How To Sew A Lined Flat Roman Shade

Transcription

1 How To Sew A Lined Flat Roman Shade An illustrated step-by-step guide to sewing lined flat roman shades. by: Jennifer Thoden Copyright 2009 Thoden Publications LLC

2 2 Copyright and Disclaimer Copyright Notice Copyright 2008 Thoden Publications LLC No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission or futher information should be addressed to: Customer Support, Flint Lee Road, Unit C, Chantilly, VA or homesewingpatterns.com Legal Notice While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, the author does not assume any responsibility for errors, ommissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. The purchaser or reader of this publication assumes responsibility for the use of these materials and information. The author assumes no responsibility or liability whatsoever of the behalf of any purchaser or reader of these materials. Any perceived slights of specific people or organizations are unintentional.

3 Table of Contents Contents Introduction... 4 Supply List... 5 Finished Measurements... 9 Cut Your Fabric & Lining...13 Etra Wide Roman Shades...15 Sew the Side Seams...18 Sew the Bottom Hem...21 Sew On the Shade Rings...25 Install Your Roman Shade & Hardware...34 Related Resources...35

4 1 Introduction Congratulations on your decision to sew flat roman shades! Flat roman shades are simple, beautiful ways to add privacy and insulation to your room while adding style and design to your window. They hang flat and smooth when lowered and neatly pleat when raised. The best part? Flat roman shades are super easy to make! This book will walk you through sewing lined flat roman shades. You re going to learn how to measure, sew and install your roman shades. You ll even learn how to make a rod pocket roman shade that s functional! There s lots of information here... with lots of detailed illustrations to help you along the way. So... lets get started!

5 2 Supply List You re going to need gather some supplies before you can get started. Listed on the following pages are all the items you will need to sew and install a flat roman shade. Each item is listed with an illustration or photo and a description. You ll notice that this is a general list and does not tell you eactly how much of an item you will need. This is based on your specific project. You ll need to read through the Finished Measurements and Cut Your Fabric chapters to get the info required to calculate the amount of fabric, # of shade rings and yards of lift cord. So, for now, this supply list will give you an idea of what you need... then as you move through this book you will be able to determine how much of each item you need to have on hand.

6 6 Chapter 2! To determine how many yards of material you ll need, first read through to Cut Your Fabric chapter. Then take these measurements and enter them into the Yardage Calculator located at: Roman Shade Calculators Face Fabric This is your decorator fabric that is considered your main fabric. You can choose from silk, cotton, linen and even some upholstery fabric. Yes, even sheer fabrics are appropriate. Your fabric choices will affect how your roman shade pleats. Softer fabrics will give softer, less structured folds. Heavier fabrics will give thick folds. Cotton fabrics that crease easily will give you crisp folds. Lining For most roman shades, you will want to line your face fabric. Lining your shade will protect your face fabric from the sun and add body to your roman shade. Lining will also help preserve the look of your fabric as the sun shines through it. Blackout lining is a popular choice for roman shades... because in many cases the roman shade s function is to add privacy and block out light. Keep in mind that blackout lining is thicker than other linings and generally does not pleat well. Your pleats will be soft folds rather than crisp pleats.! You can get your dust board at any hardware store. Dust Board You will attach your roman shade to a dust board. The dust board is what holds the hardware to operate your roman shade. A dust board is a piece of wood that is 1 thick by at least 2 deep cut to the finished width of your shade. Even if you are going to make a rod pocket roman shade, you ll need a dust board to install the hardware. Finished Width 2 1

