Thursday, November 27, 2014

101 Ways to Pick out Custom Window Treatments

HGTV Magazine shares advice on everything from measuring and buying fabric to where to go for customized window curtains, drapes, and shades.



Where to go for Curtains or drapes

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Ask your local tailor if he or she can make drapery if you bring the material and provide the measurements. Many tailors can do the job if it’s simply hemming the fabric. If you’re looking for something more complicated, like pleated drapes or a valance, consider using a seamstress in your area who specializes in window treatments. Be sure to have a conversation with your pro before you buy the material so you’re both on the same page.

There are also online-based companies, such as alluring-window. com and superiorshades. com, that let you send in fabrics. They’ll send someone to calculate your windows, make the drapes, and install them for you. Some can also create shades.

Where to go for shades
Many upholsterers can make Roman shades for home windows. Look for one in your area who might be up for the job. You can also call seamstresses who else specialize in window treatments to ask if they also make shades.

How to measure

  • Step 1:
    Calculate for length, from the top of your window frame to wherever you want the sections to fall. They can go down to the floor if you want them to skim the ground with no puddling on the bottom (which makes them easier to clean), or down to the floor plus a few extra inches if you prefer a puddled look.
  • Step 2:
    Decide where you want to put the curtain fishing rod. It’s typically placed midway between the ceiling and the window frame, but you can also attach it closer to the window frame or closer to the ceiling, depending on your wall surface area. To draw the eye upward so the ceiling appears higher, place the rod in which the wall meets the ceiling. Count how many inches above the window frame the fishing rod will be, and add that to your length measurement from Step 1.
  • Step 3:
    Decide how you would like to hang the curtains on the rod-options include clip rings, which clip on to the top of the fabric; a pocket rod, which is a pocket sewn into the the top of fabric so you can place the rod right through it; grommets, which are metal rings which you place over holes made along the top of the fabric; or sewn-in rings, that are sewn into the fabric. When you know which one you’ll use, you’ll know if you want more or less fabric to make it work. Fabric on a clip ring or a sewn-in engagement ring, for example , will hang about an inch lower to the ground than material hung with grommets, so adjust your measurement from Step 2 accordingly.
  • Step 4: Measure the width of your window from one edge of the frame to the other. Should you be using a tension rod, which you will set inside the window frame, measure inside the framework from one end to the other.
  • Step 5:
    Add an extra 2½ inches to each side in order to account for hemming. The result is the amount of fabric you’ll need.

Buy your fabric
Choose a material you like. Try bold prints for Roman shades, which have a flat surface, therefore it’s easier to see the full pattern. Smaller prints are easier to appreciate on curtains. Some of our favorite online sources for fabric are calicofabrics. com, fabric. com, fabricguru. com, fashionfabricsclub. com, hancockfabrics. com, housefabric. com, joann. com, kingcottonfabrics. com, lsfabrics. com, onlinefabricstore. net, spoonflower. com, and warehousefabricsinc. com.

Put in a liner
Drapery fabric is typically thin, so it will look nicer hanging on the windowpane if you make it more substantial with a liner-and it’ll give you more privacy. Liners are usually inexpensive, about $5 a yard, so you can buy it yourself or request your seamstress. Some have suppliers for liner fabric, and they might are the liner in the price of the job.

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