A window cornice adds a tailored, finished look to therapies like blinds, drapes and Roman shades. You may make a simple cornice inexpensively with foam core, cotton fabric and quilt batting. Renters, take notice — it’s mild enough to hang with removable adhesive strips.
Assess the width of the cornice, which makes sure to supply at least 1/2 inch of clearance on each side, going outside the window frame and some installed curtain or blind hardware. Assess the depth outward in the wall containing the hardware and needed clearance. Determine the height to your cornice box, which is usually 10 to 12 inches but can be smaller or greater if you would like.
Cut a long rectangle from foam core for the front of your cornice. The rectangle should be as long as the window width including clearance, and as large as your preferred cornice height. Cut two more rectangles for the cornice sides, which makes them as tall as the desirable cornice height and as wide as your measured depth containing clearance. Use a foam core cutting instrument or a craft knife to cut the rectangles.
Protect your work area with a sheet of wax paper or aluminum foil. Place the long foam core rectangle flat on the work surface using one narrow border based on the wax paper. Spread a narrow bead of a cyanoacrylate superglue along the narrow cut border of the rectangle. Immediately press one of the tiny rectangles into the glued edge, at right angles into the massive piece. The long rectangle and the little side piece ought to evenly aligned and at right angles to each other, together with the narrow width of the little piece sticking right up. Hold the pieces in place for one minute, or according to the glue manufacturer’s instructions, for the glue to set. Reinforce the corner indoors and outside using duct tape or packing tape, pressing the tape around the outer corner and then in the inner corner. Press the tape down firmly.
Combine the rest of the end piece to the contrary narrow side of the front part, using superglue and tape as before. The three pieces joined together must make a long, shallow “U” shape when lying flat on the table.
Iron your fabric so it’s smooth and unwrinkled. Cut a rectangular piece of fabric big enough to wrap completely around the cornice box, allowing a minimum of two inches of additional material on all sides. Cut a piece of quilt batting 1/2 inch smaller than the fabric on all sides.
Put the fabric piece face-down to a clean work table. Put the batting piece on top of the fabric, matching centres and evenly smoothing both pieces. Set the foam core cornice face-down and centered on top of the quilt. Beginning at the center of the lengthy piece and exercising to the ends, wrap the fabric and wrap up, over and around the polyurethane core. As you work, tape the fabric into the back of the foam core, using packing or duct tape. When you get to the corners, then trim the batting and fabric as needed so the substances bend and bend neatly. Continue till the end pieces have been covered and wrapped.
Attach one half of a two-part adhesive picture hanging strip to the rear of each narrow end of the cornice, using superglue on top of the strip’s adhesive. Hold the cornice in place above the window and mark the places where the matching strip parts should move. Apply the strips into the wall, following product instructions. Hang the cornice by pressing the strip halves together.