7 Supply List 7 Shade Rings Shade rings are what your lift cord will be threaded through to create pleats when the roman shade is raised. The size of the pleats is based on where you sew on your shade rings. Shade rings are available in white, offwhite and brass. Choose whichever fits your style and color scheme.! To determine how many shade rings you need, read through the Sew Your Shade Rings chapter. Lift Cord You ll need lift cord to lift your roman shade when pulled. The lift cord will thread up through the shade rings and thread through your hardware. When you pull the lift cord your shade will raise and pleat into roman shade folds. Screw Eyes Once you have all of your lift cords inyou will attach your roman shade to a dust board. The dust board is what holds the hardware to operate your roman shade. A dust board is a piece of wood that is 1 thick by at least 2 deep cut to the finished width of your shade. Even if you are going to make a rod pocket roman shade, you ll need a dust board to install the hardware. Cord Lock To raise and lower your roman shade like a blind, you ll need a cord lock. When you pull your lift cords in one direction the shade will lock in place. Pull in the opposite direction and the shade will be released to raise and lower.! You can find all of these roman shade supplies at:! A very nice alternative to the cord lock is a bead chain clutch system. These are great for any type of shade, but especially nice for larger or heavier roman shades. You can learn more about these systems at: DraperySewingSupplies.com DraperySewingSupplies.com

8 8 Chapter 2! Don t forget to gather other important tools, like a staple gun, sharp fabric scissors, a straight edge, measuring tape, a fabric marking pen and straight pins. Sewing Machine and Thread You will need a sewing machine that can sew a straight stitch. A machine with a blind hem stitch is even better. You ll want thread to match your face fabric. Weight Rod A weight rod inserted into the casing at the bottom of your roman shade will ensure that your roman shade hangs properly. It will give your roman shade a nice shape when down... and prevent the shade from collapsing inward when raised. You may be able to get away with a wooden dowel, but for best results you ll want something with some more weight. You can find steel rods at

9 13 Finished Measurements Measurements Before you can cut your fabric or determine how much fabric you are going to need for your project, you will need to define the finished measurements of your roman shade. This step is absolutely critical to your success! If you skip this chapter and guess at the size of your roman shade, you will end up with a shade that is too large or too small. So, follow the steps on the following pages to define the finished width and finished length of your roman shade.

10 10 Chapter 3 There are 3 different ways to install your roman shade. Inside your window frame, outside your window frame and on a decorative pole. Inside the Window Frame If you plan on hanging your roman shade on the inside of your window frame, then you will attach your roman shade to a dust board... and then install the dust board to the top inside of your window frame. The finished width of your roman shade is the width of the inside of your window frame MINUS 1/2. The finished length of your roman shade is the length of the inside of your window frame. Figure 3.1 Make sure you measure the inside width of the window frame in several places... and choose the narrowest width. Otherwise, you may end up with the roman shade brushing up against the sides of the window. Finished Width Finished Length

11 Finished Measurements 11 Outside the Window Frame If you plan on hanging your roman shade on the outside of your window frame, then you will attach your roman shade to a dust board... and then install the dust board to the wall above of your window frame. There is no strict rule as to how far above the window you should install your roman shade. The higher you install the dust board, the taller your window will appear. The finished width of your roman shade is however wide you wish your roman shade to be. If you re not sure, 2 past each side of your window is a common installation. The finished length of your roman shade is the length from the top edge of your dust board to the window sill. Finished Width Finished Length Figure 3.2 For more accurate measurements, temporarily install your dust board to your wall first. Then measure the finished length. Installing your dust board now, will make your final installation a lot easier and faster.

12 12 Chapter 3 On a Decorative Pole If you plan on hanging your roman shade on the outside of your window frame on a decorative drapery pole, then you will slide your roman shade onto the pole. You will still install a dust board to the inside of your window frame. Your hardware that will raise and lower your roman shade will be installed on this board. The finished width of your roman shade is however wide you wish your roman shade to be. If you re not sure, 2 past each side of your window is a common installation. The finished length of your roman shade is the length from the top edge of your drapery pole to the window sill. Figure 3.3 For more accurate measurements, install your drapery pole first. Then measure the finished length. The illustration shows the dust board installed on the inside of the window. If you plan on installing your drapery pole more than a foot above your window, then it may be better to install the dust board on the wall about 4 below the drapery pole. Finished Width Finished Length

13 4 Cut Your Fabric & Lining This is the chapter where you will calculate the cut dimensions for your fabric and lining based on your roman shade s finished measurements. Once you have the cut measurements, you will be able to calculate the # of yards of material you will need. On the web site are calculators that will do all the work for you. You should read through this chapter, and if you don t want to do any math, just use our calculators! This is a perfect stopping point. Now you can pack up your notes and head to the fabric store and collect all of your supplies.

