Cutting and draping

by John W. Stephenson

(SEE TEXT ON OPPOSITE PAGE)

FRENCH FESTOON DRAPERY

The art of draping is nearly as old as is the manufacture of fabrics. And artists and craftsmen of all ages have taxed their ingenuity to produce ideas unique, original, out of the ordinary—with varied success. Of the myriad of designs and treatments thus produced some of the more pleasing have stood the test of time.

One of the survivors is that generally known as “French festoon drapery,” which, by reason of its voluminous pleats and scallops, presents a showy appearance in almost any class of fabrics. To measure, plan and cut this style of drapery is one of the first problems that confronts the would-be decorator and drapery artist, and to make plain the method successfully used by the writer is the purpose of this article. Of course to the practical decorator such close discussion of details is irksome; but it is for the novice that I write. (See diagrams on opposite page.)

Figure [I] is an example of straight festoon drapery, the right side in skeleton to more clearly show the figures. To measure a door or window for this style it is necessary to have the extreme width of the space to be draped (5-0), the distance from the top of wood trim to floor (8-0) and the distance from the top of trim to ceiling (2-0). This is to determine the general proportion of the various parts in planning the complete treatment. Always measure with rule, getting the width measurement at the floor line and the height measurements from a ladder, and put them down as soon as taken. Don’t trust anything to memory! A three-foot folding pocket rule is a splendid all-round measure, as it comes in nine-inch sections (quarter yards) and the length gives it a decided advantage over the old-fashioned two-foot rule.

When these measurements have been secured take a piece of paper sufficiently large to lay out the dimensions of the space to a scale of say one inch to the foot, and on it sketch the style of the drapery you wish to produce.

Bear in mind that the purpose of draperies is to relieve the austerity of the straight wood lines, and to dress or furnish an otherwise bare space, not to make an ostentatious display of fabrics. Moreover, the display must be practical as well as decorative. If a window is low and a drapery carried out in proportion would be so low as to exclude the light or interfere with the vision, the usual rule must be departed from and the drapery raised to a greater height. The proper elevation our third measurement will enable us to easily determine.

Again, if we are planning a door, we must allow sufficient distance from the floor to the lowest point of the festoons for an ordinary person to pass or stand beneath without stooping. In practice it is seldom well to leave less than six feet six; but of course different designs call for different execution.