Relaxed Roman Shades tend to pull in on the sides because of the drooping hem line, a condition known as “hour-glassing.” This can become a serious problem with your clients when ordering Relaxed Romans for inside mount.
The MYL Solution – Hybrid Roman Shades
The MYL solution is to make a hybrid Roman Shade made with the top fabricated like a Flat Roman Shade. The rings are spaced every 9” to 13 ½” apart to keep the folds straight across while preventing the hour-glass effect on the sides. The bottom four folds have a row of rings placed in a 1 ½” flared out position on each side. This allows the bottom four folds to droop significantly achieving the desired look. Internal ribs are suggested to keep the shade from hour-glassing above the bottom four folds.
However, if ribs are not used, the curved look on the folds above the bottom four can be enhanced by keeping the end rings on the top Flat Roman section a 1” to 1 ½” higher than the center row. This will maintain a slight curve on the folds above the bottom four folds. If this technique is used, the internal ribs should not be used. They would fight against the attempt to introduce the slight droop all the way up.
Either way and in both cases the hour-glass issue should be solved.