The easiest way to design your Pattern is by using the our online Hardware Calculator which is located in every left-hand Navigation column of this web site or whenever you see this icon: . The Calculator not only determines the type and quantity of hardware you will need, but it also tells you the Fold Depth, number of Folds, Lower Drop, Top Border and the number of lift lines.

When you click on the Hardware Calculator icon, a pop-up window will appear. If you have a large enough monitor, you can move it out of the way and continue to read these directions. If this is not possible, print this page and then follow the examples below.  

An aside before we go through the examples, if you can't seem to get the Hardware Calculator to appear on your screen, see the TIP at the bottom of this page.

Example 1:
Finished Shade Width: 42-7/8"
Finished Shade Length: 73-1/2"
Ideal Stackage: 12"

Use the above values to fill in the top section of the Calculator. For this first example, specify: Classic Roman, "Yes" for wooden or plastic battens, "No" for Cord Lock. You can use the Conversion Table, which is inside the yellow box, to convert your 7/8" into 0.875". Now click on "Calculate". The "Your Results" section is completed based upon your input values. There is a very important paragraph titled "Placement of Lift Rings and/or Battens". We will discuss that paragraph after trying several variations of our input values.

Let's examine the results.
            Shade Type: Classic Roman Shade               Stackage: 12.5
            Shade Width: 42.875                                    # of Folds: 8
            Shade Length: 73.5                                       Fold Depth: 7.625
            Battens: Yes                                                # Lift Lines: 4
            Cord Lock: No                                              Lower Drop: 9.5
                                                                               Top Border: 3

You should verify that you input the correct numbers for the width and length of your shade and that you checked all of the correct boxes (type of shade, battens yes/no, cord lock yes/no). Everything checks out, except for the Stackage. You wanted an Ideal Stackage of 12". But the Calculator says you have an Actual Stackage of 12.5". That is because for this Shade Length, you cannot have a Stackage of 12". You have two choices. You can stick with a Stackage of 12.5", or you can try something else. Let's say that this is an Inside-Mount shade and you really want to minimize the Stackage so that you can maximize the light coming in the window when your shade is raised. Let's see what happens when you change your Ideal Stackage to 11". Go back up to the top of the Hardware Calculator, change Ideal Stackage to 11 and click "Calculate".

Example 2:
Finished Shade Width: 42-7/8"
Finished Shade Length: 73-1/2"
Ideal Stackage: 11"

New Results with Ideal Stackage of 11":
            Shade Type: Classic Roman Shade                Stackage: 11
            Shade Width: 42.875                                     # of Folds: 10
            Shade Length: 73.5                                       Fold Depth: 6.25
            Battens: Yes                                                 # Lift Lines: 4
            Cord Lock: No                                               Lower Drop: 8
                                                                               Top Border: 3

Your Actual Stackage is now the same as your Ideal Stackage. In order to achieve the smaller stackage, you now have two extra folds (remember that you will always have an even number of folds: an Up Fold and a Down Fold) and the Fold Depth is smaller. This means that you will have to sew on an extra row of lift rings (the rings go only on the Up Folds). Since you only have four lift lines, this means that you will need to sew on four extra rings. Since you will get 1.5" extra "opening", this seems like a good trade-off.

Example 3:
Now let's look at changing one other item. What if you have never used battens in a Roman shade. Perhaps you want to make your shades the "old-fashioned" way. To see what effect this has on your Pattern, simply change the statement "I will be using wooden or plastic battens" to "No" and click "Calculate".

Let's examine the results without battens:

            Shade Type: Classic Roman Shade                Stackage: 11
            Shade Width: 42.875                                     # of Folds: 10
            Shade Length: 73.5                                       Fold Depth: 6.25                        
            Battens: No                                                  # Lift Lines: 6
            Cord Lock: No                                              Lower Drop: 8
                                                                               Top Border: 3

Everything is the same except now you have 6 lift lines. Your results when you said you were using battens had only 4 lift lines. Since you have 10 folds and half of them will have lift rings, you will have to sew on 10 more lift rings. Now you are getting concerned. Why are there so many lift lines? The battens not only assure that the shade will fold perfectly, but they allow you to space the lift lines further apart since the shade won't sag between the lift rings.  

TIP: The Hardware Calculator is in a Pop-Up window. If nothing happens when you click on a link, you should check if you have blocked Pop-Ups on your Internet Browser. The Hardware Calculator is a pop-up window. If you are using Microsoft Explorer as a browser, you can check by clicking on the Tools tab at the top of your screen. Then click on Pop-Up Blocker. If it says "Turn Off Pop-Up Blocker", click on it. Now it should say "Turn On Pop-Up Blocker".  If your browser is allowing pop-ups and you still can't access the calculator, you may have another program that is blocking them. I have the Google toolbar on my computer and it also has a Pop-Up blocker. However, I can click on the little icon (it looks like three little overlapped rectangles) when I am in a web site and it allows pop-ups for that site. Another item to check is your anti-virus and/or firewall program.

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Contact Information:
Terrell Designs, owned by Terrell Sundermann 
5325 Sanford Cir. E. Englewood, Colorado 80113
Phone: (303) 758-0188  Email: