In purchasing curtain materials we must consider their durability,
texture, color and design. Sometimes the cost of the fabric itself is not
large, but the trouble and expense of making up warrants getting a substantial
material.
With thin materials to be used against the glass, do not get too coarse
a mesh. It will shrink so much at the first washing as to be useless. Get an
even weave, else the curtain will be difficult to hem and will not hang
straight. To use with linen overhangings, buy a weave similar to the weave of
the linen. A hard thread evenly woven will give the best service. If the
material is to be used with linen, a scrim is preferable to a net or
marquisette, as the texture of the weave is a better match. With overhangings
of silk, a fine soft cream scrim is best. The scrim should have the texture
consistent with a rich material. With velour and damask, an excellent quality of
net should be used, preferably with a lace edging.
In over-draperies there are several things to be considered. Never hang
two thin materials at the same window. If the undercurtains are thin, the
texture of the over-draperies must not be transparent. If we want to hang thin,
transparent, colored curtains at the windows, it is best not to put anything
else at the same window. Often one pair of curtains, thin and colored, are
sufficient, particularly in a bedroom. Two pairs would be enveloping.
Attractive, thin, sunfast materials in various weaves and in beautiful
colors make up into excellent hangings. They are semi-transparent and thus give
a pretty glow of color in the room, and they are decorative as well. The finish
is mercerized, giving an appearance of fineness, and the colors are well toned
and refined. Certain of these sunfast materials are finished with a soft
cottony fuzz which makes up badly, as it clings. The same objection is found
against madras.
Brushed aside, it sticks in an untidy fold. Sometimes this may be
avoided by adding a row of tiny weights in the hem; the curtains then fall in
straight folds. However, with the windows open and the curtains blowing, the weights
thrash about noisily and give hard wear to the curtains. A flat fold of wool may
be stitched in the hem to give the desired weight and thus overcome somewhat the
clinging quality. It were best, however, not to purchase such material.
Another important feature to avoid in thin materials is a weave with a
black warp. In the hand it is pretty enough, but with the light through it, it
is dingy, and if the colors fade you have nothing more than a grayish thin
covering at your window, which is distinctly homely.
Cretonnes are always an attractive window hanging. These may be used
with or without under-curtains. The background colors should match the colors
of the scrim. If the cretonne is white with flowers, the scrim should be white;
if tan, or any other color, an ecru or beige-colored scrim is advisable.
Cretonne is best unlined, as the texture allows the light to come
through, leaving the pattern distinct and giving the color full value. In most
linens or loosely woven fabrics it is the reverse, and they require lining. The
light coming through obliterates the pattern and we see only the texture and
indistinct masses of color.
When the light does not show through, as at night, we get, of course,
the flat pattern of the material in all its color and design. The cretonne or
chintzes of foreign make have the best texture. It is finely and evenly woven,
and therefore takes and retains the dye color. The design is often historical
and the colors are carried out true to the tradition of the best design.
Foreign chintzes, therefore, are preferable to those made in America.
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