Drapery Making-Part Two.........My Way....Not Necessarily the Only Way

In "Part One" I showed you how to make the components for the "Swag" top treatment.  Remember that only the parts are made at this point......not assembled.

The next step is to make the "Underdrapery" and the "Overdrapery".  For that I like to use a "Pretty Pleater" by D. Anne Ruff.  http://www.danneruff.com/   I have read elsewhere that others don't like this device because it makes panels that look like a "wasboard".  True, it does create that look but you don't have to leave them that way.  How you finish and install your treatment will determine washboard or not.  This is a great tool for pleating.

To start your panels you need to determine how many folds you want, and what length you are going to make the finished panels.  I could give you all sorts of measurements but the best way to detemine this is to put a piece of fabric in the pleater, press into the channels, and when you have the desired number of folds add 1/2" to the overal width of the piece for side hems.  Add 1" to the desired finished length for top and bottom hem.  I do those first and use "Stitch Witchery" a fuseable web for hemming, found worldwide in sewing shops.   Follow directions on the package.

Stitch Witchery Iron on Fuseable



To start, I held my iron above the pleater and burst some steam into it.  This helps hold the fabric in the channels.   I put the fabric face down and pushed the fabric into the channels with my fingertips.  You can use a credit card if you like or a ruler.  Your goal is to evenly distribute the fabric.  Once you have as many folds as you want, hold your iron above the fabric and burst the steam onto it.  Let it dry and cool.  Practice will make you a pro at this.

I am showing you in this picture how the panels look in the pleater.

  Next I prepared the overdrapery fabric the same way, measure, cut, hem, pleat, steam.......... (I did make the left and right "returns" 3/8" wide so that they would cover the sides of the wood frame)  When this one was cool and dry I removed it from the pleater and pinned it to a piece of 1/2" foam core board.  I pushed the pleats together at the top and securely pinned, then I determined where I wanted to tie them back. I pinned the folds at the bottom outer corners pulling them fairly taught.  Next I carefully pulled up and shaped a graceful sort of curve at the tieback point and pinned this to the foam core board.  When I was happy with both panels I steamed them again and misted them with "White Rain" hairspray.  When dry, they will retain this shape.  When you install your Treatment in your house or room it may be necessary to glue and pin the folds at the floor level to keep them looking straight and natural. 

Shaping the Tiedback panels

At this point I glued the underdrape into the frame I built in Part-One.  These ecru panels fit entirely inside the frame.  Next I glued the stripe overdrapery in front of the ecru panels.  The stripe panels will cover the outside of the frame.  I used the "Sequin Pins" mentioned in Part-one to secure the panels at the top and at the tieback point.

I finished the treatment by glueing the swags in place centered and folded the raw edge over the top of the frame. Next I glued the jabots on to the left and right sides leaving 1/2" for the side returns. "Returns" refers to the flap of fabric folded around the sides of the drapery to finish the swag.

 

Finished Treatment



For the tassels I used embroidery floss in raspberry and ecru.  I wanted to see the colors boldly so I did not seperate the strands.  Next I inserted pins at an anle in a piece of foam core board.   I knotted on end of my thread and pinned it securely to the left of the angled pins. I simply wound the thread strands in a zig-zag manner around the pins until there were 8 strands on each pin.  Four pins will create four tassels.  At this point I inserted a double thickness of  the raspbery thread around the strands where the pins are located and tied a square knot.     (Boy Scouts 101........right over left then left over right.......will not come untied.)  Then cut the tassels midway between the upper and lower rows of pins.

Tassel Making

 Pierced Earring backs, Flower Head Pins

I used a pierced earring back for the decorative part of the tassel.  You can easily remove the cap part of the earring back and the rubber inner membrane to create this part.  I simply inserted the tassel into the earring back and tied them together.   They can be trimmed to length and brushed with a toothbrush if you want to seperate the strands a bit.  With a "Thread Winder", I twisted some embroidery thread for the tiebcack and secured a loop around the panels.  Then I tied on the tassels and glued them and snipped off the end threads. The decorative holder on the side is a "Flower Head Pin".  It is all about illusion!

