When Fabric Design & Pattern Repeat Influence Window Treatments

Several weeks ago, Sandy contacted me about a new valance for her kitchen. She already had her fabrics picked out as well as an inspiration photo.

What made this scalloped valance a bit trickier than other valances was the large rooster pattern in her fabric and the necessity of paying close attention to the pattern repeat.
If you look close you’ll notice the pattern repeated within the valances above. A more subtle repeat but still evident.

Due to the size of Sandy’s window we chose to make three scallops instead of the two shown in her inspiraton photo.

This valance is 20″ long at it’s longest point by 76.5″ wide – finished.
Each scallop is 25.5″ wide.
Each center plaid section is 12″ wide before being folded to form the pleats.

The binding along the lower edge was made by creating a 1/2″ seam binding. 

These short pieces show the process of creating the seam binding.
1. Cut 2″ strips along the bias of your fabric
2. Fold and iron in half to form a 1″ piece
3. Open fold and iron 1/2″ in on each side to align with ironed fold, again creating a 1″ piece
4. Fold in half again to form the 1/2″ finished binding

The lining for this valance was cut to match each scallop and pleat. The lining and face of the valance was then pinned, wrong sides together.
The binding was pinned along the lower edge and top stitched in place.

Up close view of the top stitching. 

The valance was then folded and pinned in place to form the correct finished width, ironed and stapled to a 1″x 3″ board measuring 76.5″ long. 

Making sure the pattern was centered both vertically and horizontally was definitely a bit tricky but so worth it for the finished valance.
When working with a large pattern be sure to take in to consideration the size of your pattern and repeat when figuring the yardage for your project. More fabric is required when using a large pattern…especially with this style of valance.

For the returns, I included another pleat, making the return out of the rooster fabric and finishing the edges by continuing the binding up the end of the return.
I had never included this detail before and I really like how it turned out.

And the finished valance, professionally displayed sitting on top of a chest.

And now hanging in Sandy’s kitchen. Thanks for the photos, Sandy!
After Sandy and her husband installed the valance they decided cafe curtains would be just the thing to finished their kitchen. So…next project is coordinating cafe curtains!

Sources
Fabric – P.Kaufmann County Fair Yellow Rooster

For more details on how to construct a board mounted valance visit this post…
How to Make a Board Mounted Valance