Curtains and Blinds
Sew tabs with café curtains
November 7, 2011 | 
Author A method more usually associated with café curtains is to sew tabs along the top edge for the pole to go through. Make up the basic curtain first. The length will be from a point about 7.5cm below the rod to the bottom point of the finished curtain. Add 15cm for a double 7.5cm bottom hem, and 2.5 cm for a top hem. Café curtains should not be too full, so 1 ½ times the width of the pole is ample. Add 10cm for a double 2.5cm hem at each side. Café curtain look best from the outside if they are lined – bagged type of lining works well. Make up the curtains except for the top edge. Make the tabs from the same fabric as the curtains. Cut enough tabs to fit at 15cm intervals along the width of the curtain. Measure the circumference of the pole; add on a total of 2.5cm for seam allowances and another 5cm for movement.
This will be the length of the piece of material to cut for each tab. The finished width will be about 6 or 7cm, so double that for the two sides and add 2.5cm for seam allowances. Fold each piece in two along its length, right sides together, without creasing the fold. Sew along the seam 1.5cm in from the edge. Open out the seam and press it. Turn the tab inside out, position the seam down the center of the tab, and press down the side folds. Press towards each other by 2.5cm. Pin the tabs 15cm apart and ensure that all the raw edges are enclosed allow a 1.25cm seam allowances at each end of the tab. Try the curtain on the pole to see that all the tabs lie comfortably. Then remove it and stitch along the top edge of the curtain so that the tabs are fixed in place and the top edge is closed.
Café Curtains
Café curtains are an attractive and well established way of dressing a window. They fit over the bottom half of the window which gives privacy to people sitting in the room, traditionally, of course to diners eating at café tables. At the same time they let in daylight through the top half of the window. In some circumstances you could consider them as an alternative to net curtains. Café curtains look especially good on sash windows where the frame is divided by a horizontal bar. The curtains can be fitted to the height of this bar for a neat visual effect. You could consider hanging café curtains with a matching pelmet. There are many ways of making café curtains.
Most types fit into two end sockets, after the curtain is hung on it, or you can use other arrangements. A d-i-y or department store should be able to provide you with a good range of rods and fittings. One of the simplest methods is to attach clip-on rings through which the pole is slotted. You make up the curtain in the usual way, but also turn down the top heading into a double hem, forming mitered corners there too. Then clip on the rings at regular intervals across the top. Or you can sew large curtain rings along the top edge, at intervals of about 10cm, with a neat buttonhole stitch. Again, the top hem should be completed first in the same way as the bottom hem. A cased heading is the next easiest method and suitable for sheer fabrics.
How to fix Net Curtains
Fit the wire 2.5 cm down from the top of the available space for the net to allow room for the heading. Measure the length of the curtain from the wire to the window sill, or to the bottom of the frame, according to your preference and the type of window. The width of the curtains should be up to 1 ½ times the width of the window. Allow a total of 6 cm for two doubled 1.5cm side hems. To the finished length of fabric, and 7.5 cm at the top for the casing and heading, and 15cm at the bottom for a double 7.5cm hem. Because the net is translucent, any joins will show slightly. Join width with either a French or a run-and-fell seam.
The seam must of course be on the wrong side of the fabric. Use a fine no 9 sewing-machine needle and a fairly large stitch. It helps to insert layers of tissue paper between the layers of net to prevent them slipping around while you are sewing. Sew the two side hems first, each a doubled 1.5 cm. Then turn up and sew the bottom double 7.5cm hem. Add any weights at this stage the string of sausages type are the best ones for net curtains. At the top, turn down the fabric at the 7.5cm mark, and fold under the first 2.5cm. Sew the fold down to the fabric, and then sew along the line just below the raw edge, to produce a heading of 2.5cm. Thread the net on the wire.
Net Curtains
Net Curtains are most commonly used for maintaining privacy and hiding an ugly view, while letting in the light. In some circumstances you might use café curtains or a blind instead. A variety of manufactured heading tapes are now made specifically for use with nets. You will need a rail with hooks and rings for fitting the net, so that method is probably more suited to larger windows where the heading will be high enough to be obscured.
Fit whichever heading tape you choose as if you were making ordinary curtains. For smaller windows, the old fashioned method of sewing a casing into the net for slotting through a plastic-coated wire is simple and unobtrusive. Nets normally hang within the window recess. Cut the wire to give just enough tension so that is holds taut. Insert two cup hooks into the window frame at the sides and two eyes into the ends of the wire rod.
Heading Tape
You will need to decide exactly which type of heading tape you want to use, and calculate the length. It is possible to make your own headings but there are enough good manufactured tapes for this to be unnecessary. If you are planning to make several curtains with the same heading, you might feel it worth investing in a full roll of the particular type. The main types of heading tapes in general use are as follows:
Standard tape: Draws the curtain up into a simple gather. It produces a shallow heading and can be used with an exposed track but is generally more suitable for use with pelmets. It takes standard curtain hooks, which should be inserted every 8cm for medium-weight curtains. You will need twice the track width of both tape and fabric.
