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How to Puddle a Drape & Rosette Pillow

ByDiane Henkler Updated:

Here are two decorating tips that may help you decorate your home.

How to Make Drapery Panels Puddle Perfectly

Wrap a rubber band around the bottom of the drapery panel/fabric.

Pick the banded section up and then drop it behind the drape so you don’t see it.  Arrange front of drape if needed. The more fabric you have to work with the more puddled it will look.

How-to-make-a-drape-puddle-

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Doing this helps when you vacuum as you can just pick up the banded section, vacuum, and then drop it back down and it falls into shape with just a little tweaking.  Without the banding the puddles will always look messy.

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Since I could not get a photo behind the panel, I made one with this pink fabric so you can see what it should look like from behind.

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How-to-make-drapes-puddle

If you have a lot of excess fabric you can move the rubber band up and down the bottom length of fabric until you get the puddle size you desire.

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Here is what is looks like from the front. I only had about 10” of extra length so my puddle is not too big. For larger puddles have at least 18 –inches of extra fabric.

No Sew Rosette Round Pillow

How to easily change the color of a round pillow to coordinate with your decor.

Walmart-Pillow
Round Pillow BEFORE

If you don’t have a budget to buy anything new you can still easily update by making a no-sew rosette cover from a piece of fabric to go over an existing pillow.

How-to-make-a-no-sew-rosett

Center a soft pillow form on top of a square of fabric.   I only had a square pillow form to work with, but it was not dense and easily formed into a circle when the fabric was wrapped around it.

The fabric needs to be large enough to wrap around the form and be tied with a rubber band on the top with about 5-inches of excess fabric sticking out of the rubber band.

Once you have the fabric banded on – use your fingers to arrange the gathers by pulling up the excess through the rubber band. Once you like how the gathers are arranged around the pillow, trim the excess fabric as shown below to create the rosette.

Center-pillow-on-square-of-

This works better with fabric that is the same on each side.

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Making-a-no-sew-rosette-pil

Now-Sew-Rosette-Pillow

 

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37 Comments

  1. All it takes is a little common sense. Unclutter, straighten up, brighten up, freshen up…..Less is more. Btw…love how you set the dining room table with the place settings….very inviting and elegant.

    Reply

  2. Great tips! I’d love to share mine with you! Instead of newspaper to clean windows and mirrors, I use microfiber cloths. They do an amazing job without leaving streaks or lint and they don’t leave your hands or window casings covered with ink. They are also machine washable for use after use. I have also found that good old fashioned Sprayway glass cleaner is a great product for glass, chrome and tile, since it’s foam formula doesn’t run down the window after spraying. They don’t call it “The World’s Best Glass Cleaner” for nothing! My tile counter tops have never looked shinier.
    http://www.spraywayinc.com/content/glass-cleaner

    Reply

  3. Credit where it is due! I’ve needed to have my living room curtains hemmed for a long time- the ponytail trick (had some in the exact color as my curtains) worked like a charm. I think I am going to try pulling more fabric into the band from the middle of the curtain so they look a little more even. They’re pretty tapered at the ends right now.

    Reply
  4. mary bisker says:

    I have beautiful silk draperies that puddle on floor in a(creamy white) color. I want to purchase a sofa and chair and would like to know if I should buy a something with a skirt at the bottom.
    I have seen other sofa and chairs that show the legs that I do like, but I am not sure if it would look right with my draperies.

    Also, my dinning room set is very close to my sofa (we have a small main living area) which is solid oak lion claw table with windsor back chairs that have spindle type legs. At some point I was thinking of replacing the two end chairs with a formal skirted upholstered chair.
    Again would this be too many skirted pieces for a small living area.

    Thanks so much, Mary

    Reply

  5. Great tips! I LOVE the before and afters! HGTV shows Designed to Sell and Sell this House are my favorites! The rooms look great! I would but this home!!

