July 13 2011 Newsletter

I was in an acquaintance's bathroom a few days ago. They had an inexpensive Roman shade on the window. I always thoroughly investigate other people's blinds to see how they are made. Maybe I'll come up with new ideas. This shade was obviously purchased in a Big Box store. It was made with muslin, unlined and pulled up crooked. I thought it looked cheap, which it probably was. On the plus side, it did have slats in the fold lines. A Roman shade is a good choice for tight spaces. My second article touches on using this treatment in the window over a kitchen sink.



Don't get me wrong, I'm not usually critical of window treatments. I'm intrigued about how blinds operate, love embellishments such as fringe and rivets and I'm impressed with fine workmanship. I often wish I had taken a photograph of an interesting shade when I am trying to recall details. If you come upon a lady half-way behind a shade with a pad of paper sketching away, don't call Social Services. It might be me!










Cord Shroud



I recently got this Comment on my YouTube video which shows how to add cord shroud to an existing Roman shade to make the back exposed lift cords child-safe: "What am I missing? How are these cords inaccessible? You can pull them right out of this shroud and still form a huge loop."

This is a very good question. The latest Safety Standard for Corded Window Treatments addresses "reasonable" strangulation situations.

The photograph above shows the back of a Roman shade with shrouded lift cords. The lift cord is brown and the cord shroud is white. It has little loops through which the lift cord is threaded. I made a sample shade using this cord shroud and had it tested for compliance last December. It passed the required tests at an independent consumer products laboratory.

There are two test devices used to confirm that a corded shade does not pose a strangula- tion hazard. The first device, which is called the Accessibility Probe, identifies any exposed cords that might form a hazardous loop (large enough for a child's head). The Accessibility Probe consists of a 24-inch arm with ONE hook. If you can hook a cord from the front, back or side of a shade using this probe, it is considered exposed. Our Sample Shade did have accessible back lift cords which were hooked by the Accessibility Probe.

The second test device, which is called the Hazardous Loop Test Stand, determines if an exposed cord poses a strangulation hazard. The Hazardous Loop Test Stand has an arm with TWO hooks, spaced 2.8-inches (70 mm) apart. This represents a hand which might grab the exposed cord. Why the two different probes to pull out the exposed cords?

My understanding of the definition (both from repeated reading of the Standards and discussions with many industry experts) is that it is highly improbable that a small child would manage to pull out the cord with one finger and then insert his head into a loop. The Hazardous Loop Test Stand was designed to most accurately duplicate situations that have resulted in strangulation. The loops on our cord shroud are spaced less than 1-inch apart. The Hazardous Loop Test Stand did not pull the lift cord out from the shroud. Therefore this way of shrouding the cord is deemed safe and compliant with the Standards.

I have more information on this issue on my web site in the Safety Issues for Roman Shades section.


Kitchen Shades

Roman shades are a good solution for that window over your sink. An inside-mount keeps the shade out of the way. In the evening when the sun goes down, it is so nice to look at a lovely fabric shade, rather than a mini-blind. This shade was made by SB of Goderich, Ontario, Canada for her neighbor (yes, she was paid to do the sewing). You can see the photographs of her other three shades in the Gallery Section of my web site.

I made this 46-inch wide by 38-inch long shade in 1997 for a Junior League Show Home in Denver, Colorado. It is a simple pieced blind made with 4-inch squares set on-point. The top of the shade has a strip of squares that mimic the dentil molding at the ceiling of the room (out-of-view). When the sun comes through the shade the seams joining the squares look like the grout between the tiles on the wall surrounding the window. I love this effect.

Some people worry about having a shade near a sink because of possible staining. I had an intricate pieced shade over my sink in Lexington, Massachusetts. It was made from quilting cottons and then sprayed with ScotchGard fabric protector. I often splashed it with food, even tomato sauce. The stains wiped right off. If your fabric is a decorator fabric it will already be treated with a fabric protector. If you're not sure, you can use ScotchGard.