Friday, October 19, 2012

Completion! Bedroom Draperies ...

Detail of inset border
It is a rainy friday afternoon here in Minneapolis. The bedroom draperies have been completed and hung. It was so nice this morning getting up and knowing as I walked through the hallway to the bathroom that the corner bus stop did not have direct viewing access as I groggily made my way!

Everything was technically done by wednesday night, but as one panel was on the rod, it was clear there was no way the weight of the other panel was going to keep that tension rod in place. It had been extended towards its maximum width and there was no center support. Had I gone with the cut to measure rod, it would most likely have held up, as the rod is solid all of the way across. Not to worry. Last evening after work HM put in a cup hook at the center to support the rod, so now everything hangs evenly.

The only problem being the 3/8" clearance that I allowed is useless. It seems the cup hook supports the rod at a lower point than I had anticipated, so, the darn thing brushes the sill. it doesn't look HORRIBLE, but the pleats do break and not hang perfectly straight. I am going to leave them, move on to the next window, the living room.

The pleats are loosely implied. They are not stitched down like traditional pleats and there are two rings at either side of a pleat, as opposed to traditional draperies that place a ring at the center of the pleat.
hooks on either side of the pleat, back detail

front detail. grommets and leather
The pleat is made with two grommets or eyelets (these are 5/32") with a black leather shoe lace knotted at approximately 1-1/4" spacing. This forces the fabric forward making the pleat. There is math involved and I will provide information on that for a future post. It was easier to just do it and then explain it later. If I were to explain it while doing it... I would still be trying to explain it and wondering if it would work and it would not be done.

It was a great project and my little studio down stairs, although, still a mess and still not completely set up... is going to work great for getting some projects done. I look forward to cleaning up the mess. In search for my awl.....'awl' of my stuff that wasn't unpacked and put away, got dumped out.. some by accident... some not so much. I still didn't find the awl... It is a good one too.. I will find it... hopefully sooner than later.

And the mystery project is also completed. I just have to find a good place to photograph it.. so it will most likely be mondays post.. as we are scheduled to have a beautiful weekend!

Happy projecting .. not 'projecting' your friends might not appreciate that... Happy creativity! There, that's better!

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2 comments:

  1. Judy HornbacherOctober 21, 2012 at 6:25 AM

    Hey Shelly,

    I am working on a leather and fabric jacket for class and need to figure out how to do grommets and or eyelets as embellishment for the thing. I bought one gromet tool and but it only does 3/8" grommets. What kind of tools do you use for these little pleast makers you have devised?

    Judy

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  2. ShellyOctober 21, 2012 at 7:30 AM

    Judy, it has ben a while since I did grommets in a workroom. We were fortunate enough to have a full set of grommet setting tools for any size eyelet anyone would specify. I have seen grommet setters of various sizes online and typically at hardware store sights... not big box, but like ace or neighborhood hardware.. They are a very fun tool to have and to work with.. can be a bit pricey, but once you have made the investment and incorporate it into your designs, it would easily pay for itself.
    I do have one that is not a handle gripper type, but a top and bottom dye for placing the grommet and striking with a hammer. It is for a slightly bigger size than the handle setter.

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