Adding Machine Paper

You can purchase this item at any office supply store (usually in quantities of twelve 300-ft rolls) or order 15-foot sections  from us. You use this only when sewing the side seams of your shade. How many feet will you need (Finished Shade Length + 5")/12" As an example, if my finished shade is 68" long I will need : (68" + 5")/12" = 73"/12" = 6.1 feet. I will need 1 roll When you sew the Thermalsuede lining to your front shade fabric at the sides, you always sew with the lining on top. This means that the back (the "sticky", plastic side) faces up. The presser foot of your sewing machine can stick and pull on the lining, unless you have a walking foot or a Teflon foot. I have a very basic sewing machine, which has neither of the above specialty feet, so I use a piece of adding machine paper which I place on top of the lining. I stitch right through the paper, lining and front fabric. Then, I tear the paper off. The paper is wide enough to use twice, so use the other half for the other side seam.

An interesting alternative was sent to me by Dee Walters of Erie, Colorado: "Your readers might be interested in an alternative to adding machine paper for sewing fabrics that do not feed well in the machine. I didn't have adding machine paper, but did have some crepe paper left over from a party. I tried it and it worked beautifully. It was also very easy to tear off the stitching line." The only thing that I might worry about is using dark colored crepe paper, those dyes are NOT permanent. Don't drool on your work.