14 14 Chapter 4! Refer to the Finished Measurements chapter for the Finished Width and Finished Length measurements. Rod Pocket Roman Shades If you are making a rod pocket roman shade to hang on a decorative drapery pole, then measure around the pole. This will be referred to as the POLE measurement in the following instructions. Lined Roman Shades Face Fabric Cut Width = Finished Width + 3 Cut Length = Finished Length If you are making a rod pocket roman shade, then add the POLE to the Cut Length! For tips and videos on how to cut your fabric, visit: Roman Shades Videos Lining Cut Width = Finished Width MINUS 1 Cut Length = Finished Length If you are making a rod pocket roman shade, then add the POLE to the Cut Length! If you are going to piece together fabric that has a pattern, your yardage calculation will be affected. Make sure you read through the following chapter on Etra Wide Roman Shades before you calculate your yardage. Now that you have the cut dimensions of your material, use our yardage calculator to calculate the number of yards of material you will need. You can find this calculator at Roman Shades Calculators If your cut width measurement is less than the width of your fabric, then go ahead and cut your fabric to the cut dimensions. If your cut width measurement is wider than the width of your fabric, then you will need to piece your fabric widths to get to the cut width dimension. Read through the following chapter on Etra Wide Roman Shades, and then visit Roman Shades Videos for tips and videos on piecing your fabric.

15 5 Etra Wide Roman Shades What if you have a roman shade that is wider than your fabric? First, let me put your mind at ease and tell you that roman shades can be made as wide as you want. I ve had customers make their shades as wide as so don t think that 60 or even a 100 is too wide for a roman shade. This chapter will help you make some smart decisions about etra wide roman shades. Plus give you advice on how and where to piece your fabric so that your fabric is wide enough to make your shade.

16 16 Chapter 5! For tips and videos on how to piece your fabric with a print, visit Figure 5.1 Planning on where your want your seams is a design decision and a functional decision. I have seen roman shades with the seam right in the middle of the shade. This is a design choice. It is also good to plan where you want your seams to be, because this is where you will place your lift cords to avoid too many vertical shadows. If your fabric s cut width measurement is wider than your fabric width, then you are going to need to piece your fabric. Piecing your fabric means to sew 2 or more fabric widths together. In most cases, you ll only need to piece 2 fabric widths together to make your fabric wide enough for the cut width measurement. Once you have sewn your fabric widths together, you will trim your sewn panel down to the cut width and length measurements you had calculated in the previous chapter. You can simply sew the 2 fabric widths together and then cut the panel, but for a nicer appearance, you will want to piece your fabric widths so that you have a main fabric width centered on the face of your roman shade, and then the remaining fabric width split evenly on both sides of the roman shade. Cut Width Full Fabric Fabric Width

17 Etra Wide Roman Shades 17 But what if your fabric has a pattern? If you simply sew your fabric widths together, your pattern may not match up... and the look of your roman shade may be distorted. So, you re going to want to match your fabric s pattern when piecing the widths together. Having to do this affects your yardage calculation. You will need 2 more measurements to get the correct amount of fabric for your roman shade. Horizontal Pattern Repeat = Measure from the start of one pattern to the start of where the pattern repeats Vertical Pattern Repeat = Measure from the top of one pattern to the top of where the pattern repeats! For tips and videos on how to piece your fabric visit Roman-Shades.com Consider the hardware When installing a larger and heavier roman shade, you need to consider the hardware you plan on using to raise and lower your shade. Using the standard installation with screw eyes and a cord lock may not be appropriate. As the shade gets heavier, and you add on more lift cords, you will feel the drag of the lift cords through the screw eyes. This can become cumbersome when you need to raise and lower your roman shade frequently. You may want to consider cord idlers or pulleys instead of screw eyes. And my favorite, which is perfect for larger roman shades is the continuous loop bead chain clutch system. Refer to for more detail on different roman shade hardware methods.