So I am out of room again in this post and you are probably sooooooooo bored now.    Hope I offered something with these two posts that may inspire you to try Drapery making.

Remember...this is "My Way" not the only way. 

      

Ciao for now!

Ray

Drapery Making-Part One.........My way

                                                   

Hello my Friends!

 First and most important......welcome to the new people who have decided to follow along with me! I appreciate all of you who are here.....and hope you find something interesting that will make you want to come back.

 There are many "Drapery Making" how-to's out there in bloglandia so I decided to add mine to the mix. For many years I owned and operated a "Drapery Workroom" making real life window treatments.  I learned how to do many different styles and types of "Top Treatments", "Shades", "Valances", and "Drapery" and while I would love to do them all in miniature, they just don't all work...... I have adapted many patterns and techniques from the "Real World" for miniature drapery making.  Gravity and fabric thickness play a huge role in the success or failure of most miniature treatments.    So.....you have to create your own form of "Gravity" which might be with glue or pins or hairspray,or some or all of these. Practice is key and trial and error is the only way to learn how.

Many months ago a friend and fellow miniaturist asked me to do an elaborate swag treatment for a project she has done.  I normally don't  accept these requests because of the time it takes to do them and because I cannot control how the fabric that someone else chooses will work.  But I took this one on and it went just fine. My friend chose a very thin and fine quality "Silk" in a Raspberry/Ecru stripe. Thin fabrics work the best for me, but I have used some heavy ones with success also.  Experimentation is the only way to know.

So here we go...........

This is the finished treatment, ready to install.  It is large scale for a tall window and a very tall ceiling height.

Tools

These are the tools I used to make this treatment.  They include a "Pretty Pleater", sharp plier scissor, sequin pins", silk pins with a ball head, angled tweezer, fabric glue bottle with a needle nose tip, thread winder and weight, pin plier, foam core board 1/2" thick, not pictured, a "Burst of Steam Iron", and "White Rain" hair spray.

Swag Pattern

This is the pattern I used to make the "Swags" It can be adjusted to accomodate different depths of Swags

Jabot Pattern

This is the pattern for the "Jabot" or "Cascade" .  This pattern flares slightly on the short side. I like this little flare on the finished edge.  This pattern can also be adjusted for as few or as many folds as you want.

Frame

I realize that this picture is a bit bright so I will describe what it is.  I make a wood frame for some of my Drapery Treatments. It allows me to make and adjust the treatment outside the house or box.  Everything will be attached to this frame.  This one is for a multi-layer treatment (underdrape, overdrape, top treatment).  The sides are 1/8" thick x 3/8" wide, top is 3/8" x 3/8".  On the front at the top edge is a piece of 3/16" x 3/16" wood.  The 3/16" is where the Swag is attached.  The under drapery fits inside the main frame, the tied back overdrapery covers the side frame and rests under the 3/16" top piece.  Still with me............. :-)

Swag formed and pinned

                                                 
So here is one of the two swags pinned to the foam core board .  I cut two of these using the pattern and began the folds at the top and worked to the bottom. I will trim and "tweak" these when I am ready to finish. This step takes practice..........and can be frustrating.....the folds need to be as small as possible.

Jabots folded and pinned

  Next I cut two "Jabots" from the pattern and folded and pinned them to the foam core board.  I made sure that the fabric pattern matched left and right when I cut them out.  After these were folded and pinned I used a "Burst of Steam" iron and steamed them well. When cool, I misted them with "White Rain" hair spray and dried them.  They are now permanently folded.  I recommend testing a scrap of  your fabric with the hair spray before commiting to your finished piece.  I steamed and misted the two swags next and let these all dry.  A hair dryer is your best friend for this.  So now I wanted to add some "Fringe" to the unfinished edges.  So, Ray, how did you do that?   Thank you for asking!  Oops sorry..........one of my other personalities had to ask..........

