Banded Ice-Blue Silk Shade

Betty continued: "I came up with a creative solution that worked like a charm! I made small tucks on the back of the main fabric that were large enough to hold the battens. When I sewed the side seams joining the front fabric and blackout lining, I simply skipped over each tuck. I sewed right up to the tuck, backstitched for strength, then lifted up the presser foot and slid my fabric beyond each tuck. I didn't have to go very far since I basically flipped the tuck fabric towards the back. Then I sewed up to the next tuck making sure to backstitch at the beginning and end of each section. I didn't have to slit open any fabric, there were no pinholes and the battens slid in very easily."

Betty continued: "I also didn't want the Velcro attachment on the shade front to show at the top, so I attached the Velcro to the top of the mounting board (facing the ceiling) and allowed enough fabric on the shade to be able to mount that way. No stitching shows on the shade except for a few spots where the lift rings are sewn."

I asked Betty how she attached the banding to the shade. My guess was applique. Betty replied: "I attached the trim using fusible webbing called Steam-a-Seam 2. I had planned on sewing it on, but I didn't like seeing all the stitching so I tried the fusible webbing and was very pleased with the results. I've always been dubious of glues and webbing to hold something permanently, but I'm coming around! The trim is about 1-1/2" wide, so I used two strips of 1/2-inch Steam-a-Seam 2 and ironed it on in three long strips.

The silk fabric is from Silk Trading Company and is called Duchess Blue and the trim, which contains some of the blue, is their McCracken Plaid."