One glance at a Monaco Coach brochure and it is clear to see that when it comes to interior fabrics, the result is three-dimensional. Multi-patterned valances, chair cushions, throw pillows, headboards and privacy drapes are offered in an impressive array of colors and patterns. We all know how attractive these décor pieces make the living space, but how they get there is a story in itself.

Melody Johnson is responsible for overseeing production of many of the valances, headboards, chairs and pillows in the Monaco Coach lineup and has risen through the ranks to develop a system cloaked in efficiency.

“I’ve been with the company for about ten years,” she said. “For a while I was troubleshooting fabric repairs, then I moved to work with the highline products.”

When a supervisor position opened in the sewing and valance departments at the company’s Coburg, Oregon facility, her skill and training in RV sewing and upholstery, coupled with a natural ability to lead the troops, made Johnson a shoo-in for the promotion.

Model change is a busy time of the year for everyone on the production line, and the sewing and valance area in particular is a beehive of activity.

“A lot of the fabrics previewed at the Louisville trade show were a big hit and we’re working as fast as we can to keep up with the orders,” she said.

Once she had everyone lined up with the their particular job, Johnson graciously offered to give me a tour, which began the same way every production process begins – with the coach number.

A production schedule sits in the center of the process advising Johnson and her crew which units will roll down the line during the week. The fabric department uses this information to draft the list of items they will create and to begin gathering all the materials needed.

Pulling a specific color and pattern from a sea of shelves bulging with rolls of fabric would be a lesson in frustration to most of us, but for these professionals, it’s second nature.

“Because there are sometimes multiple fabrics in one piece, we rely on a décor packet,” she explained, showing me a notebook that included samples of various colors and styles of fabric. “The designers create one of these books for every décor package.”

We started our tour with the valances, where Johnson outlined the step-by-step procedure.

“The standard length of a roll of fabric is too big when making a valance,” she said. “We use a slitter machine to cut it down to a more useable size.”

Designed with long bars and one heavy duty saw carefully concealed in a safety cage, the slitter machine works by sliding the long roll of fabric over a bar, dialing in the desired measurement and cutting.

“We used to do the measuring and cutting by hand,” she said. “But the slitter machine has made the process 80 percent faster.”

Wood for the frame of a valance comes from the cabinet shop where it is constructed per the production schedule. The valance group cuts a matching pattern for the fabric in quarter-inch foam and glues it to the wood.

“Glue lets us stretch the cloth tighter than staples,” she said.

Next, fabric is stretched over the foam, snipped at the corners, neatly tucked around the edges, glued down and then reinforced with staples.

Valances with a wood and fabric blend are becoming a popular choice, and to give the valance a more multi-dimensional appearance, small wood accent pieces are added as another layer under the foam. The result is an eye-pleasing blend of rich wood and attractive fabric, and while Johnson is proud of her group for creating the handcrafted window masterpiece, she also gives credit to the woodshop for their contribution. “They do beautiful work.”

There is one final step before a valance is sent to the RV, and that is attaching the shades. Venetian blinds for the galley and bathroom, day/night shades for the rest of the coach.

“Attaching the shades is actually our first line of defense during model change,” she explained. “If there is any problem with a measurement, we’ll know here when something doesn’t line up.”

Next to the valances is the headboard station where fabric and wood come together to adorn the RV bed. “We keep a separate fabric rack for the headboards,” she said, “because the length [of fabric needed for the headboards] is longer than what we use for each valance.”

That means more attention to detail, frequent references to the décor packet and a system of checks and double checks to be sure all the colors and patterns line up.

Chairs are another item produced by the fabric department. Not the main dinette chairs, those come from the furniture manufacturer, but the matching folding chairs you pull out when company comes for dinner.

Covering the separate seat and back of a folding chair can be tricky when it comes to lining up the fabric design, so the crew relies on good old-fashioned cardboard patterns to keep their cutouts in check.

“We cover the seats in layers,” Johnson explained, taking me to a machine known as a seat press. The press holds the seat base, foam and fabric tightly in place while the operator secures the materials together, sticks on the manufacturer tags and attaches a hinge. “It’s an old machine, but a great machine,” she added. “In the past, we kept the layers in place by having someone stand on top of them.”

Buttons are a large part of RV fabric design and are made on site using a specially designed machine that can produce up to 800 buttons per hour. Interchangeable cutters allow for both cloth and vinyl buttons. Buttons are always in such high demand, the button station is the first place anyone goes to work when they have an extra moment. “Sometimes we can have up to 30,000 buttons at inventory,” Johnson said.

Off to the side of the room is a small row of machines, each carefully covered; Johnson explained they are all specifically designed to fill various service orders. “For example, if a sofa seat cushion needs a zipper replaced, we have the machine here to do that.”

Since there can be anywhere from five to 14 pillows per unit, making pillows by hand can be quite a production.

Décor packets and cardboard patterns are put to good use in the pillow area, where a group of seamstresses perform their magic using industrial-sized sewing machines. The work requires strict attention to lines, careful attachment of the fringe and a vested interest in the finished product.

“These girls are their own quality control department,” Johnson said. “If something doesn’t look right, they put their heads together and figure out a way to fix it.”

Fine fabrics require a method of stuffing that includes a step that protects the pillow from damage during the final stuffing process, and just as expected, that process involves yet another unique machine.

“We start by covering the foam with a silk film,” Johnson said, tearing off a piece of light transparent paper and placing it over a piece of pre-cut foam. Then, after attaching a special hose and hitting a switch, the foam and film are shrunk down to a piece of flat pliable fabric that slips effortlessly inside its fine fabric covering.

“Now we reverse the shrink procedure, the foam plumps back up, we adjust the corners and bag it up for shipping,” she said.

There’s one final item made by these talented craftspeople that deserves mention — the privacy drapes. The drapes begin as a roll of self-lined material that must be cut to size, finished around the rough edges, hand-pleated, hand-hooked, hemmed, top-stitched and put on a digital machine for the Velcro application you use to secure the drapes at night. This is also where I learned a new word – buckram – a stiff material interlined at the top of each drape.

In this day and age of mass production, it’s refreshing to see a dedicated work force that manages to keep up the volume without compromising excellence.

“It’s a team effort,” Johnson said. “The designers bring us the quality and we give them efficiency.”

Perhaps, but these fabric aficionados also bring a level of skill and talent that will ensure these pieces are around and appreciated for years to come.

Shelly Curtin is a Pacific Northwest-based writer. She has contributed numerous features for Lifestyles, from product reviews to RV lifestyle topics.