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Terrell's Designer Secrets
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TERRELL
SUNDERMANN'S
DESIGNER SECRETS
Terrell Sundermann is a renowned fabric artist and the author of Pieced Roman Shades: Turn Your Favorite Quilt Patterns into Window Hangings (C&T Publishing, 2000). Here she shares tips for creating pieced window hangings that look striking and hang perfectly.
Choose the right block size!
There are two important differences between designing a quilt top and designing the front of a pieced Roman shade. First, unlike a quilt, the finished size of your shade is determined by your window, not by personal preference. And second, you want your shade to look great both when it's raised and when it's lowered. This means the fold lines must fall in the right places.
You will
design the placement of those fold lines right into your pieced pattern.
When making a shade that contains quilt blocks, I plan the folds so they
fall either on the full block or on the half block. Since the outer dimensions
of the shade cannot vary, I change the block size and the border widths
until I come up with a pleasing design that folds correctly. If I'm making
a shade that does not include quilt blocks, such as a bargello or a landscape
pattern, I still plan my folds so I know how the shade will look when
it's raised. Full directions for laying out the front of your shade are
given in my book, Pieced Roman Shades: Make Your Favorite Quilt Patterns
into Window Hangings.
I made shades for most of my windows before I realized there were vertical-layout rules. Sometimes the shades didn't fold up correctly. Sometimes I ended up with a narrow strip of faded fabric. But I loved every single one I made! So don't agonize over the details—just jump in and enjoy your efforts!
Protect your pieced design from fading!
The most important component of a pieced Roman shade is a backing that blocks ultraviolet light. I like the Roc-lon® Thermalsuede® lining from Rockland Industries, Inc. It's available in widths of 48 and 54 inches, in both white and ivory. Most fabric stores that sell home-decorating fabrics carry this product.
What I like about Thermalsuede is that it filters the light while providing good insulation against both heat and cold. Since a reasonable amount of light comes through the shade when it is lowered, your window hanging looks like stained glass, with the seams appearing as leaded outlines.
Want to using Warm Window® with your pieced Roman shade?
Several of my students have backed their pieced shades with Warm Window®, for added insulation. This certainly works, though you should keep several things in mind if you plan to try it.
First, because no light passes through Warm Window, your pieced shade will not have a stained-glass effect. You must decide which is more important, the artistic look of stained glass or the efficient insulation and energy savings offered by Warm Window.
Second, Warm Window lining comes prefolded in four-inch sections. This means you will need to lay out your pieced design so it folds in four-inch sections (or eight-inch or 12-inch sections). This might mean using templates for your blocks.
You'll find complete instructions for designing the front of your shade in the chapter "How to Lay Out a Window Hanging" in my book.
Choosing fabrics that coordinate with your room . . .
At first I agonized over fabric sources for my work. I thought I had to present a fabric set to the client with each design. Should I order bolts of fabrics ahead of time? Now I don't worry about it. I have four wonderful fabric stores within a 10-mile radius of my home, and of course there's also the Internet to shop on.
When I'm putting a design together, I go to all four of my local stores and purchase 1/8-yard pieces of all the fabrics that will work with my color scheme. I look for border fabrics with at least five yards on the bolts, so they'll still be there when I go back, hopefully within a week. I also write down the manufacturer, design name or number, color, and the name of the store carrying each fabric.
I then spread all the fabric samples out, choose those that look best together, and make a sample strike-off—usually the lower left-hand corner of the shade, consisting of one block and two borders. I tape the strike-off to the corner of my window and live with it for a few days. If the shade is for a client, I sew two and give one to the client for his or her window. Then I rush back to the stores and purchase the correct quantity of each fabric.
If the border fabric is gone, I get out the Yellow Pages and guild newsletters and call every store in the state. I've never had a problem getting the correct yardage shipped to me.
I have also stopped worrying about finding the same fabrics. I simply tell my clients that unless they make rapid decisions, the fabrics might change!
Continue on to:
Read Terrell Sundermann's Life Story
See Terrell Sundermann's Window-Fashion Show
Purchase Terrell Sundermann's Products