Post by demandypants on Nov 26, 2012 9:50:57 GMT -5
So I have a living room with a huge picture window in my mid-century house. About 130 inches wide, and 6.5 ft tall. We love the window, and don't have anything on it right now. I would like to hang some curtains that can spend most of the time flanking the window but not covering it. But have enough fabric to draw them closed to filter the bright morning sun or offer some privacy at night.
My question is how full should I make the curtains? I want them to be able to be bunched up and not block the window. I know standard rule of thumb is 2-3xs the width. But I assume that is with the assumption you intend to keep them closed and want them to look full. Is it a bad idea to get only 200 inches worth of fabric for this massive window? I want to take advantage of JCP's sale prices today. So any help is appreciated!!
Are they pleated or plain? I think if they are plain you will need more so they don't look like straight pieces of fabric hanging down but you might get away with 200 inches of pleated fabric that you don't close all the time.
Are they pleated or plain? I think if they are plain you will need more so they don't look like straight pieces of fabric hanging down but you might get away with 200 inches of pleated fabric that you don't close all the time.
I was afraid a pleated curtain wouldn't compress to the side as much as I would like and would block the window. So I was looking at the plain back-tab ones.
If it's plain I'd definitely get more like 3x the width. They will look like dish towels when closed otherwise (I know from when I tried to get away this!).
The standard rod pocket is 3 x for a sheer and 2-2 1/2 x for a more substantial fabric. If you plan to stack to the side, you may have trouble getting that much fabric off to the side as you say, especially if you line them.
Sounds like you may have to decide which is more important- the look open or the look closed. IME, and I have a sideline doing curtains, putting them on rings/clips can make stacking them to the side easier and make them look a little less weird at night when drawn.
A patterned "sheer" like lace or embroidered looks better at 1 1/2 X fullness, but this isn't a style everyone likes. I have a sheer linen with white on white vines embroidered in my LR- they stack to almost "nothing" and don't look to awful when open.
If the window is older, any fabric that gets sun, will likely discolor fairly quickly.
The standard rod pocket is 3 x for a sheer and 2-2 1/2 x for a more substantial fabric. If you plan to stack to the side, you may have trouble getting that much fabric off to the side as you say, especially if you line them.
Sounds like you may have to decide which is more important- the look open or the look closed. IME, and I have a sideline doing curtains, putting them on rings/clips can make stacking them to the side easier and make them look a little less weird at night when drawn.
A patterned "sheer" like lace or embroidered looks better at 1 1/2 X fullness, but this isn't a style everyone likes. I have a sheer linen with white on white vines embroidered in my LR- they stack to almost "nothing" and don't look to awful when open.
If the window is older, any fabric that gets sun, will likely discolor fairly quickly.
Rings are a good idea, I hadn't considered that. I ordered enough panels to double the width I plan on making the rod. If it is too much to push to the side, I will just return the extras. I think the open look is more important to me. As I expect them to be open 95% of the time. Thanks for your input!