How to make curtains, curtains design, curtain needs, curtain styles

Monday, November 26, 2012

Fascinating Curtain Ideas for Kids Rooms


Kids’ rooms always challenges to providing every aspect of interior decoration. As adorable children, it seems that there is always a wide gap between what parents think appropriate for children as children and what you want and the powers and privilege. Whether to buy furniture or curtains for children's rooms, and will continue perhaps confrontation. An easy way out is to involve children in the planning stage and asked for their input. In fact once children realize attention is paid their desires, they do not get very reasonable and with a little help from understanding decoration, can not be an amicable settlement satisfactory to both parties for children and parents, which led to an attractive interior.


Thumb rule for kids room furniture and home furniture is the choice of bright colors and bright. Choose colorful curtains and blinds does not necessarily mean that the curtains should look garish, flashy or loud. And can be combined with light neutral colors with gentle tones and earthy hospitality and shades and accented with dyes interesting for aesthetic effect. Children love things contemporary. They do things that are easy to love and beautiful to the eye. They prefer things that can withstand stumbled a bit. Children love curtains that look good without showing spills and pollution that may occur unintentionally. Washable colored curtains can be strong and bright would be better for children's rooms.


Girls like things frilly and decorative. They love the colors beautiful pink private. Boys usually like sports and games. Now with bed linen sets available with topics such as Multi Barbie doll, a fairy tale and animation other topics oriented, blinds are now available with Version based on the match sheets, bed spreads, duvet covers. What is the style most suitable for use in children's rooms? Curtains need to be just the right length for children's rooms. Curtains for a very long time, if at all? Young children tend to pull them comic, or may falter. Also avoid dangling ropes or rings using less water system or check the latest remote control option.


What is the most suitable fabric for children's rooms? Fabrics that can be machine washed, and can put up some rough handling of the best - such as linen, cotton and poly blend fabrics and cotton cloth can be a good option. The festive crowns can be used unconventional appearance and tone and accessories. This will make the children enjoy the atmosphere of the room more! Learn more about curtains for children.

How to Go Green with Eco-Friendly Blinds and Shades



Energy efficiency is also known as the efficient use of energy. If we reduce the use of energy, and energy-saving help in reducing our energy consumption. One of the most successful methods in energy efficiency through insulation is our most effectively through the use of window blinds. Curtains help us keep the room cool in summer and warm in the winter, but with less energy. By reducing energy use, and we are also preserving our natural resources and contain harmful emissions.


Technology has made the production of window blinds tremendous progress in the recent past, which led to easy access to high-quality window treatments energy efficiency. People are becoming more aware of the advantages of using energy efficient window treatments and are happy to take advantage of the options available to countless windows with curtains look stylish as well as energy efficiency option.



Blinds and shades energy efficient retain heat in winter and cooling by preventing sunlight home during the summer. They also prevent the harmful UV rays. They prevent excess noise and make a peaceful and quiet room. They cover the windows effectively and ensure complete isolation. All of this comes along with the beauty and elegance - matching your furniture.



Some popular types of blinds are roller blinds, vertical blinds, Venetian blinds and Roman blinds. But you have to choose curtains after consideration of the size and shape of the window. And there is another important aspect is the nature of the room where the window is located. Method uses color and materials are all important. Also things like privacy, and to ensure safety for users who work in the service of purpose - all the effect of choosing the right curtains for your windows.



Then comes the energy efficiency side. Window blinds most knowledgeable which enjoys the reputation of being the maximum energy efficiency is:

• Comb Honey cellular shades.
• shades lined with thick insulating fabric.
• Curtains and shades using natural and organic textiles - any synthetic materials.
• wood blinds and shades.
• natural fiber products made of bamboo, cane, cork, grass, paper and sugar cane.
• Solar shades.

Some other tips for achieving maximum efficiency in the use of energy quotient used shades of State to prevent sunlight with the burden of canopy / retractable or naturally with trees and vines covered etc. trellis by supporting light colored to reflect sunlight again with shutters, curtains and individual tilt and slide to guide sunlight and effective strategies.



Energy can be obtained and efficiency Roman blinds shades be the best bet for better comfort in enclosed spaces, and a more secure financial gains and the environment and eco-friendly.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

How to Measure Curtains and Hangings, Part 1


IN measuring for hangings one must be accurate. It is astonishing and sometimes heart-rending to see the havoc an inch too little or too much will make in a curtain when hung. Every measurement should be taken with a 3-foot rule, not a tape measure, which stretches, and carefully recorded. A good idea for the amateur is to have a blank book in which to set down the outside and inside measurements of each window trim, also a sketch.

Even if one is far from being an artist, sketch in a curtain scheme, being sure the window is drawn to scale. This is easily done. Use a measure divided into 12ths of an inch, count each 12th as an inch and you have at once the foot, and three feet make a yard. Thus 3 inches in scale make one yard in reality. Your window may be 5% feet by '3 feet ; you have 5% inches by 3 inches to draw. Then sketch in your curtain. This sketching process is helpful when double or triple windows are used, with or without a transom. It is always a problem how to treat these, and if you have sketched the curtain in you have never to say, " Well, I might like it, but I cannot just picture how it will look."

