Other than a rolling shade and some paper curtain mockups, I’ve never made window treatments. I decided to give it a go for the Heritage.
A great resource in general is the book The Design Directory of Window Treatments by Jackie Von Tobel. It’s a book for real life sized decorating, but the ideas are marvelous and could be translated into miniature settings. And, the book comes with a CD of the designs in black and white drawings so you can color and manipulate to your tastes.
I also did a google image search for ideas and discovered that the terms pelmet, cornice and valance all mean similar things. Though, it seems valance might be fabric only and the other two have some sort of structure under it. Either way, I decided a pelmet/cornice would be the way to go.
An excellent book for miniature window treatments is Curtains by Sue Heaser. I’ve used her methods here with a few alterations.
Since there was already a lot of pattern and color in the room, I opted for a plain rectangular shape built from bass wood and mat board.
For the casement window, I made the pelmet 1/2″ tall. The pelmet for for the double window is 3/4″ tall. I thought the thinner measurement didn’t look right on the wide window.
I covered both pieces with the same fabric I used to upholster the kitchen chairs.
I think they add the perfect amount of decoration to the windows.
To make the curtains, I used the pin and spray method using a piece of foam core board and fabric stiffener. I started with the casement window curtains since they require less fabric. If I decided this was not for me, then I wouldn’t have wasted very much fabric. I used printed cotton fabric from Hobby Lobby, and it worked really well. I used the selvage edge of the fabric for the bottom hem which kept the bulk to a minimum.
This method creates holes in the fabric, but these can be worked back into shape with your fingernail or a pin. While working the holes out, I ended up with a few dark spots. But, what’s a spot or two on old curtains?! :D
I used fairy lace I bought at the Bishop Show one year for the tiebacks.
I glued the curtains to the pelmet.
I then glued the pelmet to the window frame.
The curtains might be a tad too short, but I like them well enough not to start over. Maybe grandma washed them once and they shrank.
After installing the pelmet and curtains for the casement window, I worked on the curtains for the double working window.
These are a much better length than the casement window curtains.
I love the way the fabric looks from the outside, too!
