would be too bulky for this situation, so we decided to pillowcase the fabric and lining.  I can't even remember the last time I pillowcased a shade.

The wrap-around worked perfectly: the fabric flares out a bit and prevents gapping.

It was fun to see all five shades hanging in the workroom.

But it was even more fun when Scott sent me this picture, all five shades installed!

Special touches.....

Layers of pattern distinguish this nursery: wallpaper, embroidered linen sheer, and embroidered silk.

London shades serve as toppers for operable linen sheer relaxed romans.
(Please note: after these photos were taken, hold-downs for the bead loop chains were installed!!!)
The subdued lighting created by the fabrics makes this room feel like the perfect place to escape the summer heat, with a book, some iced tea, and a few extra minutes for napping.

The next two photos are over-exposed, so the details are easier to see.

The double London shade on this short, wide window needed special attention to proportion.  

Because the windowss are next to the crib, extra steps were taken to ensure that the shades are ultra-safe.  Originally posted last June, you can read here about how we encased the cord in a sheer shroud that was fully sewn shut so there would be no possible way to reach the cords.

On the right, the angled ceiling cut into the board line, so we made an angled dustboard, naturally!

Another special touch was a little leaf applique from the linen sheer on the inside of the silk shade.  Chances are nobody will notice it, but I know it's there!

Since the sheer linen was unlined, the bottom rings were reinforced with a little scrap, to strengthen the fabric under the stitch.

Relaxed Roman

For these very high windows, stationary relaxed romans needed to be made as long as an actual shade in order to get enough fullness.

The fabric was a railroaded stripe so it had to be pieced horizontally, something we usually try to avoid. First the ring locations were planned so we could place the seam where it could be hidden in the permanent bottom folds.  The woven pattern washed out when sun came through, so we interlined these, using regular interlining inside and dim-out lining on the outside.  The dim-out also helped hide the seam. 

The trim was sewn in the seam at the bottom, rather than applied on top.  A facing was sewn and formed the double hem which was hand-sewn along with the side hems. 

Technically an outside mount, the windows are closely wedged between built-ins and the walls, so they're kind of like an inside mount.   The shades were made with 2" returns which create the slight dog-ear droop at the sides, with an allowance made so the boards would fit in the space.

Crinkle sheer

So, the shades.  I guess this is a hybrid shade: not quite a relaxed roman, because there are tiny tucks, but the tucks are too small to call this a balloon.  Whatever it is, it's beautiful in this 118" crinkle netting from Pierre Frey.  The rings start 6" up, which creates a skirt finished with a small hem hand-sewn with a coppery metallic thread.  There were five single windows and this one double. 

In order to get the silhouette we wanted, I started with several mockups and experimented with them.

Once we had decided on a center pleat and a skirt, I made a finished sample shade out of real fabric because- well, because I like to do that.  It's a good way to accumulate workroom samples, and the only way to really test the idea short of using the customer's actual fabric.  This mockup showed that we wanted the skirt to be an inch shorter- good to know!

What made this fabric so spectacular was the two-color weave: blue in one direction, gold in the other, that crumpled up into metallic bluish brassy crinkled netting that varied as the light changed.

The crinkle made the netting nearly impossible to press into a straight line.  I made a semi-rigid pressing guide by ironing together two layers of fusible buckram.

That did the trick, sort of..... it was a long process, ironing the side and bottom hems.  It was critical to keep it from stretching as I worked the iron up the side.

I used a camel-colored ladder tape, clear rings, and tan lift cord; the board and weight bar were covered in fabric that matched the painted woodwork.  The ladder tape follows the mullions so it's barely noticeable except from the side.

Lastly, I used gold colored traverse cord as microcord inside a single layer of the netting for the tops of the boards.  You can't really see that it's there, but you would see if it wasn't there.  If you know what I mean.

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.  

Fab Fabric Friday- fab fabric combo!

Monica Plotka loves natural fibers and interesting fabrics as much as I do, so I was excited about making for her these relaxed roman shades with an unusual combination of materials.

On the face, a white slubby windowpane sheer provides pattern, which is tinted by the lining, a gauzy khaki linen sheer.  A slate twill tape binds the edges on three side.  After layering the two fabrics, I basted the twill tape all around before folding in half to sew it down by machine.

Designers' Resource in Lodi carries a khaki ladder cord shroud which blended perfectly with the lining.  Clear rings, ivory cord, and natural weight bar tubing also help keep the lift system unobtrusive.  

I love the effect of the colored lining behind the white sheer.  In an actual window, sunshine will create layers of color as the folds stack up.

The shade will be mounted inside the window frame, but I still thought I'd better cover the ends of the boards in the twill tape in case a little bit is visible.

I can imagine tinting sheer face fabrics with all kinds of color and texture, and even pattern......