Pencil pleat tape: The most straightforward and satisfactory type of decorative type when there is no pelmet. It draws up into a tidy series of tight pleats approximately the thickness of a pencil, and takes standard hooks. Some versions are stiffened to give a firm crisp heading, and an extra deep version is available to give a well proportioned heading for floor-length curtains. Special versions of pencil pleating tape are available for net and sheer curtains. Use two and half times the track width for the deeper heading tape, and up to three times the track width for net curtains.
Triple Pleat tape: Gives the effect of a group of three pinched pleats without the need for long-pronged hooks. Drawing up the strings produces spaced triple pleats. It is available in a variety of depths – 14cms, 9cm and 4 cm – buy any of these to twice the track width.
Cartridge pleat tape: This heading produces a well-rolled pleat effect and evenly hanging curtains below the heading. Use the hooks recommended by the manufacturer. You will need twice the track width.
Lining Tape: Used for detachable linings and is hung on the curtain hooks.
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Tracks and Fittings
There is a bewildering array of curtain track fittings hanging system, and manufacturers change their ranges often. So the best way to choose is to study the range of tracks currently available. Your choice will depend on your decorating scheme, on the type of heading and on the weight of the fabric. These will dictate the style and material of the track it might be aluminum, plastic, brass, brass plated metal, or wood. You might prefer a pole which would look elegant in some period settings, especially when used to carry full length curtains in a large room. If you prefer the convenience of a track but the appearance of a pole, there is available a half-section pole which conceals a track mechanism. If you are using a pelmet, a board will probably be essential to carry the weight, but a valance can be carried on a curtain track.
Tracks are available that can be bent to follow the contours of the area, such as a bay or dormer window. For a dormer window, a continuation of the track round the sides allows you to draw the curtain completely away from the window in order to let in as much light as possible. If you prefer detachable linings, you may find it useful to install the type of track which takes a special kind of hooked glider on which you can hang both the curtain and the lining. Most manufacturers make a system for opening and closing the curtains with a single pulled cord which will save the fabric from handling. You should also consider this if the curtains are very tall or heavy. It is possible to install an electrically operated opening and closing system. if you are to close and open the curtains by hand, you can fit rods to the inner edge hooks to avoid handling and possibly soiling the curtain fabric itself. Or you can fit a tasseled draw-cord.
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Lined Curtains
Curtains play a vital role in improving the interior look of home. It adds more beauty to the home. Most curtains benefit from being lined. The lining helps to keep the curtain clean, acts as an insulator against the cold and noise, looks neater from the outside of the house than the reverse side of the curtain fabric, and helps to stop the curtain fabric fading by taking the full impact of any direct sunlight (silk rots in sunlight). Choose lining fabric either to match the curtain fabric, or in white, beige or cream. Colored linings will show fading before pale ones, and may show through and affect the look of the curtain adversely.
You can also add interlining. Lined-and-interlined curtains are only slightly more difficult to make than lined-only curtains, and are worth the extra expense. The interlining is a layer of cotton-based or synthetic fabric between the lining and curtain. Correctly fitted, it gives the edges of the curtain a thickness and ‘roll’ that lends a touch of luxury to even the most modest fabric and, perhaps more importantly, it forms an even more effective insulation barrier by keeping the heat inside and cutting out draughts. Make sure that the curtain fabric, lining and interlining are all compatible in terms of washing or dry-cleaning.
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Soft Furnishings
Few skills are more valuable in your home than the ability to make your own curtains. Almost every room needs them, and then has a critical influence on its appearance. In general, a window’s position and proportion in relation to the whole room can be enhanced or disguised appropriately. If you choose a fabric which is in harmony with the other decorations and furnishings in the room, the curtains will have a calming influence. You might even consider having wallpaper and curtain fabric matching other items in the room. Or, for a dramatic effect, choose a fabric with a bold design. The type of fabric itself can have a great influence on the character and style of a room. The subtle light and shade effect of plain velvet can generate a feeling of opulence. A colorful cotton print will cheer up an otherwise dingy space.
When choosing the fabric bear in mind that it may need to be hard wearing and easy to clean. Toweling and plastic coated fabrics would be practical choices for a kitchen or bathroom. Some upholstery fabrics are too heave and don’t drape well, and even those heavy fabrics that are suitable might have to be rejected if their bulk will cut down light when they are drawn back. If the room is quite dark, don’t cut out more light than you need. If there is a radiator beneath the window, floor-length curtains may prevent the heat coming into the room efficiently when they are closed.
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