This tip refers to these Products: Silhouette® Window Shadings, Nantucket Window Shadings and Vignette Window Shadings.

Window shades and shadings that are rolled up to operate can be affected greatly by windows that are even slightly out of square.  In a window opening that is out of square, the fabric will skew to one side as the product is rolled up. This can cause the bottom rail to be uneven as the shade is rolled up and can lead to damage of the fabric if steps are not taken to eliminate the skew.

If the window covering is not installed on a level plane, the fabric on the window covering will skew to one side as the shade or shading is rolled to the top. This will cause the fabric to gather to one side as illustrated here.  The gathered fabric will be pressed against the hardware, which could lead to damage.

In the Hunter Douglas line of products, Silhouette® Window Shadings, Nantucket™ Window Shadings and Vignette® Window Shadings have built-in adjustments to compensate for  out-of-square windows.  When they are fabricated, the shades or shadings are made to fit perfectly into a square or rectangular window.  Since the majority of windows are not perfectly square or rectangular, adjustments need to be made. Adjustment of each of these products is a little different.  These adjustments need to be checked on every installation.  A few simple steps when you measure the window and before you install the product can prevent trouble.

Measure & Compare Diagonals On Inside Mounts When measuring windows for inside mount of these products, checking the diagonal measurements can warn you of trouble. In extremely out of square windows a comparison of the diagonal measurements tell you when an inside mount is simply not practical.  The diagonal measurements are for your information and do not need to be specified to Designer Blinds.  Measuring diagonals is not easily done by one person for most windows, so you may need to bring help or recruit your customer to hold one end of the tape measure for you. Width and height measurements should be taken in at least three places each.  The narrowest width and the shortest height, rounded down to the nearest eighth-inch, should always be specified. If you compare the diagonal measurements and find them to be more than a half-inch different, an inside mounted product is not recommended.  An Outside Mount will allow you to compensate for the window by placing brackets carefully.

Check the measurement from the upper left corner to the lower right and the measurement from the lower left corner to the upper right. Compare the two measurements. In a perfectly square or rectangular window, the measurements will be the same.  If the measurements are not the same, the difference between them is the amount that the window is out of square.

On The Level
Another technique is to use a level on the mounting surface for inside mounts or to make sure that brackets are level for outside mounts.  Even windows that have good diagonal measurements can be pitched slightly out of level.  If the inside mount surface is not level, shim the brackets to a level position.  Again, this is best if checked when you are measuring the window.  Once the shade is made, shimming a bracket changes the dimensions of the window and may cause the bottom rail to hit the sill, which will affect the operation of opening the vanes for Silhouette® or Nantucket.  

Adjusting Shades Or Shadings

Silhouette® and Vignette® shadings and Remembrance™ shades all use an adjustable weighted bottom rail, which allows for most adjustments to be made quickly and easily.  Nantucket uses an adjustable roller at the headrail, which is even easier to adjust.

Adjusting Weighted Bottom Rails:

Once the shade or shading is installed in the brackets, lower the product all the way.  Then raise it again, watching to see how the fabric winds up on the roller.  If the fabric roll starts to become uneven or starts to rub against the side, stop raising the shade immediately to adjust the weight as follows:

Loosen the clip or weight lock at the side to which the fabric is gathered.  Move the weight in ONE INCH toward the side where the fabric is gathered.

After making the adjustment, move the clips or weight locks back to hold the weight in the new position.  Then lower the shade or shading all the way and check to see that the bottom rail is level.  Readjust the weight, if necessary.

Raise the shading again. Watch to see how the fabric winds.  If the fabric roll starts to become uneven again, stop raising the shade. Loosen the clip or weight lock on the side to which the fabric is gathered and move the weight ONE INCH toward the side where the fabric is gathered. 

Repeat this process in ONE INCH increments until the shade or shading rolls up evenly

Silhouette®/Nantucket™ Weight Locks

For Silhouette Window Shadings, there is a rectangular weight in the bottom rail that has a weight lock on each side. To loosen the weight lock, use a flat screwdriver, a penny or a dime.

A weight lock is on each side of the weight	Loosen the weight lock with a screwdriver or coin and adjust as described above

Weight Clips for Vignette® 

For Vignette Window Shadings or Remembrance Window Shades, the tubular bottom rail contains a weight that is held in place with a clip.  The clip fits tightly, but can be moved with a push of a finger.