    Reply
  6. Erin @ How to Nest for Less says:

    LOVE this, Diane!! So many great interior design tips even if you’re not staging for a move. Really taught me that neutral colors and a minimalist approach to decorating can really open a space up. THANK YOU! I’m going to do some de-cluttering this weekend! Visiting from Tip Junkie :)

    Reply

  7. What a difference. All of us would feel so much better if we ‘unclutter’ a bit. Your rooms really emphasize how it can change the feel of a room.
    Windex is without doubt a great window cleaner, but after my grandson comes to stay and plays, eats… whatever at our glass topped, living room table … even Windex couldn’t unsmear all his grubby little fingerprints. I ran out one day and tried windshiel washer fluid (the cheap kind) I couldn’t believe how completely it cleaned the beveled glass panels. We used to have to clean them, put them back… step back and see where the smears still showed (at least twice) Now, one clean and it is clean! (way cheaper than Windes too, I just love cheaper)

    Reply

    1. I second the motion on windshield washer fluid! A professional company was cleaning the windows of a Walgreens. I asked them what product they were using…..Windshield Washer Fluid! Stuff is dirt cheap at Sam’s. One case of 6 gallon bottles, used in our cars and at home, has lasted over 5 years!

      Friend of mine owned a house cleaning business and said they use 2 microfiber towels for 90% of their mirrors/windows. One is wet with hot water and wrung out almost completely and the other is the clean dry towel to remove the streaks immediately after washing.

      Reply
  8. Funky Junk Interiors says:

    Excellent series. The befores and afters and reading all the comments/replies make this quite the incredible read!

    Donna

    Reply
  9. abeachcottage says:

    You’ve shared so many handy tips in this post! How easy is the no-sew rosette pillow! Love the after pictures. Thanks for adding your link to Beach Cottage Good Life Wednesdays and joining the party!

    Reply

  10. You made all these rooms looks so much brighter, uncluttered and organized. Wonderful job! Thanks for the great tips!

    Reply

    1. Hi Sherry-
      Thanks so much. Staging is so much like decorating, but takes a lot more editing to pair everything down and leave just enough to highlight the space. This house just got a great offer and the owner is thrilled. It was only on the market for four days – which is great with the current economy.

      Reply

  11. hmmm…some day i would love to do this for a living. in the meantime, i just get to stage and restage and re-do my own house. (and a few friends) like your ruffle pillow idea. very clever.

    Reply

    1. Hi Sarah-

      Thanks – I can’t remember where I learned that trick, but I have used it a lot. I started out by doing my own home and friends, too. Take lots of photos – especially before and afters no matter how insignificant you think they may be. You will have a portfolio to share when you are ready to hang up your shingle.

      Reply
  12. aninchofgray says:

    What a great house and great tips, too!

    Reply

    1. Hi Anna-

      It is a great house that sits on a sprawling property. It is off the beaten path, but still close to everything – the views and outdoor spaces are beautiful, too. I enjoyed working on it. I am going to post a few more tips and rooms from the house tonight.

      Reply
  13. Madigan at madiganmade says:

    More great tips!

    The puddling trick and the pillows are so clever, love ’em! Amazing what a little change in paint and decluttering can do.

    Reply
  14. Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality says:

    Oh and that starburst mirror you made is fantastic! I love how you did that with shims. Brilliant!

    Reply

    1. Hi Rhoda-

      I got the basic idea for the shim mirror from Kristi at Addicted to Decorating. I just loved what she made and had to try making one in my own style.

      Reply
  15. Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality says:

    Hi, Diane, thanks as always for your very supportive comments! Good for you too on quitting your job & doing what you love. Life is too short not to give it a shot. I think we will both be fine! I’m so enjoying being creative and cannot imagine going back to a 9-5 again. Love working at home. So happy that you are getting some great things happen too. I am excited about the possibilities myself!

    Reply

  16. Gorgeous! Funny you mention having the right feng shui… in any house we’ve lived, I immediately have a sense of which way I want to face and it’s always outside or the front of the house. Whether the sofa, the bed or desk, my back is to the interior of the house to face outside. Not sure if this is correct or not, but it fits with my persona. Thoughts?
    And in my living room I’m stuck with choosing to face the front/outside or the fireplace – what does feng shui say about fireplaces? LOL!

