Sheron Cardin's Input...: My Favorite Decorating Tip #11; The Arched Window Wrap!

This is a really crude drawing I just put together from my Paint program but it will have to do for now. Many of you already know my laptop crashed with all my photos locked away inside...that I thought I had backed up...I know...duh! However, I know that arched windows were always a problem for myself and everyone else I know and I this treatment with my staple gun and no sewing. In my original photo that I cannot show you, I used a black and white plaid taffeta fabric from a fabric shop...the kind of fabric used for evening gowns and large skirts...the taffeta is stiff and crinkly and holds its shape well...called a 'good hand' in the business. I am using black in the picture below where the plaid taffeta should be.

Before   After

It is really crude and I apologize for that but I really want to drive my point home here. (Maybe Craig can show me how to do this and make it look great but in the mean time) Nothing is worse than an arched window treatment that cuts into the window or starts half way down and custom fitting treatments are very expensive...costing into the thousands.

So here is what I do: (NO SEWING)

• Purchase a width of fabric the entire parameter of the arched window. This will give you enough fabric for the pull and the puddle (the tightening of the fabric at the top and the puddle on the floor with excess fabric) In this case it would be about 8 yards or 24 feet. You don't have to hem the fabric at all.

• Now select a contrasting fabric for the tabs at the top. Cut the tabs in strips in the sizes you want. 6" width's is a good width. Then decide the tab or strap length...in this case it would be about 10". You might want to experiment with the straps (tabs) to see what looks best. 

• Now all you have to do (using my sizes as an example) is cut your straps twice as wide as the finished width you want and twice as long as the finished length you want. In this case I would cut 3 strips of fabric 18"x20".

• Layout your cut piece of fabric and with the width of the tab to the left and the right, fold the sides to the center and press with an iron. That is it. Now you have a 6" wide strap 20" long. Now it is ready to staple to the wall. Prepare the other tabs (straps) the same way.

• Take the top of the strap and place it to the top of the arch where you want the fabric to be. Imaging if the panel of fabric is going to be 8" all the way around the window...you will want to staple the top of the strap 4" higher on the wall or molding than the actual fabric is going to lay at its' lowest point. This sounds a little confusing but it really isn't. If you center your panel of fabric and place the strap in the middle with the sides hanging down evenly, and place the strap up on the wall where you want it, you will see where you need to staple it.

• Then you take the other end of the tab and flip it up to the wall with the panel inside of it and you will see where to staple it to the wall from underneath at the top. See below...the side with the folded seam will be hidden but is first stapled to the wall with the seam showing

• Repeat with the other 2 tabs or straps.

•  Fluff your fabric and adjust your straps until it is all even and the straps look identical. Then tuck the excess fabric on the floor into a puddle with the raw edges tucked under. That is it.
  

I am going to post this and see if it makes sense to you. If it doesn't, I can reword it, just let me know. You will never go back to little fan window treatments or skimpy scarves again!