Besides the sketch of the window put where the sash curtain is to be hung and the height and width finished, also mark with a dot where the rod is to be attached. Under RODS put how many rods of each length and how much thin material, allowing always 6 inches on each curtain for hems and headings, therefore the amount of the material will be greater than the added figure of the curtain finished. Put beside the amount of the material the width, the price, and the shop where purchased. Scrim, muslin and nets come in various widths ; sometimes by using a wide width and splitting it you get better material at a lower price. A simple way for thin hangings is to run a flat tape through the hem, allowing for a small heading. Shirr the curtain the width it is to cover and tack directly on to the window sash, or better, sew rings on the back and use a rod. Curtains of soft net, scrim or muslin are best shirred, but if the material is bulky and not pliable, they should be pleated. Always allow 2 inches for full length curtains at the top for possible shrinkage, and the coarser the weave the more shrinkage is to be considered.

For heavier hangings, the problem is quite the same. First we must decide what part of the trim they are to go on, then with the measurements of our sketch exact we can get the exact length of the curtains themselves. Put down the length finished.

Next we must decide on the style and width of heading. A plain gathered heading of 2 inches in cotton materials is a good proportion. A French heading takes from 3 inches to 4 inches. Curtains may be hemmed at the top and the rod run through, thus shirring them, or they may have a hem with a heading and the rod run through the hem. The width between the two stitchings should be a little less than twice the diameter of the rod. For example, for a 1-inch rod allow 1% inches between the stitchings this allows for possible shrinkage.

Now, that the top methods and measurements have been disposed of, consider the hem. In thin materials, it should be 3 ply, as this adds firmness and weight sufficient to keep the curtain in place and to hang well. The prettiest finish for scrim is the hemstitch ; this can be easily done and adds much to the otherwise common-placeness of the curtain. Such hem or hemstitching requires twice the width of the hem. For large windows and full length sash curtains, a good width for the hem is 3 inches, for shorter windows less. Sometimes the curtain is turned up on the right side and a fringe or guimpe is stitched on. Charming chintz edgings come, and if these are chosen to repeat the colors of the overhangings, the effect is very attractive. Never turn a wide hem and apply guimpe or fringe on the edge. The edging should act as a finish. It should be begun on the top of the inside length of the curtain and brought down and around the bottom edge. It should not be carried around the outside edge or at the top. As this method requires less material than a hem allow at most an inch for turn-in in measuring.

The lined curtain comes next. If a curtain is lined we have no hem to consider. At the top, the material itself should form the heading, as the inside of the heading shows if it happens to turn over. The lining should start at the bottom of the heading and end one inch above the bottom of the curtain. It should not come down flush with the bottom. It should come within 1 inch or inches of the sides. Therefore, in measuring for material for lined curtains, allow the width of the heading, the length of the curtain and 2 inches extra from the length at the bottom for turn up. In measuring the lining, allow the full length of the curtain minus the width of the heading and the 1 inch at the bottom, also 1 inch at each side. Sateen, which comes in 50-inch width at the upholstery counter, is a heavier, better quality lining than any found at regular lining departments.

Friday, November 9, 2012

How to Measure Curtains and Hangings, Part 2


We should now have in our measurement book the following: the length of the finished curtains, the amount of the material required for each curtain and also for the pair; the exact measurement of the lining when applied and finished, and also the amount required. For the edging we have the finished length and width, allowing 6 inches for the corner and turn ins, and twice that for the pair. If there are several windows of the same measurements we have only to multiply the amounts required by the windows.

Materials come in two widths, 81 inches and 50 inches, perhaps varying an inch or so. We can use the full 31 inches or we may split the 50 inches. Provided the pattern lends itself to this division and the window openings are not too wide to allow for it, the 50-inch goods work to better advantage. It comes in more handsome designs and sometimes in superior material. The edges if possible should have an applied edging, not hemmed, for every inch of the 25 will be needed. Often with elaborate under-hangings all that is wanted is a straight fold of color to carry out a scheme in a room and the 25-inch curtains do this admirably. In the bedroom, where the 50-inch material is used as a bedcover, the same material split answers well for the curtains. Thus in measuring, using half width, you need just half as much material. Thus far we have reckoned using curtains without valances. To measure for valances requires much time and thought, as they are as varied as the ingenuity of man or woman can make them. But since we are dealing with a simpler sort of curtain, that the ambitious householder may make for herself, we shall put aside for the professional the elaborate valance.

Of valances, there are gathered, pleated and stiff valances or lambrequins fitted over the window casing and covering over the sides as well. In measuring material for a pleated and shirred valance allow 1/3 to 1/2 extra of the width completed and from 12 inches depth in the bedroom to 18 inches for a more formal treatment. For instance, in a bedroom using a split 50-inch material for side curtains, the entire Width may be used for a valance of 12 inches. This does not include a 2-inch hem or the heading. Avoid making the valances too full, as they stick out, or too skimpy, as they look meager and economical. If a flat valance is used the amount of the material depends upon the width of the window. One width will probably do for this valance. If the valance is shaped and lined we must allow 2 inches for the top and bottom turn-in. Of course, in a shaped valance, the measurement must be taken from the widest part.