    Reply

    1. Hi Nan-

      Most of the principles of Fung Shui are what feels natural to us – so if you feel good in the space then it works.If you are having some serious problems in your life Fung Shui practitoners would have you change things in each of your rooms and your problems would fix themselves. Some of the principles seem silly like putting red tape at the bottom of your steps or not to have a staircase directly face a door. As far as the fireplace – that is an important element – Fung Shui is based on nature – fire, air, water, etc. Fire ads the warm element and you should face it, but have plenty of open space around it or your chi won’t flow. No clutter in Fung Shui so Chi can flow.

      Reply

  17. Can you tell me the name of the yellow paint that you used in the dining room and sun room? It is so hard to find a good shade of yellow.

    Reply

    1. Hi Brenda-

      It is Benjamin Moore Greenmount Silk HC-3 It is a pale yellow that looks wonderful against white and coordinates well with most colors.

      Reply

  18. More, more, more. I love looking at the styling!

    Reply
  20. Amanda @ House Revivals says:

    These are great tips! Thanks for sharing — I love the rubber band puddling technique :)
    ~Amanda

    Reply
  21. Heidi Roylance says:

    I’ve always wondered how the drapery was so perfectly “puddled” in the magazines! Now I know! Thanks for the simple tip. And I totally agree with the Windex thing! I love the freshness of the colors in the after pictures too.

    Reply

  22. I am loving this series! The “Afters” are so dramatic! Okay, so maybe you can tell me how exactly designers hide electrical cords. Also, if you’re supposed to float your furniture in the room, how can you have task lights? This one trips me up (pun intended).

    Reply

    1. Hi Vicki-
      Hiding the cords is always a problem. The best solution is to add an outlet to the floor under where the furniture is placed – but that requires someone with electrical skills. My husband did this in our living room. I had an area rug and I cut a slit in it so the extension cord can go through and then plug into the lamp cord. It was one of the best home improvement projects we ever did as my furniture is all in the center of the room now. If you can’t get that done – you can always cut a small slit in the carpet and run the cords under carpet and tape them to the backs of table legs. Match the cords to the flooring. Brown for dark flooring, white for lighter colors which helps disguise a tiny bit. If you want to move the furniture to the center of a room, perhaps the sofa can be along the least seen or used wall where there is an outlet and just placed out from the wall a few feet. If you have two tables on the side then the cords for task lighting can run behind the sofa where there is no traffic. I know these are not the fix you are looking for, but if I ever see or read about a way I will write a post about it.

      Reply

      1. You have the best tips! The curtain puddle tip is genius! I found some thin plastic tubing that is designed
        to fit over shower curtain rods to change the color. I purchased one in white and use that to hide my unsightly cords behind our desk. Has a long slit from end to end and the white blends in against the trim.
        Love your blog! ♥

        Reply

  23. Nice work Diane! I love the new colors. There is so much value in decluttering. Nicely done!

    Pam

    Reply
  24. karen@strictlysimplestyle says:

    Well done, love the light you chose for the kitchen-great value too.

    Reply

  25. Such great changes!! The dining room looks completely transformed when it is lightened up (and freshened up.) Showcasing the floors is so clever. Great improvement with the pendant change in the kitchen too….I could go on and on.
    Great tutorials!!
    Have a great day,
    xo
    Ashlyn

    Reply
  26. Sallie @ Texas Cottage says:

    Diane, thanks for all your tips. The difference in the dining room was amazing!

    Reply
  27. The enchanted home says:

    What a fantastic tutorial!! I am sending this to my sister who is knee deep in a simliar projects and undertakings and I know she will greatly appreciate all the tips, espeically the puddling..we were just having that conversation! Perfect!!

    Reply

  28. I am really enjoying your Tips and Tricks! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply