Cutting and draping

by John W. Stephenson

Sash curtains to loop back, as A, Figure [60], are made about six inches longer than the length of the window from top to sill, with shrinking allowance added, and produce the opposite effect to straight curtains, seeming to increase the width and reduce the height. They may be made of bordered goods or of plain or dotted material edged with lace or ruffle of itself. Looped curtains give a jaunty, cheerful appearance to the exterior of a house, but do not look well on wide, short windows, unless left widely separated at the top. Stores bonne femme, as illustrated, Figure [61], Curtain A, do not materially alter the apparent size of a window, and are very effective on large windows. They are usually made with scalloped bottom edge, trimmed with a frill eight or ten inches deep, and edged with lace.

For a wide window the body of the curtain is sometimes divided into panels by rows of insertion, instead of having a motif or lace pattern set into it, as illustrated.

The material used is usually a fine étamine, madras or fine net. They are hung on a rod fastened to the top or just inside the frame (see Rod E, Figure [78]) so that they will hang next to the glass, as sash curtains, and are usually made to just clear the sill in length and very slightly full in width.

The upper part of the window in Figure [68] is a combination of the bonne femme and Austrian shade, and makes a very effective sash or glass curtain for dining-room, library or bedroom. They are made in the same manner as the Austrian shade explained later, except that they hang stationary, and do not raise or lower. The material may be plain or colored silk, net, challie, casement cloth, or madras, with insertion of any desired style, and edged with lace to match. In colored materials good effects can be obtained by using a contrasting color for the insertion.

The curtains on the lower sash are attached to a rod placed at I, Figure [78], and are trimmed to match the curtains on the upper sash, they hang free at the bottom and just clear the sill, the insertion across the bottom placed high enough to show clearly through the glass from without. They may be used in conjunction with the upper curtain, as illustrated, or may be used alone, and are usually sewn to rings, as Figures [70] or 77.

Lace panels with motif centre, as A, Figure [62], are quite largely used for clubs, hotel or institution windows, and in many cases for dwellings also (though some think them too severe for the latter). Wherever used they should be perfectly proportioned and shaped to fit the size and shape of the window, the design so executed that it shall be entirely visible from without, and appear as a picture framed by the window sash.

They are generally made to order by applying lace insertion and motifs to net, and are attached to the sash by rods, tacks, or, what is still better, make a small wooden frame of strips one-half inch by three-quarter inch and wrap it neatly with cotton the same color as the net, baste the panel to the cotton and attach it to the window sash with small brads. This frame is only slightly visible through the panel on the inside and completely hidden by the sash from the outside.

To attach a panel to a door where the glass is framed by fancy moldings, the small frame is made as above to fit into the sash against the glass. It is finished to match the woodwork of the door, and has a groove on the outer edge to receive a small, soft cord, tacked or glued in place, and projecting sufficiently to permit the edge of the panel to be sewn to it (see Figure [63]). Care should be taken in measuring for panels, as the effect is completely spoiled by a misfit.

Sash curtains, stores or panels, when properly applied, add greatly to the exterior appearance of a house, but should be uniformly applied to all windows visible from the same quarter. For instance, if sash curtains are used on the front drawing-room windows, all of the front windows, from basement to attic, should be treated with some form of sash curtains adapted to each individual space and in harmony with the whole. Nearly all glass curtains are provided with a double hem at the top, Figure [64], through which is passed a small rod fastened at each end to the stops or frames of the window in such a manner that the sash will work freely if raised or lowered. (See E B, Figure [78].)

In some cases it is desirable to apply a peek-a-boo sash curtain to the lower sash to render it opaque from without and not exclude the light. This is accomplished by using a curtain with a double hem at top and bottom and attached (as illustrated A, Figure [65]) so that it raises with the sash and does not touch the stop on either side. (Note Rods I and G, Figure [78].)