We must always allow in figured goods, for the repeat and the amount of goods wasted must be reckoned in the cost. Sometimes this material may be used in the valance.

In a large spread design it is surprising how little the general motif shows when the curtain is hung. If we are undecided about the necessity of matching up a design in a pair of curtains we can always gather up the material and pin it over the back of a chair or screen and see how important the strong motif appears when gathered. If it shows decidedly, match up the pairs perfectly; if not, we can hang them as the cloth cuts and consider ourselves lucky.

Having the measurement of the material required for each pair of curtains and the valance, we have only to add up the amounts in the various windows, multiply this by the price per yard and we have the cost of the material. Add the cost of the lining and the edging and we have an estimate that should be accurate. Damask, velours and such handsome materials require interlining of canton flannel. This is too big an undertaking for the amateur. The cost of the material warrants their being made up in a proficient manner.

In making curtains, use a large table which you can walk around. A bed usually answers the purpose but a table is better. Use a good sewing machine, baste carefully and cut by thread, with the exception of very cheap cretonnes. This is one reason why cheap cretonnes scarcely pay, as they cannot be cut by a thread, as the weave is too imperfect and when they are laundered this imperfection makes them skew. Sash curtains should always be cut by a thread, as they must be laundered regularly. Scrim is preferable to muslin, as the weave is more even.

Curtains Colour Suggestions and Refurbishing, Part 2


A yellow room takes well to green hangings or certain shades of violet. In a yellow room nothing is more effective than the use of a chintz covered with clear transparent colors of Spring. In the yellow room a light green-blue may be used but with great care and discretion. A breakfast room or porch carries this scheme well.

A pink room is best done with white or delicate blue and lavender. Blue rooms, deep in tone, should keep to blue of varying degrees, relieved by dull yellow or green. If the room is a bedroom, white or green and blue look well at* the windows.

The vogue of black and white is so popular, partly because it permits such a riot of colors and combinations. Black and white, mulberry, a touch of clear yellow, and some dull green this sounds as though it were the recipe for a cake. And, seriously, rooms might be built up of such recipes. We select in our curtains just whatever color we wish to emphasize in our room. Such analysis might save us from many a pitfall.

Curtains may be kept up and hung in cotton bags during the summer an unsightly procedure, but with a small store room and unskilled help, a good method. If the unwashable curtains are taken down, they should be carefully brushed and thoroughly aired and packed away in large boxes. Never pack curtains tightly. It takes all the winter to get the creases out of them. Velour curtains may be sent to the cleaner to be steamed if they are badly crushed. With thin curtains, wash them in the spring and pack them away; in the fall when they are ready to be put up, dampen and iron them. Lace curtains should be washed and starched and pinned down flat to the bed, floor or frame, but never ironed.

Curtains that are faded, soiled or sunburnt at the bottom may be turned upside down, as the top, carefully pleated in, can be so arranged as not to show the shabby parts. Curtains never look as shabby up as they do in our hands, for which we may be duly thankful. Those that we thought quite impossible may be cut off, re-edged and will surprise us with their presentable appearances. Curtains may easily be reversed, the right hand side changed to the left. In that manner the outside edge which is faded and shabby is put next to the trim and tucked under as much as possible; the other edge being comparatively fresh and unfaded since it has been protected by the trim.

Curtains may be dyed, but they do not keep their color. With heavy curtains like damask, they had better be sent to the regular dyer. Light silk curtains can readily be done at home and the expense is nominal.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Curtains Colour Suggestions and Refurbishing, Part 1


A few general color schemes may be suggested. If the upholstery and wall are of plain color, good effect is had by using vari-colored hangings such as chintz ; if, on the other hand, a room needs quieting down or if it has an overabundance of furniture, and many colors, one toned draperies will do much to counteract this effect. If the curtains are vari-colored, keep the portieres one toned, selecting a tone found in the curtains.

Do not select a curtain to match a paper without first seeing the light through the fabric, as this may very distinctly alter the color. Good old historical designs generally give the best satisfaction. In a room with Colonial or mahogany furniture, hangings of a light French design are especially pleasing, the vivacity of the French design and coloring relieving somewhat the austerity of the Colonial lines.

In a gray room, rose and mulberry or blue and green, or black and white touched with some brilliant colors make a combination of good value.


A tan or neutral background accepts any and almost every applied color scheme. Green-blue and dull orange, especially when used with oak or walnut furniture, are the finest colors according to the decorators. In a color scheme one may run the gamut of intensity and area of color. There is one rule that we may use in selection of curtains as well as anything else in our interior: intense colors must be used in small areas. The ultra modern schemes where an entire room is developed using full strength colors are so unlivable as to be quite out of the sphere of this practical handbook.

Popular Posts

Powered by Blogger.