How To Sew A LinedLondon Shade

An illustrated step-by-step guide to sew-ing lined london shades.

by: Jennifer Thoden

Copyright 2008 Thoden Publications LLC

www.MakingRomanShades.com

2 Copyright and Disclaimer

Copyright NoticeCopyright © 2008 Thoden Publications LLC

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmit-ted 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 infor-mation should be addressed to: Customer Support, 14620 Flint Lee Road, Unit C, Chantilly, VA 20151 or support@homesewingpatterns.com

Legal NoticeWhile all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication, the author does not assume any responsibility for errors, ommissions, or contrary inter-pretation of the subject matter herein.

The purchaser or reader of this publication assumes respon-sibility 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.

Table of Contents

Contents

Introduction ............................................... 4

Supply List ................................................. 5

Finished Measurements .............................. 9

Cut Your Fabric & Lining ............................15

Extra Wide Roman Shades .........................18

Sew the Side Seams ..................................22

Fold the Box Pleats ...................................25

Sew the Bottom Hem ...............................30

Sew On the Shade Rings ............................34

Install Your London Shade & Hardware .......39

Related Resources .....................................48

1Introduction

London shades are very similar to relaxed roman shades. The key style difference is that a london shade has 2 box pleats... one for each lift cord.

These box pleats add extra fabric to the swag as the shade is raised. The deep full swag and butter-fly tails on the sides are the signature of the london shade.

This book will walk you through sewing lined lon-don shades with one fabric. You’re going to learn how to measure, sew and install your london shades.

You’ll even learn how to make a rod pocket london shade that’s functional!

If you are planning on making a valance... a non-functional london shade, there are notes and in-structions for this as well.

So... lets get started!

2Supply 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 lined london 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 exactly how much of an item you will need. This is based on your specific project.

You’ll need to read through the Finished Measure-ments 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 Chapter 2

Face FabricThis is your decorator fabric that is con-sidered 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.

LiningFor 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.

!To deter-

mine how many yards of material

you’ll need, first read through to “Cut Your

Fabric” chapter.

Then take these mea-surements and enter

them into the Yardage Calculator located at:

www.Sewing- Roman-Shades.

com/yardage

7Supply List

Shade RingsShade 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, off-white and brass. Choose whichever fits your style and color scheme.

Lift CordYou’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 EyesOnce 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 fin-

ished 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 LockTo 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.

!To determine how many shade rings you need, read through the “Sew Your Shade Rings” chapter.

!You can find all of these roman shade supplies at:

DraperySewingSup-plies.com

!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:

DraperySewingSup-plies.com

8 Chapter 2

Dust BoardYou 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.

FinishedWidth

2”

1”

You can get your dust board at any hardware

store.

Sewing Machine and ThreadYou 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.

!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.

1Finished Measurements

3Finished 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 de-fine the finished width and finished length of your roman shade.

10 Chapter 3

Figure 3.1

There are 3 different ways to install your roman shade. In-side your window frame, outside your window frame and on a decorative pole.

Inside the Window FrameIf 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.

FinishedLength

FinishedWidth

Make sure you mea-sure 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.

11Finished Measurements

Outside the Window FrameIf 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.

FinishedLength

FinishedWidth Figure 3.2

For more accurate measurements, tem-porarily install your dust board to your wall first. Then mea-sure the finished length. Installing your dust board now, will make your final instal-lation a lot easier and faster.

12 Chapter 3

Figure 3.3

Outside the Window Frame (continued)The returns of your london shade is the depth of your dust board... the measurement from the front edge of the board to the wall.

Unlike the flat roman shade that is only installed to the front of the dust board.. london shades that are installed on the outside of the window wrap around the sides of the boards... also known as “the returns”.

You are not required to wrap the london shade around the sides of the board... you may just want the shade attached to the front of the board. If so, then the return value = 0.

So, measure from the front edge of your dust board to the wall... this is the return measurement.

Now add the returns to the original Finished Width mea-surement for the official Finished Width measurement you will use for the rest of this book.

Finished Width = Finished Width + Return + Return

FinishedWidth

Return

Front Edge of Board

Example #1

Width of dust board = 62”

Return = 2 3/4”

Finished Width = 62” + 2 3/4” + 2 3/4”

Finished Width = 67 1/2”

13Finished Measurements

On a Decorative PoleIf 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 in-stall 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.

FinishedLength

FinishedWidth Figure 3.4

For more accurate measurements, install your drapery pole first. Then measure the finished length.

