E

Window Treatments Simplified Session 1: Determine the Look

National Sewing Circle Editors
Duration:   28  mins

Description

It’s easy to replicate the look you see in home magazines! ZJ will take you through the various types of window treatments, discuss treatments that fit within a window and outside a window, and also explain the different curtain rod options available.

Share tips, start a discussion or ask other students a question. If you have a question for the instructor, please click here.

Make a comment:
characters remaining

No Responses to “Window Treatments Simplified Session 1: Determine the Look”

No Comments

In first segment, Determine the Look. We're going to discover how you can duplicate the looks that you have come to love in Home Dec Magazines and on TV shows, the possibilities are really endless and they're quite simple when you dissect it down and see exactly how window treatments are made. So in this segment I'm going to talk about the different types of window treatments that you might choose from. There are six basic ones that comprise the majority of window treatments. We're also gonna discuss do you want to have your treatment fit inside your window or outside the window?

And what are the advantages of each? We're also going to look at the different rod options that are available to you as a consumer, because the rod can make a huge difference in the final result of your window treatment. Basically, most window treatments are made from a rectangle of fabric, and it's very easy to change the looks. And I'm gonna show you some simple tricks that will give you a variety of looks from the basic simple window treatment. And then for inspiration I'm going to give you some ideas of where to look for great ideas that will inspire you to make your own one of a kind custom made window treatments.

So let's get started by learning about the different types of window treatments that you might want to consider. The easiest is a valance. A valance is typically 10 to 18 inches long and hangs above the window. It can be used by itself so that you're letting in lots of light and adding just a hint of color or pattern to your room, or it can be used in combination with sheer curtains underneath with full fabric curtains if you wish, or even with draperies, the looks are endless with valances because you can either shirr them on the rod for a gathered effect. You can leave them perfectly straight.

You can pleat them. The sky is the limit with valances. I love to work with valances because they're quick they're easy and they're economical but they really pack a punch. Curtains on the other hand are basically an elongated valance. The classic definition of curtain is that it is shirred on a rod or gathered.

It can be they're pulled back with tie backs or just hang straight. And today we find that the term curtain and drapery are used interchangeable and a drapery historically has pinch pleats at the top. And usually there were hooks that were inserted into this pinch plate that had three pleats that came together. You put the hook in it, and that went over the rod. There are very formal look and they would pull back usually with a cord to the sides and stack back.

However, today we pretty much interchange curtain and drapery, and I find for most people that a curtain is a little less formal. Typically it may not be lined where we think of a drapery as maybe a heavier fabric typically lined and definitely full length where the drapery will typically go to the floor. A curtain can go either to the floor or to the bottom of the window sill. Typically it hangs about five inches below the window so that you don't see the hem from the outside. Another window treatment option that's very simple is a swag.

It's kind of similar to a valance in that it goes over the top of the window, but typically it's like a large scarf and you can put it through loops, metal loops that you attach to the ends of your window and then you just simply drape it across and into these loops. And then it hangs freely. It's a very casual look. You can also have more formal swags where you kind of stack the fabric to make pleats. They're very versatile.

They were very popular in the 90s. We still see them in use today but I don't think they're quite as popular as they were during the 90s. Another look that I see particularly when I go to model homes or even in some of the popular "Do It Yourself" shows are cornices. Cornices are padded window treatments and a cornice is a three-sided window treatment. You have wood that you cut probably to the size of a valance that goes on the wall.

It's mounted directly to the wall and you actually put batting and then fabric on to the piece of wood. And it's usually stapled on there's little to no sewing and it's very clean modern look. And again, it's just giving that hint of color or pattern to your room, easy to make easy to install and the sky is the limit when it comes to fabrics. And if you want, you can instead of just having a straight corners you can come in a little bit and make an arch. You can put angles.

you can have some pretty interesting looks with cornices. You can also add in some piping to define the edges of your cornice. Again, you're limited by your imagination. So cornices are a very modern look. I really like them.