For "Miniature Tassel Fringe"  I like to use a tiny "Picot" edging that is available all over the place, mine came from "Sandy's Victorian Lace and Trims" 

                                                               "Picot" edging

I sometimes "Paint" the tiny tassels in alternating colors with craft paint that matches my fabric . You can also paint the entire trim piece to match your fabric choice.  For this one I used an ecru color "Picot" and colored every other tassel with a permanent marking pen that just happened to match the "Raspberry" color in the silk

                                                                    Assembly

Next I started the assembly...by gluing the two swags together in the center.  The small "tube" of fabric on the right will cover the center join and give the illusion that this is all one piece. 

                                                          Fringe Application
I trimmed the lower edge of the swags to neaten them up and glued the fringe along the bottom using "Bond Fabric Glue" in the glue bottle.  Bond Fabric Glue is white and very thin and dries with no sheen. I love it for this use and for furniture cording. 

                                              

This picture is of the finished "Top Treatment".  I applied fringe to the remaining parts and set them all aside until the draperies were fininshed. 

So I have reached the end of this post space...........And you made it this far..........Next post will be the "Draperies, Tassels, and Finishing"    Rest up!

Your Pal Ray

Introducing "La Maison des Grands Rêves"

Hello my friends!

  Thanks to all who offered suggestions for a name for my structure.  Since it is not a "chateau" I thought the name should be something more suited to the kind of building it actually is.   You will recall that I was given this building as a "gift" and the original owner, though not a follower, is reading the blog and watching the progress.  We live in different parts of the country and this is her only way to see the progress.  She
e-mailed me and had a couple of "name" suggestions..........so in honor of her gift I chose one of hers and "tweaked" it a bit..

My structure will now be known as, "La Maison des Grands Rêves", which translated means "The House of Great Dreams".  For those of you who are fluent "French" speakers, I got this French phrasing from my friend in Paris. She offered a more "poetic" version which I thought great, but I decided on this simpler one.  The only problem is that I cannot sort out how to put an "accent" above the first "e" in "Reves".

I also appreciate the comments about the sconces and I knew the pictures were terrible.  A couple of you suggested using the "Macro" setting on my camera and I thought Ok.....(?)....what is that?   Well dontcha know my camera has that! So I took two pictures of the "Sconce" parts and here they are......

These are the candle cups, fluted dishes, leaf arms, and main body, mouse ear top piece

This is the candle body with a removeable bi-pin bulb and the Clare-Bell  shade harp and shade. 

I finished the Library cornice and ceiling and will post that later when I get some good pictures.  I will be moving on to the "Foyer" and "Kitchen" next and don't plan to furnish these spaces until all three are done.

Hope you all are having a great time with your miniatures and keeping warm!   It's 18 degrees Fahrenheit here:-(

Kind wishes from Ray

Slow Progress on the Library........

Hello my friends!

Thank you to those of you who offered all of the great suggestions for a "New Name" for, what will soon no longer be called, "Chessington Plaza".  I have decided on a name and have e-mailed a friend of mine in Paris to ask the proper French phrasing for my choice.  So as soon as she responds I will tell you what it is going to be.

I have done a little more work on the Library since the last post and hopefully tomorrow I will finish the ceiling and cornice molding.  I made a pair of lighted "sconces" that I have installed above the fireplace and also painted the marble for the mantle front and hearth.  I did the same marble for the skirting boards and door plinth blocks. 

Sorry for quality of this picture, I just don't seem to be able to get good shots.  But you get the idea....

In this picture you can get a look at both sconces and the faux marble.  Also you can get a look at the "herringbone" brick in the firebox.  Thank you Josje for an excellent post on that process!

                               Close up of the sconce.  I used a Bronze paint highlighted with gold.

                     This is the faux marble skirting board and plinth block I mentioned earlier.

                                 More of the faux marble.........so on to how the sconces were made.