The illustration shows the dust board in-stalled 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.

14 Chapter 3

More about the Finished LengthIf you stick with the finished length as the measurement from the top of your hardware to the window sill, then your london shade will hang completely flat when lowered... with no swag or pleat at the bottom edge (the bottom edge is straight). This may be desirable... and if so, leave your fin-ished length measurement as is.

However, another variation of how the london shade looks when it is completely lowered is to still have a couple per-manent pleats at the bottom... making the bottom edge swag a little.

If you want this look, then you need to add 12” to the fin-ished length measurement. 12” will create 2 or 3 permanent pleats.

So, decide if you want this look, make sure you add 12” to the finished length.

Making a London Shade Valance?A london shade valance is a london shade that is perma-nently raised and acts as a window valance... instead of a functional shade for privacy.

If so, I recommend you keep the finished length measure-ment as if you were making a full london shade. Then, when you raise it up to create the pleats for the valance, you’ll have a full, luxurious looking london shade.

If you are short on fabric, then you can shorten the finished length, but keep in mind that you still want at least 12” to 18” of extra fabric beyond the desired finished length.

So, if you want your valance to be 12” long... don’t have your finished length at 12”. Because then there will be no pleats and swags. So, if you want your valance to be 12” after being pleated... make your finished length 30”.

4Cut 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.

This is a perfect stopping point. Now you can pack up your notes and head to the fabric store and col-lect all of your supplies.

!Refer to the

Finished Mea-surements chapter for

the Finished Width and Finished Length

measurements.

!For tips and

videos on how to cut your fabric, visit

www.MakingRo-manShades.com

16 Chapter 4

Rod Pocket Roman ShadesIf you are making a rod pocket london 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 London ShadesFace FabricCut Width = Finished Width + 3” + 24”

Cut Length = Finished Length + 6” + 3”

If you are making a rod pocket roman shade, then add the POLE to the Cut Length

LiningCut Width = Finished Width - 1

Cut Length = Finished Length + 6” + 3”

If you are making a rod pocket roman shade, then add the POLE to the Cut Length

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

www.MakingRomanShades.com

!Refer to the

Finished Mea-surements chapter for

the Finished Width and Finished Length

measurements.

!For tips and

videos on how to cut your fabric, visit

www.MakingRo-manShades.com

17Cut Measurements

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 Extra Wide Roman Shades, and then visit www.MakingRomanShades.com for tips and videos on piecing your fabric.

!If you are go-ing to piece together fabric that has a pattern, your yardage calculation will be affected. Make sure you read through the following chapter on Extra Wide Ro-man Shades before you calculate your yardage.

5Extra 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 190”... 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 deci-sions about extra 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.

19Extra Wide Roman Shades

If your fabric’s cut width measurement is wider than your fabric width, then you are going to need to piece your fab-ric.

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.

CutWidth

F

ull FabricWidth

!For tips and videos on how to piece your fabric visit www.Sewing-Roman-Shades.com

Figure 5.1

Planning on where your want your seams is a design decision and a functional deci-sion. I have seen ro-man shades with the seam right in the mid-dle 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 verti-cal shadows.

20 Chapter 5

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

Piecing the InterliningIf you need to piece your fabric and lining, you’ll probably need to piece your interlining. Piecing your interlining is dif-ferent than piecing your other fabric. You want your interlin-ing to lay flat as much as possible.

Lay the widths of interlining side by side with no overlap. With a needle and thread, sew the pieces together with a simple whipstitch.

For the best results, plan the interlining seams to be inline

with the seams of the face fabric.

!For tips and

videos on how to piece your fab-

ric with a print, visit www.Sewing-Ro-man-Shades.com

Interlining Interlining

Figure 5.2

21Extra Wide Roman Shades

Consider the hardwareWhen 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 cumber-some 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 www.Sewing-Roman-Shades.com for more detail on different roman shade hardware methods.

6Sew the Side Seams

You’re going to learn how to sew the sides of your london shade.

For a lined london 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.

23Sew the Side Seams

Lined London ShadeI’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.

Lay your face fabric right side facing up.1.

Lay your lining on top of the face fabric... right sides 2. together... aligning bottom edges and one side edge.

Sew a 1/2” seam up the side edge.3.

Lining

1/2”Figure 6.1

24 Chapter 6

Slide the lining over so that the other side edgesaligned 4. are aligned.

Sew a 1/2” seam up this side edge.5.

Turn the shade right sides out.6.

Center the lining so that there is an even amount of 7. fabric on each side of the lining... and press well.

