This photograph shows three of the seven Roman shades made by Linda M of Mundelein, Illinois, USA. She sent this message: "Although I am an advanced garment sewer, I had never attempted shades. Your clear and concise directions gave me the confidence to tackle the 7 windows in my living room." 
Linda continued: "I think they turned out beautifully. I ventured into adding a lower border with a braid insertion."Linda made a "practice" shade for her Powder Room before making these seven shades. Since she had never made window treatments before, that was a very worthwhile activity. You can see more photographs of Linda's shades by going to the Gallery Section of my web site
I recently had a question from a customer about installing Roman shades on high windows. I install all of my shades myself. The one exception is if I don't have a ladder that is big enough to reach the top of the window where the mounting board will be attached. In that case, I hire a professional installer.The "standard" installation method requires crawling under the shade to get at the mounting board. This is because the "standard" construction method staples the shade to the board. I did this only one time and switched to using Velcro to attach the shade to the board. This is a little more expensive (Velcro costs more than a few staples) but dramatically changes the installation experience.
The easiest way to install a shade made with Velcro at the top is to attach the mounting board to the wall or window, partially mate the shade to the board and then string the cords through the flat pulleys or screw eyes. Many of my clients request a cord lock pulley for their shades. Although you can string the cords through the cord lock while standing on a ladder, it is easier to do it on your work table. I cut the lift cords a few yards longer than required so that I can pull the shade off the mounting board and lay it on that little shelf on my step ladder with the cords still threaded through the hardware.
Your window may be so high that you need an extension ladder to reach the top of the window. You can still use this method, but now you need a helper to hold the shade. Make sure to add enough extra lift cord so that it is not pulled out of the hardware. I have even done this alone by placing a couple of chairs under the window to hold the shade. I really hate to ask a client to help me with installation.This is a great method to use when hanging a Top-Down/Bottom-Up shade. All of the cords can be confusing and pre-stringing your shade on your work table or floor makes installation a lot easier.
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