And I think you'll find that they add an a really professional, classy look to your room. The other category of window treatment would be shades. Shades could be roller shades, and yes you can make your own roller shade and they simply roll up on a roller and pull down by a tab or a hook or rather a ring or whatever you wish. You also have the Roman shade, which as you, it has a series of rings and rope or string that as you pull on it it actually pleats as it goes up the window. Very classic look, it could go either inside or outside of the window.

And there's different types of shades that you can make but those are probably the two most popular. They really aren't any more complicated. It just is a little more measuring, especially for where your placement of the rings are on a Roman shade and a little more work tying on your strings. But it's very, very doable even for beginners. So just because it has a fancy name or looks impressive don't let that thrill you because you're gonna see as we go through the video how simple window treatments really are now with shades in particular and actually with other curtains or valances you can either go inside the window or outside sometimes especially if it's a small window, it's nice to just stay inside and keep the look simple and clean.

Sometimes you wanna show off the beautiful casing the woodwork that's around your window and you don't want to cover that up. Another reason to go outside of the window rather than staying in is if you go outside, especially with a shade, it adds a little more privacy because there's no way you can see in through the edges around the window. So you have a little more privacy. It's also better for insulation. Sometimes when we cut our window treatment exactly to the edge of the window, a little bit of air can escape around it so if you're looking for a shade, especially in northern colder climates, it's sometimes better to go outside the window by a few inches, just to give yourself a little extra protection from the elements.

Like I say, it kind of depends on the look you're after how much privacy you want and what type of installation you want any and all can look good. And a lot of times what determines if you go inside or outside, are you rod options? We have several different rod options that you can use. This is probably the most classic rod that you'll see. I didn't wanna take it out of the packaging.

And they usually come in white. They are expandable. They'll usually be for a range of sizes. You simply pull and the end of the rod hooks into these little brackets that you mount to the wall. And then this is where the fabric is shirred onto the rod.

Now these type of rods typically have an extension on the sides. And we're gonna talk about extensions when we get into measuring your windows and determining your fabric yardage. But this is a return so that when this sits on the wall it's actually out from the wall it's not flat. It's actually offset from the wall and you can have an offset anywhere from two to 10 inches. I've seen some where they're offset quite a bit.

Typically I think people use anywhere from two to five. And one of the reasons why you may want this offset with your extension is if you have a sheer curtain underneath or you may even have three of them. Three of them would be where you have the valance on the outermost edge your drapery or curtain underneath that. And then under the curtain or drapery you would have a shear. So you actually could stack these.

So you might start with a two-inch for your shear. You might go with a four or five inch for your curtain or drapery and then come out even further for the valance. It all depends on the look that you want. Another option you can have is just a straight rod. And if you're having a straight rod this is one that I really liked.

This is a pressure fitted rod, and you can see that that moves and you can again, adjust the size. And the idea of this is similar to the concept of the rods in your shower curtains, where you put the shower curtain rod up and pressure fit it to the walls. This one would fit inside your window. I find these are great for small windows. I really liked to use them inside of bathrooms where you just have maybe a half curtain.

They're great in like a nursery where maybe you just have a simple little valance that's inside the window. Cause you wanna show off your woodwork and your casing. It's just a great window. They're also good for you can sometimes mount these they have a little tiny bracket that comes out or a hook that you can set it in and it lays flat against a door so that you can have a window treatment over your doors. And they actually would come in a very, very thin rod.

The rod is, oh, maybe half of what this is, but it's a wonderful way to put a window treatment on your door very simply and very inexpensively. These are the least expensive rods that you will find. So again, this was your return rod. This is your pressure fitted rod. And then you have the pole rod.

Now this is a very small poll rod compared to what's very popular today. Today we're seeing poll rods that can easily be two to even three inches around. And then you have a variety of options. You can usually buy your rod separately from the ends. And then you put on these are called finials the ends are called finials, and you can buy those separately.

