How to Cover your Cornice Window Treatment as a Professional

How to Cover your Cornice Window Treatment as a Professional

To make the front and sides, you will require using a sheet of 1/4 inch (6mm) plywood. Your local timer merchant should cut this to size for you. The extra cost is well worth the time and effort.

The fact that I use this kind of pelmet stiffener is as it is quite cheap. It is very strong while also being fairly light. Finally it is also good for stapling the drapery fabrics to.

When I make fabric covered window cornice I use a piece of scrap fabric to join the main section of plywood to the end return pieces. This simply holds everything together while you work.

Now I have used a piece of fiber wadding to cover the front and sides as I make cornice window treatment (you can use heavy curtain interlining). I placed the plywood body onto the wadding and cut round it to get the shape. It is usually slightly larger than the plywood.

Then I took the plywood outside and placed it down with the fabric strips facing down. Then using the spray adhesive I covered the cornice boards evenly.

I then returned the plywood boards in doors and lay it on the table. Then taking care I placed the fiber wadding onto the adhesive and pressed it down to stick in place.

The next step is to cut your drapery fabric ready for stapling onto the board. I have cut the fabric about 2 inches wider than the cornice board on all sides.

In the image above you can see that the drapery fabric has been turned over and stapled down on all sides. You need to apply a little pressure to the fabric as you staple to keep it taught and flat. However don't pull your fabric too much as it will distort the look of the finished cornice.

Next at the bottom I have started to lay the curtain lining fabric just over the bottom edge of the pelmet. This will cover all the back of the cornice facial board hiding the wood and staples making it look more finished.

In the image above you can see how I have placed the back tacking strip over the edge of the curtain ling fabric. Then staple it into place all the way from one end to the other.

Also I have left some of the curtain lining fabric overlapping at the end. This was done deliberately so we can make cornice which is neatly finished at the ends.

Next I have folded over the surplus lining fabric on both ends of the window treatment cornice. Then I folded the lining fabric up and over laying it covering all the back of the pelmet board.

Next I used my scissors to cut off the surplus lining fabric. This is anything lying over the top of the pelmet board. I then stapled the top of the lining to the top of the board. Smoothing the fabric out as I went a long.

You only need to use a few staples widely spaced to hold it in place at this stage. Also don't worry about the edge of the lining fabric not looking neat as you will be covering it.

This image here shows the lining fabric folded over and smoothed down prior to being trimmed and staples down at the top.

You can see how using the back tacking strip to make cornice window treatment creates a neat finish to the bottom edge of the lining fabric on the back of the pelmet board.

Here we have the image of the finished pelmet facial board with a strip of velcro tape running along the top of the cornice locking in the lining fabric.

I have also added a few staples down the sides to hold in the ling fabric on the ends. Don't worry about these as you won't see them when fitted over your window.