London Shade variation

Here is a silhouette we've created before, but never on such a large scale.

We made two valances, 118" wide, for two palladium windows, to be mounted below the arch, and there is a third valance, 96" wide, for a regular window.

With so much fabric across such a wide expanse, we wanted to be sure, before cutting into the fabric, that the silhouette was going to turn out the way the designer expected.  It is 24" at the long point of the swaggy sections.  I emailed pics of the various options to the designer for her approval.

Pulled up to 18" at the center of the swaggy part, we thought it looked pinched and awkward.  The actual valances are adjustable with a cord lock, so the installer can set it to exactly where the designer chooses.

In case the designer thought the sides were too long, I pinned up one side at an angle to shorten the tails, but in the end she preferred the longer version, as did I.

I made this no-sew mockup with a ring tag gun and little split rings to clip them together.
In case you wondered, on the final product the lining was railroaded, so the length of the valance before pulling it up was just 52".

There is 12" of fabric in each mockup pleat, but in the real thing there is 13.75" in each pleat, because I wanted the pattern to match where the folds meet.  I had to join the widths one motif into the width of the fabric to make the seams fall in the pleat instead of on the face.

For the last step of the mockup, I tag-gunned the trim to the face at 1.25" below the board, for the designer's approval. 

Fab Fabric Friday

Highland Fling by Scalamandre-  As lined and interlined pinch pleated draperies, it's spectacular.

Two weeks after they were installed, these draperies came back to the studio because the client decided after the fact to add 8" bullion fringe.

If I were 25 years old and weighed 110 pounds, I'd make myself a little double-breasted, fitted, cropped jacket out of this velvet.

Its sensuous luxuriousness is impossible to convey in these photos.

In a dark, baronial library, the fabric and trim are exactly right at home.

Are you tired of swags yet?

Another swag order that was perfect for my new Parkhill template system..... it has paid for itself already in time saved!   Bring 'em on!

Until I get more comfortable with the calculations, I'm going to mock up each swag first.  Good thing I did with this one, because I had made a mistake.   Here's the corrected mockup, in front of another mockup for a shade project I'll be showing off shortly. 

I just love how, like magic, the swag "fingers" just lay down in a nice straight line, and a quick "snap" of the fabric produces perfect swag folds.

Another thing I've learned: hang the treatment up before finishing the ends and the top of the board, so if adjustments need to be made, there won't be lots of tedious unstapling.  I realized that the center swag had to be nudged forward because layering it over the other swags created take-up and the center swag looked too short.  An easy fix, with double-sided tape!