Front and back tucked romans

I always swore I would not make this style of shade!  Sewing all those horizontal pockets was too daunting for me.   I'm not even sure what this style is called, because it has both front and back tucks, alternating, with the rings sewn at the back tucks.

2 green shades for the upstairs bedroom

But then I had a request to duplicate 9 shades of this type, and I decided it was high time I learned.   An order for 9 of anything will provide motivation!
I was able to take down and take apart some of the original shades to see how they were made.  We were asked to make the shades in the same manner, so we did, but- I am looking forward to re-creating this style, using my own methods, and perhaps some luxurious Domette interlining!

These original shades had cord locks; the cords were rigged to the front through an oval grommet concealed with a hard topper.

The new ones that we made are reverse mounted with a Rollease clutch.  They are blackout lined with Silky Blackout in color Sand from Angels Distributing.

4 shades for the Master Bedroom

I learned the secret to the originals: the pockets were sewn through the face fabric only, not the face plus the lining.  That was not as difficult as it would've been if the pockets were sewn through the lining as well.
We marked carefully with disappearing pen, folded the lines, and ironed them, alternating direction front to back.

For the folds to the front, we didn't mark the line; we simply ironed and pinned, using the table grid as the guide.

It was tedious, but the sewing went really well, thanks to Camille's infinite patience!
When the sewing was finished, the shade was laid out and lightly pressed, manipulating the pockets straight, again using our indispensable gridded canvas table top as a guide.
We had already prepared the blackout lining; after the pockets were sewn, the lining was laid out on the back of the shade, right over the pockets, and the sides and bottoms were secured with Dofix Bortenfix hemming tape.

With all those ribs to support the folds, the shades needed only 3 rows of lift lines.
We used 3/16" cast acrylic rodding from U. S. Plastics for the back ribs, and 3/16" clear plastic ribs from Rowley for the front ribs.
 The rings were sewn at the ribs, catching the pocket beneath, then the ribs were slid in and the ends sealed with a tiny dot of hot glue.
The shades were reverse-strung with Rollease clutches and SafeTShade Ring Locks, and a separate hard valance added at the end.  We made our toppers on 1/4" thick hardwood, with little returns so the clutches weren't visible from the side.

3 shades for the Guest Bedroom and Bath

Wavy tucked shade

What a great shade!  The intermittent tucks break up the flat surface and create movement.  This shade is going under a cornice of the same woven fabric.

The raspberry banding is just 5/8" wide, on three sides, with mitered corners.  The cornice is welted in this fabric as well.

The outermost tucks do not go all the way to the edge- they stop short before the band.





This is the first time I've made this style since the safety standards have been put into effect.  I used mesh tube shroud cinched to rings.

Since every other ring is at a tuck and the alternate rings are on flat fabric, ladder tape wouldn't work- the spacing was too erratic.  The tube shroud was perfect.

Ocean Wave Shade

This shade is the embodiment of island serenity.
The face fabric is bamboo, a cellulose-based fabric made similarly to rayon with the same lazy, drapey fluidity.  To protect the fabric from the damp salt air, the shade is lined with nylon shower curtain lining.
Four-inch interrupted back tucks stitched horizontally across the width of the shade create the "waves."  The rings and lift lines are positioned at the tucks.  
You can't see from this picture, but the ceiling is angled.   A dustboard holds the lift lines as usual, mounted where the wall meets the angled ceiling, and in order to allow the fabric to come up to the ceiling, a board is secured at right angles to the dustboard, the top edge first being trimmed at an angle to follow the angle of the ceiling.  I think there is a word for this but I can't think of it now, on Friday afternoon!