Nightingale Valance

Over the years I've learned how to draft patterns for many window treatments, but when the designer wants a specific M'Fay valance, why re-invent the wheel?  Just get the pattern!
That's what I did when Suzie from Cottages 2 Castles asked for a beautifully detailed Nightingale valance. 

Although I own dozens of M'Fay patterns, this is one I didn't already have.  As usual, the instructions were clear and thorough.

Suzie added microcord at the top which really shows off the pretty cutout goblet pleat.

I love the two layers of embellishment at the bottom- a 3/8" bias contrast fabric band, and a bead trim on gimp above the band.



The pleats feature cutouts at the top as well as the bottom.

Before the pleats are sewn, a gathering thread is run and the button attached.







Then the threads are pulled tight and secured behind the button.

Because the welt was a different color, the very top of the pleat needed to be secured with a single tiny stitch of matching green thread, to close the back.

Hollywood Glam...

...that's the look Denise was going for, for this very large L-shaped bedroom with small, square windows.

And she did it!

As each window treatment was hung, I was blown away by the transformation that was taking place before my eyes.

It's very strange, but the top treatment fabric is blue.

The drapery is a blue silky underlayer with a goldish-beige crinkle sheer overlayer.

Everybody loves the curved board for the top treatments. 

Up for air- and into the clouds

Where to start?  The past few weeks have been so busy!
The project that eclipses all else at the moment is an 8000 sq ft house with- at last count- 38 windows getting shades.  We're a little over halfway through the shades and other treatments, and then there will be draperies for the biggest windows.

My favorite treatment so far, in this house, is the little girl's room.

She requested a cloud under the rainbow that is painted over the window and up onto the ceiling painted with blue sky and clouds.  We looked at a photo of a cloud made out of what looked like cotton balls, and I thought, that's nice enough, but I can take it a little further.

My inspiration was sheer, rouched panels we made last year.  I thought I could extend the rouched top into a valance that would span the window.

This little mock-up illustrated my idea for the client......

and then Denise selected a pretty voile with little sequin-like heat-set dots in multicolored pastels.  The resulting cloud looks like the sunrise.

Amazingly, about 12 yds of fabric were used for the valance alone!  It was cut into strips, shirred, and attached to the cloud-cutout fascia made of Firmaflex, letting the cloud shape show through. Shirred single width panels frame out the window.
In the end, the cloud valance extends across the window, the panels hanging beneath it.
White raw silk shades (ribbed, lined with French blackout, with clutch lift systems) provide privacy.

Plaid Bias Banding

What's not to love about plaid banding on the bias, especially on a curved edge?

I do enjoy working with bias banding.  Visually I find it very appealing; but from a fabrication standpoint, it is just plain fun to do.  There are many ways to do binding, but here is how I did this 1" bias plaid banding, on these valances.

First, the band is cut to pattern, so the same part shows everywhere.
The face has been seamed together and cut to shape, and layered wrong sides together with the lining.  Then the band is sewn 1" up from the edge on the right side, easing evenly around the curves, and keeping an eagle eye on the seam guide to make sure it's even. 

The banding is pressed down over the face, easing in the fullness and getting the seam line nice and crisp.  At this stage it looks warped, but that's normal.

The banding is pressed to the back, again being careful to ease in fullness.  It's like magic how the band sort of snaps into place once it's all turned.  The distorted lines make weird swirls which I love.

The raw edge is turned under, pressed, and hand-sewn in place.  Here you can see that the horns were lined with the plaid even though they don't really show; but, just in case.

Voila! 
It's also acceptable to top-stitch the banding into place instead of hand-sewing, and sometimes fusibles or adhesives are best. 

Another Limited Fabric Challenge

Holy cow, I forgot all about my blog!  That's how busy it's been here. 









I had another limited fabric challenge this week.   Last week's was those two cute little valances I made out of one yard of pretty striped silk. 

This week I had 10 repeats of a vintage Schumacher print, and needed to make two pretty valances for an attic guest bedroom in an old house.  There were 3 cuts for the big valance, and 2 cuts for the small one; there was not enough to cut individual sections and piece together, so I seamed the widths and cut the scalloped shaped straight across. 

I figured out how much was left in the width for the horns and had enough to gather them- I guess we could  call this a Sheffield variation. 
By cutting on a wider angle than usual I was able to cut enough bias strips for microcord at the hem.   Lip cord in a blend of greens defined the top.

Everyone agreed that these valances fit the bill perfectly- pretty and not too fussy.  There was even enough left to make a little pillow!

Tapered box pleat valance

This is one of my favorite valance silhouettes: a barely rounded arch that reads more like a taper after pleating.  Combined with the added dimension of the double box pleat in the center and the knife-pleats at the ends, the simple shape acquires depth and movement.

The fabric had a mind of its own, so the night before the valance was stapled to the board, the pleats were pinned into place on the work table.

They were left weighted down until morning, and this self-lined valance pleated up perfectly on the board.
In the foreground you can see my diagram.  I have to draw out every detail to make sure I don't omit a pleat, or something, and to plan seams so it doesn't accidentally land in the front.

Curved Board for Simple Top Treatment

The curved ends on the boards really adds something to these simple interlined embroidered silk kick-pleated valances.
Although what exactly the curve adds, I can't put my finger on.  Perhaps it doesn't so much add, as subtract- it keeps the treatments from looking hulking by reducing bulk? 

The narrow windows take on more substance with the treatments extending out about 6" on each side, but since they're close together, the curved board keeps them from looking like they're bumping into each other.  I love these curved boards!  Now I'm thinking about other applications for the curve......

Fab Fabric Friday, and Keeping it Simple

My friend Josh is a master at knowing how to showcase a brilliant fabric, like this Schumacher embroidered sheer linen, shown here with a dark backdrop.

The normal instinct would be to run the wide striped motif vertically......

but the client wanted a horizontal stripe.  Josh chose flat valances, his restrained taste bringing out the best in this lovely fabric by keeping it simple.

We railroaded the fabric, cutting the bottom along the scallop, and using a portion of the embroidery at the top for balance and finishing.

The back of the scallop is finished with a sheer binding rolled to the back as a skinny facing.

The bias strip was sewn to the face fabric before the scallop shape was cut:

Then trimmed, and the curves clipped:

The strip was pressed down....

Then to the back, rolled, and pinned.....

Finally, machine topstitched.

  I thought it would have needed to be hand-sewn, but actually the topstitching was unobtrusive, added the illusion of a little bulk, and turned the facing into a design element.

Drapery over Top Treatment

I am really liking this recent trend of layering drapery panels over top treatments, a reversal of what we are accustomed to seeing.  This is the third or fourth recent project with this layering arrangement.

The inverted pleat panels are finished with a mitered tacking strip so it will fit easily and with as little bulk as possible.   

To make installation as easy as possible for the installer, we prepare the boards ahead of time.  Here the valance underlayer is stapled and the board covered.  The inverted pleat panels will be stapled on-site.   The industrial strength velcro will hold the bishop-sleeve overlayer.   There is a little screw eye near the back of the board with coiled string that matches the lining of the bishop-sleeve: the string loops through the screw eye and will run down the back of the bishop-sleeve to the tassel tie-back to hold it in place.