Sew Lift Rings on Classic Shade

If you are not using battens, use a tape measure on each side of the shade and position mounting board so that the pulleys or screw eyes line up along the lowest fold line (the Lower Drop.)

Make a small pencil mark on the lining of the shade in the center of each pulley. This mark will be right on top of the batten. After you have marked the lowest row of lift rings, move the mounting board up, skipping every other batten, and mark the location of the remaining rows of lift rings. Your top batten will not have lift rings. Let me stress this point: there will be lift rings on only half of the battens (or fold lines). These are the Up Folds. If you sew rings on every batten, your shade will automatically make additional folds in-between the battens.

 

Sew the lift rings in place on the back of the shade, using thread that matches the front fabric in each location. Repeating the instructions from above: the rings will be sewn on every other batten, beginning at the lowest batten. First tack the ring to the lining only, then continue sewing the ring on by looping the thread through the front fabric and back to the lining around the internal battens. The stitches will show on the front of the shade, but you should be able to make the visible portion less than 1/4".

I always try to use upholstery or carpet & button thread when sewing on the lift rings. It is thicker and stronger than regular all-purpose thread. The only drawback is that it only comes in about 30 colors. You can purchase this thread (in a limited number of colors) in our Online Store. If I am using this heavy thread, I attach the ring to the shade using 3 stitches (not counting first tacking the ring to the lining). In other words, I stitch through the front side of the shade and back to the lining 3 times. On the bottom row of lift rings, I use 5 stitches. The lift cords will be tied to the bottom row of rings, so these need to be attached really well. If my fabric front is an unusual (such as lavender) and I can’t find a heavy-duty thread to match, I double the number of stitches I use to 6 for the upper rows of rings and 10 for the lowest row of rings.

It is a bit awkward to sew on the lift rings if you do it on your work table. If you like to sew on your lap, be sure to pin the layers together on your work table before doing that. I suspend my shade from a beam when I sew on the rings. I have a beam in my workroom to which I have stapled the hook fastener (Velcro). I mate the loop fastener on the shade to that and stand behind the shade to sew on the rings. I use a ladder or chair to reach the higher rings. I also always start sewing  at the top row of rings. Once I have sewn one row, I inspect the front of the shade to make sure I don’t have any puckers.

 

You can see the hook fastener that is stapled to the top of the green trim	A shade is attached to the hook fastener and suspended, ready for sewing on the lift rings	I use a ladder to sew on the top rows of lift rings, then stand for the middle rows and sit on the ground to sew on the lower rings.

 

You may notice that the marks you made for your lift rings no longer fall on top of the battens when you hang it up. If this happens, be sure to sew your rings on top of the battens. You can usually just adjust the location visually. Another comment on sewing rings on long shades. When I first started using the suspended-shade technique, I would tack the ring in place, jab the needle through to the front of the shade, climb down the ladder, walk around to the front of the shade, jab the needle back to the backside of the shade around the batten and lift ring, walk around to the back of the shade, climb the needle and continue on. Great exercise but it sure did take a long time to sew on those rings. I discovered that I could fold the shade up into the crook of my left hand and use my right hand to sew on the ring from the back side of the shade. Try it, it works great.

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