It's a beautiful street that was probably one of the more fashionable places to live in Chicago in its day. It saw a decline for quite some time through the sixties and seventies, but in recent years has seen many of the properties like the one above returned to their former glory. When they found their house, my friend's husband saw an opportunity to create his own architectural showcase; as it takes shape, she's seizing the opportunity to decorate.
She asked if I'd work with her on the window treatments. She'd like to preserve some of the Victorian charm of the house, but with a modern twist. She loves crazy quilts. And purple. She knows she wants roman shades on the wall next to the cantilevered staircase and drapes in the bays in the living room. We've begun the process of looking at books, and magazines, and drawing lots of pictures. And choosing fabrics to see if they're workable.
I started playing last weekend with some silks, satin and brocade we'd picked out to do some samples. We had this (crazy) idea to applique some blocks or panels to velvet, see how that worked. Well, the silk shantung worked up beautifully, although it's a little messy (and I thought the homespuns shed -- hah!). I even took the Paintstiks to some of it to add some texture.
I was pretty jazzed about the progress I was making...until I got to the velvet part. To make a very long (two-day) story short, after much experimenting and swearing, the only way I could keep the #@*^!! velvet from stretching was to spray-baste a heavy tearaway stabilizer to the back, then use more heavy tearaway under the edges of the applique block on the front. While it actually looks quite nice, the result is a piece so stiff it could probably stand up by itself.
So I'm back to square one. I think I may try to piece the blocks and velvet instead, but still not sure how that would effect the draping. More experimentation, obviously, is in order.
Any ideas out there from the blogosphere would be appreciated!
5 comments:
I'd try cotton velveteen instead of velvet. much shorter nap and easier to work with. Once it is hung, it will have the same look, but you won't have all the hassle. I'll send you a scrap of purple if you send me your address.
Traditional velvet shouldn't stretch. Many of today's fabrics are stretchy to match what's offered in commercially made clothes. Is this the case? You may have to buy a different fabric or try a decorator supplier. I'm not sure if this advise is helpful at all but without touching the fabric myself ... Antique crazy quilts used brocades and velvets throughout. I always thought it would be difficult to work with since they slip and ravel. I LOVE THE BLOCKS YOU HAVE MADE. DON'T GIVE UP ON YOUR IDEA because it sounds like a great plan.
I love the look of velvet, but I hate the way that it sews. I don't have any suggestions that I have actually tried, but could you put a lightweight fusible interfacing on the velvet so that it would act more like a cotton? If it is the lighttest, it may still drape well.
no suggestions here, and excuse me, i loathe purple, though the blocks really do look good. it sounds like you have a beginning of a plan and maybe some help.
How about using the crazy quilt blocks at the top as a valence or the bottom of the velvet panel as a border. Using a walking foot on your sewing machine should help too.
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