The first step was to buy stock shelving and wrap it with fabric. Most home stores will cut lumber to specific lengths without an extra charge, and I think I only used about three yards of clearance fabric for wrapping those five boards.

I used masking tape and then a staple gun to secure the material on the back side. Placing the valance board right above the window casing gave at least another 12″ to the visual height of my windows. 

It also gave added support which was needed as we drilled one screw each into the original lathe and plaster walls. (Don’t get me started.)

Completely avoiding the cost of expensive hardware was another easy way to save money on this deal.

The unconstructed swag sections from a discontinued Scalamandre cabbage rose print were only self-lined, approximately double length cuts, which I bundled in the center and on both ends. This is one of those steps where you mess with it, and mess with it, and mess with it, until it looks like it JUST HAPPENED!

It’s fitting that I took this picture on the floor…because that’s exactly where I made them. I didn’t know how long they should be so I folded my fabric in half lengthwise, twice, knowing I could produce two lined scarves from each width, and experimented with gathers and swags until I found the drape I was trying to achieve. Then I measured it, cut multiples, and with one seam, sewed the long strips into tubes. The actual construction part of the process only took about 30 minutes and then I carefully hand stitched the ends closed and sewed little ties for the top edge.  The fabric bundles secured by another band of fabric tied in a square knot made a nice little Fleur-de-Li’s finish. Oh, and under the knots, keeping the fabric perfectly bundled (phfft), I originally used rubber bands. But after about six months I learned that rubber bands petrify and fall apart so I had to switch them out for the plastic covered wire twist-ties from my box of trash bags. Nice. 

Next, I added three tiny cup hooks to the valance boards (you can just barely see it shining at the very top of the middle corner) and attached the knots by hooking them under the twist-ties.

I’ve had my drapery people produce this same look with nice results for a few clients, in a couple of states. Besides topping the windows in kitchen dining and family rooms, this treatment has worked well to decorate over a slider or pair of French doors, as long as the swags don’t hang down too low.

For us, this window treatment is now officially a happy memory. I hope it gave you some new ideas!