The art of decorating dry goods windows and interiors

by L. Frank Baum

Draping is the foundation of the art of window trimming.

There is no window in which some kind of a drape could not be applied to good advantage. It gives the window an artistic and pleasing effect and is always appropriate. Draping is as old as the history of decorating itself, and it will never become old fashioned.

While the prettiest and most artistic effects are produced by draping, it is simple in itself, and, as in some tricks, “easy if you know how.”

PLAIN FESTOON DRAPERY.

One edge of the fabric is first pinned along the line to be draped, the distance being spaced equally, and it is an advantage to have little wooden spindles projecting a few inches, where each rosette would come, so that the material hangs clear of the wall instead of flat against it. Whatever the distance is between the pins, two or three times the same length of cloth should be allowed to make the festoon. About eight or ten inches below the pin the material is tied together tightly with a piece of string, the surplus material thus gathered together being for the purpose of forming the rosette. Removing the pin, the cloth is lifted up and the pin inserted at the same place again, but in such a way as to hold the fabric just where the knot was tied. Tacks may be more easily managed than pins. The rosette finally almost forms itself, as the bunch of surplus fabric is simply turned inside out, and pulled or patted into shape. The process is quite simple, and should be clearly understood by an inspection of the drawing, which shows at one end the fabric pinned up; the next loop has the string tied around it, and the third is finished with a neat rosette, the folds of the fabric hanging in a graceful cascade.

Quite recently a drapery hook has been invented which forms the rosettes automatically, thus simplifying the above process.

COMBINATION DRAPERY.

The drape shown in the first illustration consists of cheesecloth and is constructed in the following way: Take a thin bendable strip of wood, perhaps ¼ to ⅛ by 1½ inch, fix the lengths according to the size of your window, puff it with cheesecloth, bend it into the shape of a semi-circle, and place it in the center of your window. You may place it horizontally, vertically or slanting, to suit your fancy. If your window measures 3 yards, take from 9 to 12 yards of cheesecloth and allow 1 to 2 yards extra on each side to hang down. The festoons as shown in the sketch require about 3½ times as much cloth as the distance from one rosette to the next one. If you desire to drape deeper, allow about four times as much cloth instead of 3 or 3½ times as much for the festoons. Take the piece of cloth, divide it in two equal parts and pin it up at the middle by the edge, on the center of the semi-circle. After this form the festoons one after the other, one to right and one to left. The rosettes are made in this manner: After the cloth is pinned up and divided as indicated, take hold of it at about one foot below the pins, fold it into many pleats, each about 1½ inch wide, lift the cloth up to the pin and drive a second pin through the pleats, thus pinning it against the background. This leaves a bunch of cloth for the rosette, which you turn inside out, pull it apart and form it into the shape of a rose. After you have made the second rosette the festoon has formed itself almost to perfection, and if not your fingers must help out and complete the process by pulling and pushing the folds into proper shape, which is then easily done. The other part of the drape in our first sketch is like the one No. 3, and will be treated later. The sections No. 1a and No. 1b are made of separate pieces of cloth thrown over a short piece of curtain pole, which is projected about a foot from the background. These sections are more adaptable to silk drapery and require a square piece of very wide cloth, not narrower than 36 inches. To construct No. 1a this piece of cloth is laid upon the counter in diamond shape—like a napkin—and the cloth turned over from either end into wide pleats to and fro until the extreme points are thus folded. No. 1b is the same with the only difference that the diamond shaped piece of cloth is folded or cut into triangle shape and folded only from one side. These pieces, thus prepared, are folded again in the middle and thrown over the fixture, showing only one-half of their entire length. If you wish to have them reach down lower take a longer piece of cloth, cut the ends into diamond or triangle shape and proceed the same way. The effect of this style of draping is greatly increased by trimming the edges with tassels or fringes.