Lining

FinishedWidth

1” 1”

!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 ap-pearance will be not

be desirable.

Figure 6.2

To keep the lining in place, pin in several places.

7Fold the Box Pleats

Now it’s time to fold the 2 box pleats.

I recommend you find a large flat surface to do this. Perhaps a clean part of your floor.

26 Chapter 7

Figure 7.1

Find the Center of Each Box PleatFirst, you’ll need to decide where your box pleats will be. This is based on the style of the window... your eye... and the size of your london shade.

Take a look at your window now, and decide where you would like to see the box pleats. Keep in mind that the placement of the box pleats affect the swag in the center and the butterfly tails on the ends. The further you bring in the pleats from the side edges, the more butterfly tail you will have... and less center swag.

A rule of thumb that will help you is to bring in the box pleats 1/4 of the finished width of the london shade.

So, if the finished width is 60”... I may bring in the box pleats 15” in from each side... leaving 30” in the center for a swag. After looking at my window, I may decide that 15” isn’t far enough... I can adjust it based on how I want it to look.

There’s no hard and fast rule here. But you do need to know where you want your pleats to continue.

Lay your london shade lining side facing up.1.

Measure in from the side edges the Return measure-2. ments and mark. If you are doing an inside mount, disre-gard this step.Return Return

x x

27Fold the Box Pleats

Measure over again the distance you wanted the box 3. pleat to come in from the sides PLUS 6” and mark. This is going to be the center of the box pleats.

Return Return

1/4 Width + 6” 1/4 Width + 6”

x x x x

Figure 7.2

28 Chapter 7

Fold the Box PleatsLay your london shade panel fabric side up.1.

Measure from the center of the box pleats out 6” on 2. both sides and mark.

Do this measuring and marking along the bottom edge 3. as well.

Fold the panel so that the outer marks meet the center 4. mark.

x x

6”6” 6” 6”

x x x x

x xx x

Fold

Figure 7.3

29Fold the Box Pleats

Double check the measurements of your shade. Your 5. pleated panel should be the finished width. If not, adjust the pleats so that the panel is the finished width measure-ment.

Pin the pleats in place down the length of the panel.6.

FinishedWidth

x xx

8Sew the Bottom Hem ...and top rod pocket if applicable

This chapter will show you how to finish off the bot-tom edge of your lon 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 london shade, so that you have a rod pocket to slide onto your drapery pole.

31Sew the Bottom Hem

For All Roman ShadesNo matter what style roman shade you are making (even a london shade), the bottom hem is sewn the same way.

Lay your roman shade wrong side or lining side facing 1. up.

Fold up the bottom edge 3” and press.2.

Sew a straight stitch across your shade 1 1/2” from the 3. bottom edge of your shade.

IMPORTANT - The stitching in step 3 is only neccessary if you plan on having your london shade hang flat with a straight bottom edge when completely lowered. If you plan on having some permanent pleats, you can skip Step 3.

Figure 8.1

Lining

1 1/2”

32 Chapter 8

Fold the bottom edge up another 3” and press.4.

Sew a straight stitch close to the top folded edge of the 5. bottom hem... or you can sew the bottom hem in place with a blind hem stitch.

Rod Pocket Roman ShadesIf you are sewing a rod pocket roman shade, then follow the next set of instructions to sew the top rod pocket.

Measure from the bottom edge the finished length of 1. your roman shade PLUS 1/4” and fold down the top edge.

Lining

3”

FinishedLength + 1/4”

Figure 8.2

Figure 8.3

33Sew the Bottom Hem

Measure from the top edge of your shade 1/2 the Pole 2. measurement + 1/4” and mark in several places.

Measure 1/2” below these marks and cut off any extra 3. material.

Fold under the bottom raw edge 1/2”.4.

Sew a straight stitch just above the bottom folded 5. edge... creating a rod pocket.

Figure 8.4

Refer to the Cut Mea-surements chapter for the POLE measure-ment.

Figure 8.5

1/2 POLE + 1/4”

1/2 POLE + 1/4”

9Sew 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!

35Sew On the Shade Rings

Ring SpacingYou will be spacing your shade rings 6” apart up the length of your london shade.

These instructions are based on this ring spacing... but all rules are meant to be broken. If you want to save time and energy, you can certainly space them further apart.

Keep in mind, that if you added 18” to the finished length for permanent pleats... the 18” is for three 6” ring spaces.

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.

You will sew the rings up the back of the box pleats. The center of the box pleats is a perfect guide to mark the rings for the lift cords.

