SCARF DRAPERIES
ALL draperies that are not regularly cut and made, according to some design, but depend for their appearance entirely on the way in which the fabric is put up, are classed under the heading scarf draperies. They are at best but an imitation of the cut festoon drapery, and for anything permanent much better satisfaction is obtained by the use of fabric properly cut and made up.
When the decoration is of a transient character, however, such as show-window decoration, festival decoration, or the temporary adornment of a door or window, very good effects can be obtained by practice and the exercise of a little ingenuity without cutting the material, and it is not a rare occurrence to meet men of long experience in the drapery business who employ this method altogether. As a knowledge of the methods used to obtain various results in this style will doubtless prove useful, we present herewith a number of illustrations which show the versatility of this principle.
Figure [33] (see diagrams on the opposite page) illustrates one treatment of a pair of tapestry, silk or chenille curtains to form a drapery over a six or seven foot opening.
To accomplish this divide the width of the opening into three spaces, the middle one slightly narrower than the others. At point A, Figure [33A], temporarily attach the corner of one curtain and draw the other end of it up and over the pole B, from behind; without twisting the curtain, draw the top (or dotted line) edge Figure [33A] over until the sag between A and B is nearly correct, then adjust the bottom (or broken line) edge, allowing it to sag considerably more than the upper edge to give the necessary depth to festoon 2. Note the stripes of the material in Figure [33A], which illustrates how a straight cross-striped material would look if used in this way.
Fasten the goods temporarily at B with a few tacks and proceed with festoon 3.
Carry the (broken line) top edge, which was the bottom edge in festoon 2, to C, your left outside point, Figures [33] and [33A], allowing it to sag slightly as the top of the festoon.
Hold the material at point C with the right hand, and with the left hand grasp the edge of the goods a short distance farther to the left and raise it above the right hand (at point C) until the edge of the goods between your hands is taut, as illustrated by Figure [33A].
If you have allowed a sufficient distance between your hands, corner E of the curtain should be higher than corner F, as illustrated.