lining sewing

lining sewing

Why Lined Drapes are the Perfect Choice for the Cold and the Hot Season Alike

Decorative, functional or both, curtains occupy a special place in all indoors decoration efforts; their choice often depends on the room purpose, the season or the level of insulation the user requires. Lined drapes for instance are a good example of how the aesthetic and the functional potential of these window dressings can be maximized. The presence of a double layer of cloth, makes lined drapes the perfect choice for the cold and the hot season alike; in winter, they will keep cold away preventing energy loss, whereas in summertime, lined drapes act as a protection layer against the excessive heat outside.

Many users have reported lower utility costs thanks to the installation of lined drapes at all windows in the house. Nevertheless, this is not the only advantage that these curtains have over their unlined counterparts. Besides heat and cold protection, lined drapes create a perfectly private space by reducing the sound level in the room. For someone living in a busy urban area with lots of cars passing on the street, these decoration items are a true bliss for achieving the home comfort so necessary to each of us. Thus, we wouldn't be in the wrong to say that such an acquisition is definitely valuable for a household.

Lined drapes have a higher endurance rate than regular curtains; the extra cloth layer that is oriented towards the window prevents sun damage of the fabric. For anyone interested in purchasing long-lasting curtains, lined drapes are the best of choices since they can preserve both functionality and good looks for many years on end. They are all the more advantageous for the good light filtration properties too; some users even select special lined drapes that are made of blackout materials so as to ensure quality rest even during the day.

Some people even choose to sew their own lined drapes at home, achieving great results in terms of efficiency and visual effect too. Though there are actually books teaching one how to design lined drapes at home, several pages of really good tips on how to sew them prove enough for the most satisfactory of outcomes. If interested, you can find much of the information online, with good examples of dos and don'ts for developing the skills. Taking a look at some professionally made lined drapes could often prove inspirational, so don't hesitate to get a close check of such items. Good luck!

About the Author

Muna wa Wanjiru Has Been Researching and Reporting on Drapes for Years. For More Information on Lined Drapes, Visit His Site at LINED DRAPES

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How do I find a straight line down when sewing voile curtains?

The cutting line I have is not straight. I cannot achieve a straight line down the leading edges and also it is puckering and therefore pulling up at the edges and therefore my hem is not straight. I think it is straight on the table but when I sew it, it clearly isnt straight. I am making a pair of voiles to meet in the middle and they are crooked. PLEASE HELP

urgent

Are the threads in the voile actually at 90o to each other, or is the fabric not squarely woven? If that's the case, I would pull a thread and follow the lengthwise grainlines.

If the problem is that the fabric is not off-grain, but the cutting line is wobbly, the best thing you can do is to stabilize the fabric and recut.

Here's how: Find some paper as long as your curtain fabric -- I use endrolls of newsprint, but the backside of a roll of Christmas paper does as well. Lay the paper out flat on a table, and start at one end, fluff the fabric up in the air and then let it settle down onto the paper in a relaxed, flat manner. If you get lumps and bumps, you can pat them out with a nylon pancake turner held loosely by the handle... the motion you're going to use is like bouncing the end of a pencil on a table, you're not going to smash the fabric flat like a hamburger, nor are you going to trowel the fabric flat. You want the fabric both flat, and relaxed. Then pin the fabric edge to the paper edge so that it lies nice and flat -- no buckles or pulls. (Typically, with dress fabrics, you'd fold the fabric in half, and pin the two selvages along the straight edge of the paper, and pat.)

If the fabric is longer than your table, do not let the fabric droop off the end of the table.... just put a puddle of excess fabric at the end of the table, and when you get one section papered, roll up the fabric and paper together and do another section of fabric. If the fabric hangs off the table, it pulls and distorts the edge you're going to cut.

Now mark your seam line with tailor's chalk or disappearing pencil or the edge of a sliver of soap, and cut away the selvage (or edge) with a nice, straight cut, cutting both fabric and paper.

Puckering is often due to leaving the selvage on the fabric (tempting, but don't!) or may be due to winding the bobbin too fast with synthetic threads (they stretch and then contract after they're sewn) or using too short stitches, or needing to loosen the stitch tensions.