Windows are designed to admit light and air and to allow views of the outside world. But windows and their treatments play a myriad of other roles, ranging from purely decorative to hardworking. Roman shades will help you control light and provide privacy. Roman shades also have an insulating effect since the space between the fabric and the window - a dead-air space - prevents air currents, cold or hot, from circulating.

Folding a Roman Shade
All types of Roman shades (Classic, hobbled, relaxed and even top-down) fold using the same principle. Columns of rings on the back of the shade are used to guide lift cords. When the rings "stack up" they cause a fold in the shade. Let's begin with the Classic Roman shade, which pulls up from the bottom when opened. The lift cord is tied to the bottom ring in each column then threaded up through the remaining rings and through the pulley mounted directly above that column of rings on the headrail. All of the cords are then threaded sideways at the top of the shade along the mounting board and exit on one side of the shade. The shade is operated by pulling on the lift cords. It folds in accordion fashion halfway between each row of rings.

You will most likely be using the Hardware Calculator to determine your fold depth and the number of folds. But you should still understand how your shade operates.

Let's start with the first fold, which happens at the bottom of the shade. The first photo below shows the shade as it is just pulled up. If you squint you can see the lowest lift ring. The lift cord is tied to this ring. When the cord is pulled, the bottom of the shade begins to rise. The middle photo below shows the shade with one, double, fold. The bottom lift ring has hit the second lift ring. Notice that a second fold has been made halfway between the two lift rings. I call the lower fold of the fabric a "down" fold. It is on the front side of the shade. I call the upper fold the "up" fold. It is on the back side of the shade. Every time the bottom of the cord reaches a row of lift rings, it forms two folds: one "down" fold and one "up" fold. The last photo below shows the shade when the lift cord has reached the third row of rings. There are now two "down" folds and two "up" folds. 

	Every shade has an even number of folds.
	There are two folds (one "up" and one "down") for every row of lift rings.
	The lift rings are sewn on the Up Folds.

This can be seen in the drawing below. 

This photo, which was taken from "below" the shade, shows the folds stacked on top of each other. The shade is pulled all of the way up. The length of the shade in this position is called the Stackage.

A top-down shade actually folds in the same manner. The lift rings still stack together and cause the shade to fold in an accordion manner. The shade drops down, and begins to fold from the bottom. So the top-part of the shade is always visible. This is important to remember if you are planning an art shade. 

Internal Battens
This is a good point to explain the use of internal battens. I have been making Roman shades since 1978. I have been using internal battens since 1988, when I started being "serious" about making shades as a business. One of the things I didn't like about Roman shades was the way they "bunched-up" when I raised them and how they required "training" so that they would fold cleanly. My shades were very unruly, and refused to stay trained. I started experimenting with putting battens in the fold lines. Over the years I have perfected the use of these marvelous devices that assure your shade will fold perfectly each and every time you raise it.

Battens also allow you to space your lift lines much further apart than normal. Instead of the standard 6" to 8" horizontal spacing, there can be as much as 20" between ring columns. That means you have to sew on a lot fewer lift rings.

There are several ways to "attach" the battens to your shade. The method I prefer is to glue them inside the shade at the fold lines. Another option is to create "pockets" by sewing two parallel lines just above and below the fold lines. Instructions for both methods will be given later. If you just have to know now, you can click here for gluing instructions and here for alternate methods.

Stackage and Ideal Stackage
Everyone is concerned with the Stackage of a Roman shade. The Stackage is defined as the length of the shade when it is fully raised. A fabric shade cannot duplicate the small Stackage of a manufactured window treatment such as a mini-blind or wood blinds. Mini-blinds are meant to almost disappear when raised. This is a plus for this type of treatment, since they are ugly (personal opinion of the author). Your fabric Roman shade is beautiful and having 8" to 18" dressing your windows when your shade is raised is wonderful.

We will also be using the term "Ideal Stackage". In a perfect world, your finished shade will be exactly this length when fully raised (or lowered, in the case of a Top-Down shade). Because of the way a shade folds, this is not always possible. You will most likely be using the online Hardware Calculator which is located in every left-hand Navigation column. When you input the Finished Shade Width, Finished Shade Length and Ideal Stackage, the Calculator will recommend the number of folds, fold depth, and Lower Drop. It will also give you the "Actual" Stackage, which may be different from your Ideal Stackage. For example, if you requested an Ideal Stackage of 12", the Calculator may return an Actual Stackage of 12.25". You will be reading more about the Hardware Calculator and view examples later in this "How-To" section.

Now that you understand how a shade folds, you need to understand the headrail part of your shade.  The next section covers the options you have for Lifting Mechanisms.

Continue the Learning Process with "Lifting Mechanisms"

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

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