Stripes (Day 16 of 31)

.....continuing with the challenge, this is day 16 of 31....for all 31, go here

Yesterday, I spoke about plaids. Today, I would like to talk about stripes. Although stripes are not quite as difficult as plaids, they provide a challenge of their own. For stripes, you need to consider what you are upholstering. More specifically, the width. For the best results, you need to match the width of the project to the orientation of the stripes.

Stripes are oriented to the roll two ways; the first is railroaded

Drapery Education

This is where you would want to use a railroaded stripe

The back is wider than a roll of fabric. So, having it railroaded prevents a seam down the back.



The next orientation, is stripes up the roll

This is a good example of a project that requires stripes going up the roll.

So, after you figure out how wide your project is....which direction on the roll to find your stripes....then comes the difficult part....you now need to cut each an every piece with the stripes in mind

For example, not only do you need to line up the center back, like this chair, you also need to line up all the other elements... cushion top, cushion side, and chair bottom.


Now, it would never be my goal to scare you from using a plaid or a stripe. Instead, I hope that this would help you take projects into consideration so that it goes as easy as possible for you. Case in point

RoomService

A perfect project to try a stripe! You only need to match one element...top to the bottom.


However, If you want to see determination, you can go to The Nester, and read all about how she made these drapes

The Nester

using striped fabric that was up the roll....confused....check it out, and you will be uber impressed!


So, maybe you can forget everything I just told you about stripes?