When the ribs are all in position wire loops are run around the ribbed circle inside, at different heights, to strengthen them and preserve the globular shape. The framework is then covered with canvas, and each panel (the space between two ribs) is padded with some soft material evenly distributed and covered with cotton, after which the covering material is put on, a row of stitching holding all firmly to each rib and a cord covering the stitching.
The drapery beneath the cornice of Figure [123] combines the festoon and straight valance principles which have been already explained in former chapters, and the small drapery above the embroidery is put on separately.
The four-poster of Figure [124] shows the application of a straight box pleat in keeping with the architectural lines of the bed, and any of the draperies shown herewith may be applied to four-post beds if the general outline and style of the draperies conforms to the general construction of the bed itself.
In Figure [125] we illustrate a French canopy which adapts itself very readily to the decoration of brass beds. The dome is formed of panels of buckram or cardboard, cut to shape, and covered with the fabric, plain or pleated; the panels are then sewn together with the baseball stitch, previously illustrated, and a hoop fastened inside the bottom to preserve the shape. If heavy fabrics are desired for curtains, drapery and covering, the dome should be more substantially constructed, as described for Figure [123], dispensing with the molded cornice if desired.
Bed canopies, no matter how light, must be carefully put up and securely fastened to avoid accident.
The back curtains, which appear in almost all of the illustrations presented herewith, are in some cases attached to the side curtains, so that the fabric is continuous from fringe to fringe, those of Figures [123] and [125] being so planned.
The back curtain of Figure [124] is shirred on a rod top and bottom, and stretched into pleats, while those shown in Figures [113], [114] and [115] may be treated similarly, or, as illustrated, pleated into long, sweeping pleats. The material is joined up, allowing nearly half as much again to the width, say a piece 6—- 9 for a 4—- 6 bed, and allow a like quantity (2—- 3) in addition to the required length.
Spread the material out on the table, find the centre of the top, and measure each way on the top edge a distance of eighteen inches; measure down each side from the top corner the distance you have allowed (2——3), and rule from these marks to the extremities of your eighteen-inch marks; add outside of this the allowance for tacking and trimming and trim off the corner, which means that you remove from each corner a piece of material measuring about 20 x 24 inches, and triangular in shape. Tack the straight top to the back of the canopy, centering the goods (3——0) in the space (4——6) and pleat up the biased corners into the remaining spaces at each side.
TRAVERSE, · DROP · AND · THEATRE · CURTAINS