18 6 Sew the Side Seams You re going to learn how to sew the sides of your roman shade. For a lined roman shade, you re going to learn a pillow case method. This method will allow you to sew your face fabric and lining together without vertical seams on the front of your roman shade. There are other methods published on sewing lining and fabric together for roman shades, but this is the one method that will minimize the stitching on the front.

19 Sew the Side Seams 19 Lined Roman Shade I m going to show you my preferred method for sewing face fabric and lining together. This method will avoid having stitching on the face fabric. 1. Lay your face fabric right side facing up. 2. Lay your lining on top of the face fabric... right sides together... aligning bottom edges and one side edge. 3. Sew a 1/2 seam up the side edge. 1/2 Figure 6.1 Lining

20 20 Chapter 6! Press the seams toward the face fabric. When you turn the shade right sides out, the raw edges of the seam will point toward the side edges... keeping the lining area free of unwanted shadows. If you don t press your seams, the raw edges will lay wherever they want... and the appearance will be not be desirable. 4. Slide the lining over so that the other side edgesaligned are aligned Sew a 1/2 seam up this side edge. Turn the shade right sides out. 7. Center the lining so that there is an even amount of fabric on each side of the lining... and press well. Finished Width Figure 6.2 To keep the lining in place, pin in several places. Lining 1 1

21 7 Sew the Bottom Hem...and top rod pocket if applicable This chapter will show you how to finish off the bottom edge of your roman shade. Plus you will end up with a casing to hold a weight rod. If you are making a rod pocket roman shade, this chapter will show you how to finish off the top of your roman shade, so that you have a rod pocket to slide onto your drapery pole.

22 22 Chapter 7 For All Roman Shades No matter what style roman shade you are making, the bottom hem is sewn the same way. 1. up. Lay your roman shade wrong side or lining side facing 2. Fold up the bottom edge 3 and press. 3. Sew a straight stitch across your shade 1 1/2 from the bottom edge of your shade. Figure 7.1 Lining 1 1/2

23 Sew the Bottom Hem Fold the bottom edge up another 3 and press. 5. Sew a straight stitch close to the top folded edge of the bottom hem... or you can sew the bottom hem in place with a blind hem stitch. Figure 7.2 Lining Rod Pocket Roman Shades If you are sewing a rod pocket roman shade, then follow the net set of instructions to sew the top rod pocket. 1. Measure from the bottom edge the finished length of your roman shade PLUS 1/4 and fold down the top edge. 3 Figure 7.3 Finished Length + 1/4

24 24 Chapter 7 2. Measure from the top edge of your shade 1/2 the Pole measurement + 1/4 and mark in several places. Figure 7.4 Refer to the Cut Measurements chapter for the POLE measurement. 1/2 POLE + 1/4 3. Measure 1/2 below these marks and cut off any etra material. 4. Fold under the bottom raw edge 1/2. 5. Sew a straight stitch just above the bottom folded edge... creating a rod pocket. Figure 7.5 1/2 POLE + 1/4

25 8 Sew On the Shade Rings Now it s time for the fun to begin! OK... to be honest, this section requires some patience. It s not difficult... in fact sewing on your shade rings is very simple. But it can be a bit time consuming. So, if you re tired, put your shade aside until you have a good hour to spend sewing on the rings. Ready? Lets go!

26 26 Chapter 8! Save yourself a lot of time by using the Pleat Calculator at Roman Shade Calculators to calculate the number of pleats for your roman shade PLUS the ring spacing and lift cord spacing. How Many Pleats? First, you ll need to determine how many pleats your roman shade will have. This is based on how deep or small your want your pleats (personal preference) and the finished length. Rule of thumb: space your rings every 6 for pleats that are 3 deep. This is a standard measurement. If your roman shade is large, you may want bigger pleats. Space your rings 10 apart for pleats that are 5 deep. Maybe you have a contemporary room and want small mini pleats. Space your rings 4 apart for pleats that are 2 deep. Once you get an idea of how you want your pleats to look, then you ll need to work with the finished length of your shade to get a final ring spacing. Follow these net steps to get your ring spacing. Divide the finished length by the desired number of pleats. You may not know yet how many pleats you want, but you need to start somewhere. The bottom fold of your shade is a half pleat. So, you ll need to divide the finished length by # of pleats less 1/2. Eample #1: Finished length = 62 I want about 10 pleats 62 / 9.5 = 6.52 ~ 6 1/2 My rings will be spaced every 6 1/2. The bottom half pleat will be half of 6.5 = 3 1/4 And the pleats will be 3 1/4 deep.