All different, different colors, oil rubbed bronze brushed nickel, wood, gold, black, white, you name it. It's out there. And the finials typically come in round square. Sometimes I've seen that where it's like a a curvy design that fits in. Again, sky is the limit, whatever you like you can change the look simply by keeping the same rod and changing out your finials to give it a different look.

These are usually mounted with a larger bracket that sits out from the wall so that there's plenty of room for the pole and for your drapery to move back and forth. It sits into the loop most often into this curved area. And depending on the size of the rod and the length of your window or width of your window, rather you may have a center support and then your two end supports. So especially if you have a center support you're going to need to plan for that as you do your drapery, you can do it as a single piece of fabric across that. You just need to make sure that you put like a button hole behind some kind of slit or opening so that after you get the fabric on the rod, you center that over the hook so that you can get your rod in or you use two separate panels and they meet in the center.

Those are the basic rods that are out there. Pretty much the three, four categories. And they work very, very well. What determines the look, especially with the pole rod is how thick or the diameter of the rod. This gives a sweet little look, perhaps in a nursery.

You don't want anything heavy. So you might wanna go with a thinner rod. If you're talking a great room let's say with a massive fireplace or a wood beams are very, very rustic. Boy I definitely want to go with that really thick rod to give that beefy look that really makes for an impact and shows off your curtains. The pole rod is very popular in today using the straight panel draperies with the large grommets, almost like a shower curtain look that the grommets allow the panel to move freely on the rod.

The rod is straight. It has no return. And again, that does make a difference in how you figure your fabric. As I said before most window treatments are very, very simple. They're rectangles so if you can sew a straight line you can make a window treatment and it can be any of the ones that we talked about.

I wanna show you a couple of simple window treatments. These actually are curtains that my daughter-in-law bought for her children's rooms. This one is a heavy linen type of fabric. You can see up here, we have the rod pocket but instead of you actually have two options here, you can either put your rod through the pocket and then shirr it on the rod like this, or in this particular case they had little tabs back behind the rod pocket so that it could move freely on the rod and not be shirred. It hangs a little more freely has a little more casual look.

This particular drapery because the, or curtain as you wish because it is a fairly heavy fabric and you can't see through it very easily. The manufacturer chose not to line it. Draperies can be lined or unlined. We'll talk a little bit more about should you line drapery or not in a later segment but I just want you to be aware that lining is an option. As you can see, this is probably 81 or 84 inches long which is typically your length of a drapery.

There is, it's a rectangle you've got a large header at the top and that is where your rod pocket or typically goes if you're having a rod pocket or it's where tabs are attached and you usually wanna make sure it's a minimum of three inches to handle the weight of your window treatment, whether it's a valance or whether it's a curtain or a drapery, this can vary. And we'll talk about that in the segment where we talk about measuring and I'll show you some options there with the header. You also have a hem. Hems are a minimum of three inches. You can do your standard hem where you just turn it back a quarter of an inch underneath and then you have your three inch hem better yet for a really professional look.

And especially if you have heavy fabric and it's going all the way to the floor I like to tell people to double the hem. So if this is three inches I want you to cut six and a quarter. So you have actually six inches I apologize, so that you have the hem turned up once and then you turn it again. And now you have weight and substance to your hem so that it will hang nicely and evenly. You also have your two side seams and guess what?

That's it, that's all there is to a basic valance or curtain, or even a drape. And beyond that, it's just little variances. So I think you're seeing at least I hope you are that draperies really are not all that complicated. Now I wanna show you another drapery. Again, this was purchased by my daughter-in-law for the kids' rooms.

And this particular drapery has aligning the lining typically will be attached at the side seams and be shorter than what the drapery is across or rather narrower. It will also be shorter because it will stop, maybe an inch to an inch and a half from the bottom of your hem, this particular curtain while it's cute. I do take issue with the way that they did their lining because they only have a quarter of an inch seam. Again, you want that three inch seam so that the lining also hangs nicely and allows your drapery to have a beautiful drape to it. This particular curtain is just cute as can be.

