Jewels

Have you ever had a dress where your necklace and earrings really made the outfit?  How about a suit where your cufflinks and tie completed the look?  Adding jewels to your window treatments can do the same thing.   

 

I discovered Diamond Head upholstery tacks in March when I attended an educational event in Texas.  Diamond Head has completely reinvented the standard nailhead commonly used to embellish furniture.  Here is a close-up of their silver diamond in a black setting.  Their diamond elite collection includes white, black, silver, iridescent, and kaleidoscope diamonds. 

This ottoman (courtesy of Haute House) utilizes the white diamond in a silver setting.  Can you picture these jewels on a cornice or upholstered headboard?  How about down the leading edge of a drapery panel?

 

A different kind of jewel is one that is made through the manipulation of fabric.  Check out this close-up of smocking.  I planned the smocking so that it worked with the stripe of the fabric.

Here is a picture of the entire valance.  The smocking is the crown jewel of this window treatment, don't you agree? 

(Bev Dyminski Interior Design)

If you are intrigued by these two examples and would like to learn more, I am giving a seminar with my colleague, Roxanne Ross, on May 22nd at 10am.  It is a CQRID approved program worth .1 CEU.  We will be covering hard jewels like grommets, nailheads, and resin ornaments along with soft jewels like bias banding, smocking, and bound buttonholes.  Design issues and business issues like material costs, labor costs, and sourcing will be discussed.  Dozens of hand samples will be passed around so you can touch and feel the products and see the many design possibilities.  This seminar will provide you with an arsenal of embellishment ideas for any window treatment in your future.  Here are the details:

Adding Jewels to your Window Treatments

May 22, 10 am - 11:30 am 

Sponsored by the Upstate NY chapter of AIDP

Free to AIDP members and $10 for non-members    

Seminar location at ArtWalk Tile, 28 Atlantic Avenue, Rochester NY  14607.

  

Who doesn't love a princess and her jewels?  If you want to learn more about window treatments fit for a palace, don't miss "Adding Jewels to Your Window Treatments".  I'd love to see you on May 22nd and share some embellishment ideas.

Too Many Curves?

It's been unusually warm this month.  The flowers and trees are already blooming with signs of Spring.  I've even been digging in the back of my closet to find capris and shorts.  This always gets me worrying about those extra Winter pounds and unwanted curves.  We usually think of those extra curves as a bad thing but with window treatments, curves can add interest and movement to a traditional style.  In this example, a curved shape was added to the top of mirror image Moreland valances by constructing an arched frame out of plywood and wiggle board.  The windows themselves are standard rectangles.  The arched shape of the design repeats the shape of the arched transom over the fireplace.

Here the curved shape projects INTO the room instead of above the window.  This is accomplished by using a curved mount board instead of dimensional lumber.  The first picture shows both a traditional mount board and the curved mount board.  The second picture shows the box pleat valance with contrast inserts as it floats around the curved mount board.  It really adds pizzazz to this powder room.

              

The curves don't have to be arches.  In this example traditional swags and jabots are taken up a notch when they are mounted on a pagoda shaped frame.

Curves are not limited to valances and top treatments.  Consider using curved hardware to make a beautiful eyebrow arch the focal point.  This Amore drapery hardware utilizes "sticky rings" that can be placed anywhere along the curved rod and will not move or slide down.  This innovation works for drapery panels on half circles and trapezoid shaped windows, too.  Another great use of sticky rings is to hold the leading edge of a tied-back panel in place to prevent the panel from sliding back.

If you want to add curves to your window treatment designs à la Kim Kardashian, contact me at peggy@parkwaywindowworks.com and I'm sure we can engineer a shapely solution!

Breaking the Rules

When first starting out in the drapery biz, I purchased Kitty Stein's Workroom Specifications.  It is a 50 plus page book of standards covering everything from hem sizes to recommended fullness to board allowances.  It is an excellent resource and I still use it today. 

I start each project by unrolling the fabric and looking at the pattern and weave.  My number one priority is to showcase the customer's fabric to its best.  Here is a lovely Thibaut print that is to be made into a tailored valance with an arched hem shape and corner pleats..   

It has a large pattern repeat with the main motif running side by side up the bolt. If the window treatment design has fullness from gathers, pleats, or shirring tape, the mix of colors in the print is highlighted and pattern placement is secondary.  But with a flat valance, the specific motif that is displayed matters a lot.

Kitty's standards tell me to plan my cuts so I can hide the seam in a design element such as behind a horn or inside an inverted pleat.  If seams are required, I should use a full width of material in the center of the treatment with seams on each side.  For this project, the motif that best fit the valance shape and size was NOT the center motif so I broke the rules...

I chose to center the largest motif and have only one seam on the left side of the front of the valance.  Can you find the seam?

Webster's dictionary defines standards as "a required or agreed level of quality".  I follow the standards to produce high quality window treatments.  After all, the customer is entrusting me with fabric they have fallen in love with.  When I break the rules, it is because (as Flip Wilson might say) "the fabric made me do it!"

Contact me at peggy@parkwaywindowworks.com.  I'd love to channel Geraldine on your next project....

Back to School

My two oldest kids are home from college this week for spring break.  I'm a big believer in continuing education and attend at least one industry event each year for my business.  Last September, I attended INSPIRE 2011, a conference and trade show sponsored by the Window Coverings Association of America.  In today's "lesson", I will be sharing a few of the conference highlights with you.   

On the trade show floor, Finestra Decorative Hardware featured button borders and decorative buttons that coordinate with the styles and finishes of their drapery hardware.  These embellishments were used on both upholstered pieces like cornices and headboards and on soft treatments like valances, panel pleats and pillows.

