These Villa Nova Kendari fabric curtains, pelmets and blinds were commissioned by the very talented designer Cathy Emmins.   On the surface these curtains, blinds and pelmet looks like a ‘fairly simple’ job but the reality is a bit different.  I am sure that we are not on our own, having issues with the range of faux silks which have been launched in the last 4 years or so.   In fact we have started recommending this type of fabric for blinds only – with excellent results btw!  When the fabric arrived in the workshop – we opened it to find a recommendation from Villa Nova.   We needed to allow an extra 20mm to each cut and overlock cuts immediately … tbh my heart rather sunk..

We duly overlocked every cut – this is essential.   It is stretchy, very stretchy – but across the weft (selvedge to selvedge).  There is no stretch whatsoever across the warp.   This makes things a bit tricky.   After a bit of trial and error we managed to get a decent hang by using slip stitch to fix the interlining and then ladder stitch top fabric…… this fabric needs a lot of securing!

Like all other faux silks this fabric works very well in the blinds and the pelmet.  The pelmet needed to look good from the back as well as the front – as it is over a set of doors which you walk through to and from the garden.  The pelmet is therefore lined flush with the same fabric as the trim – which is Designers Guild Rothesay in Birch.

Would I want to use this fabric again… without a shadow of a doubt – its a bit tricky but the results are good and so far the best faux silk I have used re hang and overall result.