Hello everyone!
Normally I confine my sewing to garments with just a few home decor items for myself, but one of my steady customers asked me to make a special valance for her living room window and I agreed. She's decorated the room in an eclectic style and has selected five different fabrics to be used in the valance which she designed. The valance will lay smoothly against the rod, no gathers at all, and will have a 4" (10.2 cm, I think) return on each end. There will be no header either. Instead it will have a simple rod pocket channel with one row of stitches. She wants a series of five rectangles, each a different length and width, cut from five different fabrics. The series repeats once and the fabrics she chosen have a similar hand. I don't have any problem joining the rectangles that create the face of the valance, the question I have pretains to the lining. She chose a really nice Damask fabric as the lining. It also makes up two of the rectangles so it blends nicely. I want the 45 degree angles that will be formed where each odd length rectangle is joined to be sharp and crisp, not sloppy and I suspect the joining seam is going to create a problem. My original plan was the cut the lining to match the odd rectangle lengths, place right sides together, stitch following the odd lengths and the just pull to the back so that I can get inside the angles to shape them. I can then attach it at the top and sides, but I'm not sure that is the best way to go. Any suggestions? Thank you for your help.
Liz W.