In the classroom, Fred Berns lectured on smart marketing and making a big splash with little cash.   He recommends developing a "killer commercial" that presents you as a unique, one-of-a-kind design professional and includes your ONLY statement--why you are different (and worth it).  Check out the updated bio page on my website where I put Fred's lessons to use.

 

In the Fab Lab (fabrication laboratory), I learned a new technique for pattern matching.  It is fast and, even better, it gives a great match.  It is really important to have a perfect pattern match when fabric will be viewed flat, like on a bedspread or roman shade or cornice.  Here is an example of a seam in a roman shade where I used the new technique. 

This year I am attending Creative Camp, a hands-on event sponsored by the Custom Sewing Institute.  Creative Camp 2012 is just a week away.  I love having my kids home but I know after our week together, we will all be looking forward to going back to school!

Wardrobe Malfunction

Just as high fashion clothes need proper undergarments for support and coverage, so too, do high quality window treatments.  Drapery linings are the undergarments of window treatments and perform many functions including protection of the face fabric from sun damage, insulation from summer heat and winter cold, noise reduction, privacy and light control, additional body/improved hand of the fabric, and uniform appearance from the outside.

The most basic lining is a good quality sateen.  A satin weave is more pliable than a plain weave.  My go-to lining is a 100% cotton sateen in pale ivory.  This is the equivalent of wearing a slip under your dress (fellas--use your imagination!).  The lining protects the face fabric and gives body to the treatment.  If the face fabric is white or has a white background, it is important

with white sateen                            with ivory sateen

to choose a white colored lining so that there is no yellowing of the face fabric.  Sateens are also available in tan or putty.  Colored linings differentiate custom window treatments from ready-mades and also have nice curb appeal on dark colored or brick homes.

Interlining is a lining that is sandwiched between the face fabric and the drapery lining. Interlining is primarily used to add body and give a rich elegant look, particularly when used with silk.  The interlining layer can be heavy flannel, English bump, or a 3-layer woven blackout.  If you have budget or space constraints and can't use multiple width panels, consider adding a layer of interlining to help plump up single width panels.  Another option for the budget conscious client is to use a napped sateen lining with silk. Napped sateen is a sateen lining that has undergone additional processing to brush and raise the fibers on one side.  Silk with napped sateen looks much better than silk with only a basic sateen but it is NOT a replacement for interlined silk draperies!

Traditional blackout linings contain several layers of acrylic foam.  The layers block light and provide excellent thermal insulation.  In recent years, there have been several advances in blackout linings making them more fluid and better draping, but they still have a drawback when used in roman shades.  Pin holes are formed when rings are sewn on the shades.  One option to overcome this is to use the technique known as French blackout where there are four layers in the window treatment: face fabric - interlining - black sateen - ivory (or white) sateen.

As a custom workroom to the trade, I stock many different linings and special order as needed. I discuss lining choices with my designer clients and quote the best fit for each project/end customer.  But I have been known to switch linings (after talking to the designer) during the fabrication process because after seeing and touching the face fabric, I just can't let a window treatment experience a wardrobe malfunction!

Custom Spacing for Ripplefold Panels

Ripplefold is a style of drapery featuring tailored fabric columns in soft ripple-like folds that flow from one end of the hardware track to the other. Ripplefold panels are not new, but traditionally have been used in commercial settings for their minimal track exposure, reduced fullness (less fabric required), and smaller stackback. Ripplefold panels are making a resurgence in residential settings. The clean lines and smaller stackback are perfect for those large window expanses where the customer says "I don't want to block any of my view".

Ripplefold panels are made by sewing snap tape to the top of a flat panel.  The panel is then snapped into the carriers on the hardware track. One drawback of ripplefold panels is that the fixed spacing of the snaps on standard snap tape makes a "one size fits all" panel.

Our workroom has equipment to make ripplefold panels with custom snap spacing. This allows control of the placement of seams in multi-width panels so that the seam is always hidden on the side of a fold. It also allows for increased distance between each snap so that extra long panels have enough fabric in each fabric column to hold their shape the full length of the panel.

Designer:  Bev Dyminski Interior Design

Custom snap spacing also allows consideration of the horizontal pattern repeat. It's a subtle detail...but notice that the wave in the design of the fabric is in the same place on each fold. The capability of custom snap spacing opens up design possibilities with striped fabric, akin to asking your workroom to "pleat to the stripe" when making traditional pleated panels. For ripplefold panels, the snaps can be spaced such that a dominant color is on the front of the fold and a secondary color is on the back of the fold giving different looks when in the panels are in the opened and closed positions.

Reduce - Reuse - Recycle

We don't always associate that phrase with custom window treatments.  But with a little ingenuity and teamwork, look what can be done...

  

Interior designer Janis Reed included a valance with stationary panels in her vignette at the 2011 Rochester Home & Garden Show.  Janis packed a lot of punch in her 12' x 12' space!

  

When Janis moved the furniture to a model home after the show, she wanted to reuse the stationary panels in the family room and the valance in the powder room.

 
The biggest issue to address in re-purposing the window treatments was that the vignette had an 8 foot wall and the model home had 9 foot ceilings.  Both the panels and the valance were too short and out of proportion in the larger space.  

 
To address this issue with the valance, a padded cornice was added to the top of the valance.  I had just enough fabric left over to allow a perfect pattern match.  The new window treatment looks even better with the added design element!   

When drapery panels are too long, it’s an easy solution --just re-hem. With a little creativity there are also solutions when panels are too short.

Janis' panels needed an extra 16” of length.  Because the window treatments were not the focal point in the new setting, she wanted to use the same fabric to lengthen the panels. We added three horizontal tucks to the bottom section of the panel and hid the seam inside one of the tucks. The tucks added interest and detail to the panels but kept them in their role of supporting player in the overall design scheme.