valences for child's room

Posted by sewfine on March 30, 2007, 2:21 pm

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Dear Myrna,

I do custom window treatments for a living, so I felt compelled to add
my two cents' worth! I would absolutely line the valance to ensure a
quality result. Drapery lining is not expensive, it doesn't add a
great deal of time or difficulty to the project, and it will prevent
you spending time and money on something only to be disappointed with
the results. After all, most things worth doing are worth doing
well. The major benefit of lining the valance will be that the
valance will look better during daylight when the sun is streaming
through from behind. Hold a sample of your fabric up to the window to
see what I mean -- with most fabrics, you can't even see the pattern
if it's unlined and backlit, and the hem along the bottom will be very
obvious from the front because there will be three layers of fabric in
the double hem, compared with only one layer in the body of the
valance. As for the fabric selection, I agree that themed rooms for
children are notoriously shortlived and you should go ahead and
purchase that Nemo fabric at Wal Mart or wherever you can get it the
cheapest. I also have another suggestion for patterns: check out
www.mfay.com. They have a complete line of window treatment patterns,
many of which are for professional workrooms, but the patterns that
say "Sew Easy" are perfect for home sewers, very easy to understand,
and will enable you to get very professional results. As for the
width, I size my valances the same width as the window (including the
window trim if there is any), or perhaps a few inches wider, if there
are not going to be drapery panels beneath the valance. Also, I like
to mount the valance on the wall above the window so that the window
trim is hidden even at the short point of the valance, but most of the
valance fabric is covering wallspace above the window rather than
covering the glass and blocking sunlight. This can also help to
visually heighten the ceilings and give more of a designer look.

Best of luck with your project!
Rebecca in Charlotte, NC

Posted by Myrna on April 2, 2007, 12:09 pm

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They have a complete line of window treatment patterns,
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Rebecca,
Thank you so much for your response! You are the first person who has
actually given me reasons that make sense about why I should use a
lining. I did buy the fabric in walmart since it was the only local
place that had it. I wonder if lining fabric is actually called this?
I looked but didn't see anything named that. I really am a beginner
here!

The valences are in my daughter's home. She has picked this theme and
that will be her problem when the kids don't like it anymore. She also
has the rod already installed. She has a shade for privacy and given
that it is for a child, I think it will be fine to have it mounted on
the window frame.

Now, I'm nervous about using a lining because I've ready my book and
they say to sew the lining for the area between the rod pocket and the
hem. I'm not sure how to do that. The book isn't clear. Have I bitten
off too much for my experience?

Myrna

Posted by Taria on April 2, 2007, 1:41 pm

Wal Mart here has Roclon (I think that is the brand) of curtain
lining. It is over by the muslin. I did some valances for my
family room years ago. The were splendid but after all finished
I could see they needed the lining because of the sun shining
behind. It would have been a lot easier to line while making them
than afterwards but they came out ok.

TAria

Myrna wrote:

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