Randy’s shade pulls up perfectly as you can see from the photographs. It doesn’t sag in the middle and lies nice and flat against the window trim.
I consider a large shade to be wider than 72” and/or longer than 72”. If I am covering a window that contains multiple panes, I almost always opt for one large shade, rather than separate panels. It is so much more convenient to raise and lower one shade every morning and evening, rather than two or three. So I have never worried about size.
How heavy is a large Roman shade?
Normal Roman shades are not heavy. However, as you increase the size, it can become difficult to raise. This is the real issue: how easily can I pull up a large shade? There are many things that you can do to ensure that a large shade works perfectly:
· Use lightweight fabrics, such as 100% quilting cotton, rather than heavy decorator fabrics. This is a guideline that you can ignore if you follow the other recommendations.
· Use a lightweight lining, such as ThermalSuede. Think twice before you use Blackout lining on a large shade. It weighs about 50% more than ThermalSuede or an uncoated drapery lining.
· Use pulleys rather than screw eyes for the lift cords. This is the single-most important thing to do for a large shade. Pulleys make it easy to lift a very large shade.
· Use aluminum rather than steel for the weight rod. Aluminum is about half the weight of steel and costs only a little more. You definitely need a weight rod on a large shade for it to drop correctly when lowered. The Hardware Calculator will recommend the correct type of weight rod based upon your shade dimensions.
· Use plastic battens in the folds. They make a large shade look truly professional. You can join the 5-ft battens using rib splices.
· A cord lock pulley may not work on a large shade. If you think you definitely want one, go ahead and use it. If it doesn’t work well, you can always remove it and just use the tandem pulley. You don’t even have to take the shade down. The cord locks that I carry in the Shopping Area are rated for shades up to 90-poinds in weight. I can’t imagine your shade weight is even one-quarter of that. However, I do know from personal experience that I seem to replace cord locks on large shades a lot.
· Use hook-and-loop fastener (Velcro) to attach the shade to the mounting board. That way you can attach the board to the wall first and then add the shade when everything is level. Here comes my physics spiel: Velcro is “un-mated” by pulling out from the wall/window. It won’t ever “un-mate” due to the downward pull of even the heaviest shade. The wider your window, the more Velcro you are using, so you should not be concerned that your shade will spontaneously fall off of its headrail.
