Tricky window fabric

The biggest problem with fusible tape is that it requires heat to adhere... BUT... that windows can generate that heat between the curtain and window when hit by the sun, and then the fusible tape softens.

Been there, done that... my first roman type shade was a "no-sew" kit with fusible tape. First it was a pain to iron it straight, and second it fell apart on both the south facing and west facing windows!

That is when I figured out why it was on sale for 50% off, and I think I still paid too much for it.

What you may need to do is find a way to sew it together at the plain weave areas. It may actually look better if you do a full size in the middle, with smaller panels on the side. You may try cutting the partials at the edge, leaving 5/8" of plain weave... then sew it together and iron the seam allowance to the plain weave side. Much like you do with heirloom sewing and putting in entredeux (it took some time, but here is a picture of the stuff... it has a solid seam allowance on either side of the lacy stuff:

)Now I was assuming that the bands would be vertical... but looking through, I bet you are trying to make the bands horizontal (I'm tired and can't remember warp versus weft). Hmmm... If you have the plain weave bands sewn, you may not need to sew the weftless part. It will just hang there. You may have to trim the warp threads in the seam allowance to keep the density the same through out. If you are still concerned about the structure of the curtain, underline the whole thing with a sheer. That will provide some structure, and possibly protect the fabric from sun damage (but not much, since it is sheer... and I guess you want to let the light shine through the weftless bands).

Did you happen to notice I live in Seattle (SewInSeattle)? We've encountered fairly warm days in Astoria, OR, Ocean Shores, WA and even in Pt. Alberni, BC.... though we did find Ketchican and Skagway, AK to be cool in summer.

Even still, using fusibles to join large pieces of fabric is a royal pain in the behind. It is hard to keep straight, even on a large surface as you are reaching over with the iron. As I said: Been there, done that... and paid too much for the stupid kit even though it was 50% off.

We still get high pressures in mid winter that bring a blazing LOW sun that can hit the windows (I thought since we had a porch roof that shaded the living room windows in summer, we could do without curtains... WRONG!!! That December brought clear warming brigth obnoxious sun straight into the house --- being north means the sun is lower in the winter).

I meant that as an example of a way to cut the fabric to sew together if you wanted it to do it parallel to the stripes. Basically, you cut the plain weave part to 5/8" in on one side, and then remove 5/8" from another plain weave strip... then sew them together with a 5/8" seam. Voila... you have joined two pieces together.

If you want to sew them perpendicular to the stripes, just sew the plain weave selvedges together, and do not worry about open weave strips.

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That might work... especially if you don't sew the panels together. It is easier to pull up smaller narrower roman shades... and you don't have to have twice to three times the width of the window.

By the way, skip using ring tape... take the roman shade rings and then sew them on by machine like you would a button. If you have snap-on feet for your machine, simply remove the snap-on foot, if you have a Bernina type where the whole thing comes off, try to find a foot that will sit over the ring and hold it. Then simply use a wide zig-zag with a small stich length (like 0) over the ring to secure it.

Though with one set of roman shades with thick nobby fabric (the weave is called "hobnail") I just sewed the rings on by hand using a buttonhole stitch.