Claudia Bolli, B. Ed., Dip. Bio. Sci.

Some of the features I love about our 1997 house are the windows to the East and West that bring in wonderful sunlight all year round. Unfortunately, having large windows also means that the house can overheat in the summer and sitting near a window in the winter can be very uncomfortable.

In a newer house in Alberta, the windows are typically double pane, with an R-value of about 2. However, that’s still only ten percent of the insulation value of a wall. Replacing the windows does not make economical sense in my case; therefore I had to think of a simpler solution.

While visiting the Alberta Sustainable Home in Calgary in May of 2005, I was intrigued by the window quilts that were installed in several rooms. I was told that the quilts cost approximately $12 per square foot. An online search brought up two companies that sell window quilts: Brading and Window Quilt Muskoka, both in Ontario (see links below).

However, I did not pursue it any further and in the winter of 2007, I finally decided to make my own window quilt, partly because I figured it would be cheaper and partly because I like sewing and wanted to challenge myself. As a bonus, I would save the shipping cost and associated greenhouse gas emissions.

While searching the web for a roman blind pattern for a home office room with the window facing South, I found a very helpful instruction booklet on making window quilts from The Warm Company, at www.windowquilt.com. The booklet can be downloaded in pdf format and is very detailed. I did not have the patience to follow the instructions carefully – I’m the same way with cooking. However, I consulted the booklet frequently for a good understanding of the roman blind concept and to draw my own pattern.

I am quite proud of my roman blind; it works like a charm and makes for an attractive accessory that adds colour and comfort to my home office.

The quilt really cuts the cold air in winter and helps to reduce overheating in summer. I decided to mount it on the inside of the window frame to avoid removing the existing horizontal blinds that I need on sunny days. Remember that the insulated roman blind cuts out all light, so it’s not useful when I want to work in my home office with natural daylight. The instructions from The Warm Company suggest you install moulding around the inside of the window frame so that you can attach the magnetic tape that helps to seal the edges of the fabric. Too much trouble for a small window, I decided, but it would be an excellent idea with a larger window. In the winter, cold air seeps in around the edges of the quilt.

Sewing several layers of fabric was another challenge as the machine pushes the layers and causes them to bunch up. Instead of sewing the quilting lines all the way across the fabric, I stitched small sections at a time, holding the fabric quite taut and eventually completing the lines.

The instruction booklet calls for a pulley that guides the cords. I did not bother with one and simply used the screw eye or eyelet on the far right side of the window do the job.

I braided the cords on the right side of the window (from the screw eye down) and installed a cleat to wind up the extra cord when the blind is drawn up.

The Warm Company claims that a single pane window with a Warm Window quilt (made to the specifications of the booklet and using their quilted fabric) brings your R-value from 1 to R-7.69.

The insulation value of my window quilt might be similar but it’s impossible to say, as the type of fabric and the air gaps skew the results. The cost per square foot for my quilt was about $7. This does not include my time – quite substantial when considering the measuring, fabric selection, planning, cutting, re-measuring, sewing, checking, re-checking and installation. I probably spent around twenty hours in total.

My first window quilt is certainly functional, economical and it was a good learning experience. I hope I have inspired you to have fun in making your own, to be creative and to save energy for the sake of our planet.

Materials and Cost

Window area: 14.7 square feet (46 inches by 46 inches)

© Claudia Bolli 2007

Resources
http://www.warmcompany.com/wwpage.html
http://www.brading.com/window_quilt.html
http://muskokaweb.com/windowquilt/index.htm

Interesting Tidbit
I found out that Appropriate Technology Corporation (ATC), the original manufacturer of the window quilt I saw in Calgary, was bought up by Northern Cross Industries about a decade ago. Window Quilt was sold to Warm Window and redesigned. The quilts are now back in production and can be ordered from Window Quilt Muskoka if you don’t have the time to make one.

The author has kindly agreed to share a photo of her second window quilt with Raising Spaces readers. See below.