It was for a nursery. Again, look at it's a simple rectangle. That's all it is except they used a different color fabric. They used a plain fabric for the header. And on this one, you have the option of putting it through a rod if you want and then you would pin or tack your tabs down.

But the look for this particular one is a tab and the tabs just simply slipped through the rod and it can be as full or as plain as you want. As far as your pleating it would come down to how many panels are you using? The other thing that they did for a decorative touch is they put a little applique down in the corner you can do that. That's easy you just add in a whatever applique you want with the basic drapery like this, you could easily add lace or embellishments embroidery. Draperies don't have to be plain again you're kind of limited by your imagination.

So again, some of the things that can take it from the simple drapery are tabs. You could have the large grommets the metal grommets that can be in the colors to match your rod that are just simply attached up here. You can have a large header above your rod pocket. This one's about three inches so that when you shirr it on the rod you now have a gathered portion of fabric above it, rather than just having the rod resting on the top of the curtain. It gives a beautiful look.

The rod pocket I have seen rods rather than just the simple little extension rod that I showed you. That's about inch and a half deep. I have seen flat rods that are about three and a half. And so you would have your top of your header that would gather, and then down here you would have about a three inch shirred area. And on those, you wanna shirr it very tightly and it gives a beautiful, beautiful look to your draperies.

So it's all in the accessories. If you will, it's all down to the type of the rod and how you choose to hang it. That's going to change the look, but no matter what you do you're starting with the basic rectangle. So if you're worried about, oh my gosh I'm not gonna be able to get away from the basic rectangle because my brain just doesn't think outside the box for inspiration, check out catalogs. There are lots of catalogs.

So many different stores like, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn to name a few even Macy's, Penny's they have catalogs and they have curtains in them. And you can get ideas from that. Any of the home magazines, House Beautiful Better Homes and Gardens. They always have rooms in them that show curtains and window treatments. You can get ideas there.

There are books written. A couple of my favorites are the singer library. This is just one of them but they have three or four in particular that I really liked this one, sewing for the home. And it talks about the window treatments and goes into a lot of detail from the rods to the hardware for your swags to how to actually make them with step-by-step pictures. And then they'll show different ones.

This would be an example of a shade being mounted to the inside of the window like we talked about or having come to the outside of the window. And here they used an interesting treatment by adding a rod to the hem, with the finial so that you have the finial at the bottom rather than the top. I thought that was extremely clever. So these books give a lot of inspiration "Sewing Reference Library" is probably my number one go-to book for home decoration whether it's curtains or pillows or furniture, reupholstery they're the ones I go to. Sunset also has some wonderful books.

And I'm going to be walking you through this book as we go through measuring, but it has many pictures of rooms with different window treatments and then how to get that look, how to make it. These that's a balloon, valance. This one's a little variation on it. It's just filled with a wealth of information. But what I like are all the ideas for how can I do something with my windows?

I don't want it to look boring. I don't want it to be cookie cutter like everybody else's. Just for grins and giggles. If you're not wanting to spend a lot of money on your library, a friend of mine, let me borrow these. These were back from 1960 and you can see they were 29 cents but go out on eBay, go on Craigslist, go to Garage Sales.

You'll be surprised how many of these little gems you'll pick up. And even though it was written in the sixties that basic construction techniques are still the same. It's a basic window. It's a basic rectangle. And each of these little books has great information on how to make them even though the drawings are a little dated you'll still get some good information.

So I really like to have a good variety of home Dec books in my home library, because it's fun to just sit there at night and go through them. And you'll be surprised at how your tastes change and the inspiration that you'll get for different window treatments or how to embellish them. And of course you can always turn on the TV and watch your favorite duo as they do the wonderful home make-overs on TV. So again, you're only limited by your imagination and by the inspiration that you're exposed to. Don't sell yourself short.

I think you'll be surprised at the great ideas that you'll come up with and in order to help you get there I need to take you into the next segment on how to accurately measure for windows.

Get exclusive premium content! Sign up for a membership now!