27 Sew On the Shade Rings 27 Eample #2: Finished length = 65 I want about 8 pleats? Not sure /7.5 = 8.66 ~ 8 5/8 My rings will be spaced every 8 5/8. The bottom half pleat will be half of 8 5/8 = 4 5/16 And the pleats are 4 5/16 deep I ve decided that those pleats are too small for the look I m going for. So, I need to reduce the number of pleats. Let s try 7 pleats. 65 /6.5 = 10 My rings will be spaced every 10. The bottom half pleat will be half of 10 = 5 And the pleats are 5 deep.! The purpose of eample #2 is to show you that you may need to play with the numbers a bit to get the look you want. The more pleats your shade has, the smaller the pleats will be. You ll need to make your own design decisions on the size of pleats and number of pleats. That s not bad... but I was really going for pleats that are 6 deep. So, I m going to try another number. Ok, so lets try 5 pleats. 65 /4.5 = ~ 14 1/2 My rings will be spaced every 14 1/2. The bottom half pleat will be half of 14 1/2 = 7 1/4 And the pleats are 7 1/4 deep. Ok... that s too big. I think I like the 10 spacing with the pleats 5 deep. So, after some trial and error, I choose 7 pleats! (or 0rather 6 and 1/2 pleats)

28 28 Chapter 8 Once you ve made a decision on the number of pleats, make a note of the ring spacing. Figure 8.1 This illustration shows the how far apart the rings will be spaced going up your shade. Your numbers will be different based on the finished length of your roman shade and the number of pleats you choose. The half pleat at the bottom will allow the bottom edge to fold up evenly with the pleats. Half Pleat ! Save yourself a lot of time by using the Pleat Calculator at Roman Shade Calculators to calculate the number of pleats for your roman shade PLUS the ring spacing and lift cord spacing. How Many Lift Cords? Now that you know how far apart you are spacing your rings up your shade... you ll need to figure out how far apart the rings will be spaced ACROSS your shade. For a flat roman shade, you should space your lift cords between 10 and 12 apart. Anymore than that will cause the fabric to swag between lift cords. To determine how many lift cords you will need for your shade, divide the finished width less 2 by 10. Then round up to the net number.

29 Sew On the Shade Rings 29 Eample #3 Finished width = LESS 2 = /10 = 4.2 ~ 5 lift cords This shade should have 5 lift cords. 1 on each side and 3 across the center. Eample #4 Finished width = LESS 2 = /10 = 6 ~ 7 lift cords This shade should have 7 lift cords. Now that you know how many lift cords you will have, it s time to calculate how far apart they will be. Subtract 2 from the finished width Divide that number by # of lift cords LESS 1! Remember to round your result up to the net number. Even if you come up with a whole number like 6 in this eample, the # of lift cords is one more is the number of spaces. Eample #5 Finished width = 44 # of lift cords = 5 lift cords Finished width MINUS 2 = 42 # of lift cords LESS 1 = 4 42/4 = 10.5 ~ 10 1/2 The lift cords will be spaced 10 1/2 apart.

30 30 Chapter 8 Eample #6 Finished width = 62 # of lift cords = 7 lift cords Finished width MINUS 2 = 60 # of lift cords LESS 1 = 6 60/6 = 10 The lift cords will be spaced 10 apart. Figure 8.2 When you calculate for the # of lift cords and the space between the lift cords, you subtract 2 from the finished width. You need to do this because each outer lift cord will be 1 from the side edges. So, you re actually calculating the # of lift cords and spacing between the outer lift cords... not the overall finished width. Finished Width

