The Working House

In Maine, after the summer tourists leave the state, the locals proceed to button up for the usual long cold winter.

Never would the modern Mainer settle into his favorite easy chair only to dip his feet into pools of frigid air that settle beneath windows. No sir! He puts up easy-to-make insulated shades.

The Mainers’ insulated shade has four layers and each of those layers has a purpose. The first layer is fabric chosen to match the decor in the room. The second layer is a thin plastic vapor barrier (painters’ drop cloth works well) that prevents the warm moist room air from soaking the third, and insulating, layer.

One-inch polyester fiberfill (sold at fabric stores) is a good choice for the insulating layer since it is fairly inexpensive and readily available, but consider other options such as Thinsulate by 3M, or scraps of wool fabric from sewing projects as well. The fourth layer is a backing (old sheets).

To make the shade, measure the outside dimensions of the window casing and cut the first and fourth layers of shade fabric 1/2-inch wider and three inches longer. Sew those two pieces together like an indside-out pillow case.

Cut the vapor barrier and fiberfill layers one inch smaller than the outside width of the casing, and two inches longer. Center and baste these two layers to the first layer, making sure that the vapor barrier will end up on the room side of the fiberfill insulation.

Turn the shade envelope right side out, trim off any excess polastic or fiberfill and sew up the last seam. That completes the shade and a way to seal the sides to prevent drafts.

A roman shade is raided and lowered by pulling nylon strings that are looped through eye hooks and plastic rings called “bone rings.” On the back of the shade, space the bone rings in a rectangular pattern six to 12 inches apart, using wider spacing for larger windows, and stopping four inches from the bottom.

Spot quilt the rings onto the back of the shade (for a nice effect, tie the rings on with bows that show on the front). Tie nylon mason’s line to each of the rings on the bottom row and thread them through the remaining rings to the top. Leave enough string to go across the top and back down to the bottom again.

Screw 1/2-inch eye screws to the top of the casing and in line with the bone rings. Thread the mason’s line through the eye screws, across the top, through one more eye screw, and then down to a cleat attached to the wall near the bottom of the window.

Fold the top edge of the shade over the top edge of the casing and staple the shade in place. Nail a strip of quarter round trim, stained or painted to match the window casing, over the top edge as a finishing touch.

Now, seal the edges of the shade against air infiltration by pressing them against the window casing with a long, skinny clalmp strip. Without this edge seal the shades would lose over half of their toasty effectiveness.

To make the clamp strips you’ll need two pieces of wood 3/4 inch thick by 1 1/2 inches wide, and three inches shorter than the length of the window casing. You’ll also need four self-closing cabinet hinges (like Amerock 7929). Screw one side of the hinge to the strip and the other side to the outside edge of the casing. There, they will snap closed on the outside edges of the lowered roman shade and provide you with nighs of draft-free comfort.