Lay your london shade lining side up.1.

Measure up from the bottom edge 3” along the center 2. of the box pleats and mark.

!3” is half of the full ring spacing of 6”. The first row of rings will be half the ring spac-ing from the bottom edge. This will create a half pleat... allow-ing the bottom edge to fold up evenly with the rest of the pleats when the shade is raised. If you changed the ring spacing to an-other number, change 3” to half of your ring spacing.

36 Chapter 9

Lining

x3”

x

Center ofBox Pleat

Center ofBox Pleat

Center ofBox Pleat

Center ofBox Pleat

Figure 9.1

37Chapter Title

Then measure up 6” and mark. Continue measuring up 3. the center of the box pleats 6” measurements and mark.

Repeat this for both pleats.4.

For every mark you have made, insert a straight pin 5. horizontally... through all layers.

Figure 9.2

This illustration shows how far apart the rings will be spaced going up your shade.

The full pleat is the full ring spacing. This will likely be 6” unless you decided on a dif-ferent ring spacing.

The half pleat at the bottom will allow the bottom edge to fold up evenly with the pleats.

For tips and videos on how to sew on your shade rings visit www.MakingRo-manShades.com

Lining

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

RemainingShade

Full Pleat

Full Pleat

Full Pleat

Full Pleat

Full Pleat

Half Pleat

38 Chapter 9

Now sew a shade ring at every straight pin. Be sure to 6. not catch the folded edges of the box pleat on the front of your shade.

Figure 9.3

10Install Your Lon-don Shade & Hard-ware

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!

40 Chapter 10

Lay your roman shade ring side up.1.

For a rod pocket roman shade, go straight to Step 5.

Measure from the bottom edge up the finished length of 2. your roman shade and mark. Align the top edge of the dust board with these marks.

Fold the top raw edge of the roman shade down 1/2”3.

Figure 10.1

This illustration shows how your london

shade would look for an inside mount.

FinishedLength

41Install Your London Shade

Figure 10.2

This illustration shows how your london shade would look for an outside mount. Notice that the board is centered on your shade.

Stapling your shade to your dust board is more of a permanent solution... but a stan-dard practice. If you plan on taking your shade down frequently for cleaning, then at-taching your shade to

FinishedLength

Return Return

42 Chapter 10

Attaching the Shade to the BoardFold the top of the shade over the top of the board and 1.

staple in place.

FinishedLength

Figure 10.3

This illustration shows how your london

shade would look for an inside mount.

Stapling your shade to your dust board is more of a permanent solution... but a stan-dard practice. If you plan on taking your

shade down frequently for cleaning, then at-

taching your shade to velcro may be more

ideal.

43Install Your London Shade

FinishedLength

Figure 10.4

This illustration shows how your london shade would look for an outside mount. Notice that the board is centered on your shade.

Figure 10.5

For an outside mount, wrap the shade along the sides 2. of the board.

Fold over the triangle shaped fabric to the top of the 3. board and staple in place.

45Install Your London Shade

Install the HardwareLay the board with the bottom side of the board facing 1.

up.

Install a screw eye for each lift cord. The screw eye 2. should be in the center of the board aligned with its lift cord.

Install a screw eye 1/2” from the side of the board you 3. want your pull cords to be.

Install the cord lock 1” inside the screw eye in step 3. 4.

Thread a lift cord up through the cord lock, through the 5. 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.

Thread a lift cord up through the cord lock, through the 6. outer screw eye in step 3... through the screw eye aligned with the closest 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.

Install the dust board to the inside of your window frame 7. or onto your wall as planned.

Now tie the lift cords to the bottom shade rings. Try to 8. have the same tension for each lift cord.

46 Chapter 10

Screw Eye Cord LockFigure 10.6

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.

DraperySewingSup-plies.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 instruc-

tions for your cord lock before installing

everything.

47Install Your London Shade

Figure 10.7

This is how a rod pocket roman shade will look once in-stalled. 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 impor-tant where the board is installed, as long as it is installed below the drapery pole... and the drapery pole extends further away from the wall than the dust board.

11Related Resources

Here are a few resources that you will find VERY useful in your roman shade adventures:

www.DraperySewingSupplies.com

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.

www.Window-Valance-Patterns.com

You’ll discover easy to sew window valance patterns that look like you paid a decorator to have them made.

www.Easy-Pleated Curtains.com

Learn how to sew professional pinch pleated drapes. This resource is packed with detailed illus-trations and step by step instructions.