Window Treatment Style Education: Valances

Valances

Every valance we make is either my own design or has been inspired by a picture someone sent to us. We love a challenge here at Window Treatments by Melissa and invite you to send us your inspiration photos and we will see if we can recreate it for you!

Our Standard Valance

This is our standard valance and is my own pattern. This requires on one type of fabric. Home Decor fabric is always best. Not ideal for long windows unless you do two or three of the swoops with jabbots inbetween each swoop. It is mounted with brackets on a 2x3 or 2x4.

Ruffled Rod Pocket Valance, or Rod Pocket Valance

This is a standard ruffled rod pocket valance. It can be made with or without the ruffle at the top. This valance only rquires one type of fabric. It can be made lined or unlined. Home Decor Fabric is always best, but technically we can make this valance from a light weight quilters cotton. I made my son's "book nook" curtain from some "Cars" quilters fabric (below):

Ideal for any size window. It requires a curtain rod for hanging.

Penant Valance

The above is called a penant valance.. I recreated this for someone from a photo. It requires TWO fabrics: a main fabric and a coordinating fabric. Home Decor fabric is the only appropriate fabric for this style of valance. Ideal for any size window. It requires a curtain rod for hanging, however there is not pole pocket. It is simply draped over the curtain rod. Where it is hanging from the rod in the picture is actually the center of the treatment. It is all one piece. Very simple! Easy to remove for cleaning!

Ring Clip Valance

Above is a ring clip valance. This can made with or without the jabbots on the sides. It rquires TWO fabrics: a main fabric and a coordinating fabric. Home Decor fabric is best for this style, however, a light weight quilters cotton can be used. Ideal for any size window. Requires both a curtain rod and ring clips

Tapered Valance

I recreated the above valance from a photo for the Southern Virginia University allumni house. It is a tapered valance and is not ideal for wide windows. The ideal windows size would be 40" or narrower. It requires TWO fabrics: a main fabric and a coordinating fabric to line it. Home Decor fabrics are ideal, as always. Mounted on wall with brackets on a 2x3 or 2x4, or can be mounted inside window frame on 2x1.

Ribbon Valance

Above is a ribbon valance. This was recreated from a photo. It requires TWO fabrics: a main fabric and a coordinating fabric for lining and making the ribbon out of it. It is fized and is not meant for window covering, but decoration only. Ideal for anyh window size.

Below is the ribbon valance and how it looks in the window frame for an inside mount. Mounted on a 2x3 or 2x4 and requires brackets. Can be mounted inside frame with screws instead of brackets.

 I have several different photos of the ribbon valance to show you how much a difference fabric choice can make. They all look so different even though they are all teh same style.

We have been able to recreate almost everything that our clients have provided us a picture for. When the shop opened in 2010 we only had the first valance in our shop. Everhything else we have available now is because someone sent us a photo and asked if we could recreate it.

We love a challenge! Don't hesitate to send us a picture of something you have seen or like and ask us if we can recreate it for you.

Which valance do you like best? I am partial to the penant valance, myself.