April 27 2011 Newsletter

In this issue I describe a way to easily add internal battens to an existing Roman shade. You can even do this without taking down your shade. I’ve uploaded a short video showing this trick. The second article describes the first segment that I taped in March for the PBS television program “Creative Living with Sheryl Borden”. It reviews the Second Provisional Safety Standard for Corded Window Treatments.

I am lucky to participate in correspondence with many small window treatment workrooms on the safety issue of shades. A year ago most of us feared that Roman shades would be outlawed. What has happened instead is that a lot of people have developed unique ways to address this issue. Every week I happen upon a new technique. Just yesterday I viewed a video that uses magnets in the side seams that mate when the shade is folded. Other inventions involve the marriage between a roller shade and a Roman shade. The only thing I don’t like about these two particular systems is that they appear to work for some shades (narrow enough to not sag in the middle or low enough off the floor so that you can reach the shade to pull it back down), but not necessarily for all sizes and locations of windows. What is exciting is that you are going to have lots of options for safe Roman shades.





Adding Internal Battens


We created a short one-minute clip from a portion of a Creative Living program that demonstrates an easy fix for existing Roman shades. If you have read more than a few pages of my web site, you'll know that I rave about using internal battens on the fold lines for smooth operation of your shade. This procedure only adds battens in the "up" folds. I usually recommend also placing them in the "down" folds as well. However, for a quick fix to a very annoying problem, I'm very excited about it.

What if you have a shade that does not have battens? You most likely will be "dressing" the folds when you raise the shade. You MUST watch this video. You don't even have to remove your shade from the window. You simply slip battens up inside the shade and lay them on each row of lift rings. This creates a fold line for your shade.

Your shade must have these aspects:

the shade must be lined (have a front fabric and a back lining),

the lift rings must be sewn through both layers,

and the bottom of the shade must be open.

If the shade isn't lined, forget this tip.

Here are the easy steps:

Cut a plastic batten 1/2-inch shorter than the width of the shade for each row of lift rings.

Slip the first batten up inside the shade, threading it between the lift rings up to the top of the shade. Lay it on top of the top row of lift rings. It will rest between the two layers (front fabric and lining) along the stitches used to tack the rings onto the shade.

Repeat this procedure for the remaining rows of lift rings, laying a batten on top of each row of rings.

Because the shade is hanging vertically, the battens don't move around. You can also do this with a shade that you are constructing. You may have to adjust the battens after you hang the shade. The "standard" way to add battens is to glue them inside the shade.





Understanding the New Safety Standards

You can view a 10 minute video on YouTube titled An Update on Safety Standards for Roman Shades. This program was taped in March 2011 for the PBS television program “Creative Living with Sheryl Borden”. It will air later in 2011. Using several sample shades and the actual shade that was tested by an independent consumer product testing laboratory, I describe the parts of the Second Provisional Safety Standard that is relevant to Roman shades. If you are making shades for yourself, you do not have to adhere to these rules. None-the-less, you should be aware of what they are and you may want to incorporate some of the new construction techniques and products into your next shade project.