31 Sew On the Shade Rings 31 Measure and Mark the Rings Now, you ll need to mark the back of your shade so that you ll know where to sew on your shade rings. I like to start with the outer lift cords first because you have a seam that runs up the length of your shade. This is a perfect guide to mark the rings for the outer lift cords. You are going to mark just on the out side of the seam. Measure up from the bottom edge the half pleat measurement and mark. Then measure up a full pleat and mark. Continue measuring up the side seam full pleat measurements and mark. Repeat this for the other side of the shade. Full Pleat Figure 8.3 Full Pleat Full Pleat Full Pleat Full Pleat Full Pleat Half Pleat

32 32 Chapter 8 Figure 8.4 Align a straight edge along each row of marks. Measure across your shade every space between the lift cords and mark. Space Space Space Space Full Pleat Full Pleat Full Pleat Full Pleat Full Pleat Full Pleat Half Pleat

33 Sew On the Shade Rings 33 For every mark you have made, insert a straight pin horizontally... through all layers. Figure 8.5 For tips and videos on how to sew on your shade rings visit Roman Shade Videos Now sew a shade ring at every straight pin. Figure 8.6 How many shade rings will you need? Multiply the # of lift cords by the # of pleats.

34 9 Install Your Roman Shade & Hardware You re almost finished! In this chapter you re going to learn a basic roman shade hardware installation. You will install screw eyes and a cord lock so that you can raise and lower your roman shade like a blind. Then you will hang your roman shade and allow your friends and family to admire your amazing talents!

35 1. Lay your roman shade ring side up. For a rod pocket roman shade, go straight to Step Measure from the bottom edge up the finished length of your roman shade and mark. Align the top edge of the dust board with these marks. 3. Fold the top raw edge of the roman shade down 1/2 Figure 9.1 Finished Length

36 Install Your Roman Shade Fold the top of the shade over the top of the board and staple in place. Finished Length Figure 9.2 Stapling your shade to your dust board is more of a permanent solution... but a standard practice. If you plan on taking your shade down frequently for cleaning, then attaching your shade to the dust board with velcro may be a better option for you. 2. up. Lay the board with the bottom side of the board facing 3. Install a screw eye for each lift cord. The screw eye should be in the center of the board aligned with its lift cord. 4. Install the cord lock between the last lift cord and the net lift cord in... on the side of the shade you want your cords.

37 5. Thread a lift cord up through the cord lock, through the screw eyes to the far set of rings... thread the lift cord down the shade rings and leave for now. Do not tie the lift cord to the bottom rings just yet. 6. Repeat this step for all lift cords. 7. Install the dust board to the inside of your window frame or onto your wall as planned. Figure 9.3 Screw Eye Cord Lock This illustration shows how a board mounted roman shade would look. The lift cords are represented in red so that you can see them easily. You would choose a lift cord color that complements the color of your shade fabric. The lift cords are threaded through a specific type of cord lock found at www. DraperySewingSupplies.com. It requires one lift cord to be threaded on one side of the cord lock and the rest of the cords through the other side of the cord lock. Make sure you follow the installation instructions for your cord lock before installing everything. Finished Length 8. Now tie the lift cords to the bottom shade rings. Try to have the same tension for each lift cord.

38 Install Your Roman Shade 38 Figure 9.4 This is how a rod pocket roman shade will look once installed. The board will hold the functional hardware and be installed on the wall or inside your window frame. The roman shade is not attached to the board... only the lift cords are threaded into the hardware. The shade is hung by sliding the rod pocket over the decorative drapery pole. It s not really important where the board is installed, as long as it is installed below the drapery pole... and the drapery pole etends further away from the wall than the dust board.

39 10 Related Resources Here are a few resources that you will find VERY useful in your roman shade adventures: Roman Shade Supplies and Hardware You will find all of your roman shade supplies and hardware at this web site. Shade rings, lift cord, cord locks, lift cord condensers, pulls... along with more high-end hardware like our bead chain clutch system. Window Valance Patterns You ll discover easy to sew window valance patterns that look like you paid a decorator to have them made. How To Sew Pinch Pleated Curtains Learn how to sew professional pinch pleated drapes. This resource is packed with detailed illustrations and step by step instructions. Simple Sewing Projects Discover dozens of free sewing projects for your home... for you... and for fun. These quick and easy sewing projects will give you fun projects that you can finish within a couple of hours.