My shades:

A few Saturdays ago the Atlanta chapter of ASG sponsored a class on making roman shades with Pam Damour.  I wanted to take it, but wasn’t sure I could leave Mr H home alone, didn’t have anyone to ride with, didn’t blah, blah, blah.  You know about excuses, I’m sure.  Anyway, turns out my friend Karen wanted to go too, and her DH is a friend of the Mr’s.  Woo hoo!  Thank you!

Needless to say that we packed up our stuff and headed toward Atlanta on the designated Saturday… There was a lot of stuff to pack, and I’m not sure we used all of it, but now I have some extra tools in my arsenal.  We were asked to bring

• Sewing Machine
• Basic sewing supplies
• 60” ruler (if you have one) or 2 yard sticks
• 18” ruler
• Metal tape measure
• Neutral thread and polyester  invisible thread
• Paper and pen
• Calculator

I think most of those items would be used if you were making a custom shade.  In this class we were all making the same size shade (which won’t fit any of my windows ), so we did not measure or calculate much.  She gave us a worksheet to help with future projects, so I’m sure I’ll need these things later.  (I did not own two yardsticks, and they’ve already come in handy on my wedding reception project.)

There were a number of differences between the shade we made in class and the ones I had made previously.

• I usually sew little tucks along the width to sew the rings onto.  Those little tucks create the folds when the shade is raised.  In class we used plastic ribs and sewed the rings directly to the shade.  One of my ribs broke, and the stitching for the rings shows on the outside.  I’m not sold on this, but it’s an alternative.
• Pam covered our mounting boards with lining fabric.  This looks wonderful, and I will adopt that practice with the next shade I mount on a board.
• My early shades have been lined to the edge.  In class we cut our lining two inches smaller than our outer fabric to make the outer fabric edge wrap to the inside.  We also turned up a 4″ hem and turned a bit to the inside and topstitched it down.  The first fold covers the hem.  This looks nice!
• I usually use hook & loop fastener to attach my shades to the board so that I can get them down for washing.  This will also facilitate changing the shade later, too, should I want to make more in a different fabric.  In class we stapled our shades directly to the mounting board.  I don’t suppose a decorator would be worried about laundry or changing out the shade for another.  Nor would she wash the fabric prior to sewing the blinds to eliminate shrinkage.  I’ll stick with my hook & loop method.
• To allow me raise and lower the shade, I usually install a cleat on the window frame.  Our class kit included a cord lock (cord stop?)–I can’t remember what you call the thing.  Anyway, it’s a little gizmo that you run the cords through that holds them when you get the shade where you want it.  These are fantastic!  I will be using these from now on!
• We covered and installed a weight rod in our class shade.  It’s placed in the hem and we stitched the edges together to keep it in there. This is a good thing.  My earlier shades don’t have a weight, and sometimes I have to help them down.

So, I learned some nice techniques, and the class was well worth attending.  Here are a couple of photos (click on them to enlarge):

	This is my finished shade.  This is just flung over a door because it’s too small for any of my windows.  You can see that Pam had us permanently tie the bottom fold in place to hide the top stitched hem.  You’ll see the back further down.
	Here’s the cord lock and my braided cording.  The class kit contained a wooden pull to put on the end of the cords. This one is much nicer than the plastic ones that I usually use. You can also see the fabric covered board that the shade is mounted on.
	Here’s the edge of the shade showing the hem and the edges.  You can also see how the bottom fold is tied in place.  Pam said this helped to overcome any problems with a window being a little “off.”

I can highly recommend taking a class with Pam, if you get a chance and are at all interested in sewing for Home Dec. My shades should be much nicer after taking this class.