I have for many years used "Jewelry Findings" to make chandeliers and sconces for my miniatures....that is when I could not get some amazing piece from the many talented lighting artists.  A great source for jewelry findings is JAR-JAF. You can find them at  http://www.jaf-jar.com/ and yes the web name is reversed from the business name.  Judith Andraka is the owner and very nice to deal with.  She has a catalogue for purchase that is chock full of great findings of all descriptions as well as "Crystals" for those sparkling chandeliers.

I used one of my favorite glues to glue these metal parts together. It is called "Hot Stuff Super T" available usually from hobby shops.  It is an extremely strong cyanocrylate glue that does not tend to "bloom" (turn white) on metal pieces. It sets quickly or can be set instantly with an accelerator like "Insta-Set" also from a Train/Hobby Shop. For the finish I used a product called "Sophisticated Finishes" blackened bronze. This can be found online at  http://www.tricoat.com/ or at Michael's stores in the faux finish department.  It is a wonderful metallic bronze paint.

                 
                                                                     Glue and Paint



These are the parts I used for the structure.   I know..........blurred and hard to see, sorry.  On the left are two gold candle cups that have a tiny neck with a hole that wires will go through, below that fluted dishes, the other parts you can tell.

                                      I used candle body sockets from Cir-Kit and bi-pin bulbs.



So this is how they were assembled. I bent the strip of  leaves into an arc and glued the leaf arc to the base of the main body.  Then I glued the fluted dishes on to the leaf arms.  I put a small gold piece at the top that sort of looks like "Mickey Mouse" ears

This picture shows the "Shades and Harps".  I purchased those from Clare-Bell Miniatures.  The unfortunate part though is that they will not sell these individually.  So I buy a fixture of theirs to sacrifice and get the shades and harps I need.  These harps will only fit onto Cir-Kit candlebodies.  For those who don't know Cir-Kit they are a miniatures lighting company here in the US and can be found online at http://www.cir-kitconcepts.com/ 

This lovely blurred picture shows the assembled  piece prior to painting.  I put the wires through the holes in the main body and they hide completely when installed.

That is it for now as I am in my basement with cold hands typing all this.  We had "Snow" today and  the winds have been howling and blowing the snow all over the place.  More as soon as I thaw out and can continue.

Thank you for stopping by and taking a look.   I appreciate all of you who take the time to see what I am up to!

Time to Re-Name the Plaza

Hello my friends!  I decided that this structure I am working on should have a new name since it is no longer recognizable as a "Chessington Plaza".   I have been racking my brain trying to come up with something appropriate and so far..........nothing.   I would love to hear suggestions from you , my followers, as to what you think would be a good  new name for this building.  It needs to be "French" inspired.  I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

I have been working on the Library and the pictures will show you the progress so far. The one below will give you a good idea of how I will arrange this room.  I still have the Cornice and Skirting boards to do as well as the ceiling and lighting.  I am adding more trim to the openings of the bookshelves to give them a more detailed edge.  The alcove on the left side is going to have a "Banquette" with pillows to sort of indicate a cozy reading spot. The furniture you see is not what will actually be used. I will be making the sofa and many other pieces that I will post about when I begin them.  I have also to do the firebox and I am doing that in a "Herringbone" brick pattern ala "Josje".  She gave a great post on this type of firebox and I have to do it.  Thank you "Josje"!

I chose the picture below for you to see the floor I decided to do.  Interlocking "Herringbone".  I chose to orient the pattern front to back as I feel  the zig-zag pattern draws your eye in this way. I am very happy with the result.

This next picture shows the right side of the room with light coming in through the window.  I did bookcases flanking both sides of the window.  Lotsa books in my future...........

This last picture shows the doorway to the "Foyer".  You can also see a little more of the paneling detail and how "Antiquing" with more "Liquin and Burnt Umber" seals everything together and covers any little crevice that might appear when cutting and fitting  all these pieces together.  This is my favorite way of faux graining.

Thats it for this post.....I am making some sconces for this room and will also be making my own "Chandelier" so stay tuned if you are interested in seeing what I use.   

Also don't forget to send me your thoughts on a "New Name"!