Lois: Hi, Judy
Judy: Hello!
Lois: Hello Martha! Welcome!
Martha: Making my grand entrance, late, but I'm here!!
Lois: Your entrances are always grand, Martha. So are your bedrooms and your living rooms and.... :)
Martha: Thanks, Lois.
Lois: Only the truth!
Martha: We just finished another bedroom tonight.
Martha: So, does anyone have any questions that I might answer?
Judy: Other than curtains and pillows, what are some examples of home dec? My home has never been very decorated.
Martha: Anything to do with furnishings, window treatments, accessories are home dec.
Martha: It can sometimes be quite overwhelming when trying to decorate a whole house. We usually suggest taking it step by step. Concentrate on one room and the rest will just flow together.
Judy: What are some good fabrics for curtains for drafty windows? I have a few sets I made years ago out of flannel, but I was wondering what else would be good.
Martha: For drafty windows, it's good to have "layers". Use your face fabric with either a flannel interlining, then regular lining or use a heavy blackout that blocks sun and cold.
Martha: If you have drafty windows, it's also a good idea to mount the rod at least a few inches above and outside each edge to get good coverage
Judy: Blackout?
Martha: Judy - blackout is a heavy liner that has an insulated filler "squished" between a regular lining and a suede type liner.
Judy: Where would you go to find it?
Martha: Not sure if JoAnn or Hancock sell it, but if you look for it, get a 3 pass. This is white on both sides, with the insulated filler in the middle.
Martha: A 2 pass is grayish/black on the outside which will sometimes give your face fabric a different color look.
Judy: How much does it cost, in general?
Martha: It's about $5.50 a yard - 54" wide.
Martha: If you want a sample, just send me a SASE
Lois: Would the fabric choice depend on the style of window treatment at all? Which comes first, the style or the fabric?
Martha: Yes Lois, some fabrics work better on different treatments. If you have fabric, you can choose a style, but if style is of more concern, pick that first then look for a suitable fabric.
Lois: Martha, I have a question.
Martha: Ok, Lois.
Lois: When you buy a ready made table cloth, the fabric can be 60" wide or more. Where do you find that retail?
Lois: Or is it only available to the manufacturers?
Martha: There is a place in California that sells wide fabrics. Think it's Homespun something. I'll hunt up the address.
Martha: There are a few companies that carry wide fabric, not sure who stocks it. It's expensive to stock things for just one particular item.
Martha: You can also use sheets for table skirts.
Lois: But isn't a sheet too lightweight for a table cloth?
Martha: Some of the better quality sheets work. You want to get one with a high thread count
Lois: Ahh.
Martha: Or you can use 54" wide fabric, seam a partial width on each side and do it that way.
Judy: Sheets aren't something you see homemade very often, unless they are twin sheets.
Judy: I wanted to make some for my queen bed, but didn't relish the idea of a center seam in it.
Martha: Seaming for bedsheets is not a good idea. lots of stress on them.
Lois: So for bedsheets, it's better to buy them than make them?
Martha: If you use the 108" wide fabric you can make them, but using regular width fabric really isn't the best. You'd be rolling over the seam all night!
Judy: I've only seen muslin that wide. Do other fabrics come that wide, too?
Judy: And would flat felling the seam be enough to strengthen it?
Martha: When we make anything with a seam, we never have a center seam. It looks better to split the outside width and seam 1/2 width to a full center width. I hate seeing a seam in the middle of a valance.
Martha: You can get wide sheeting. The flat fell seam would strengthen it, yes, but would be bumpy.
Martha: I need SMOOTH when sleeping!
Judy: I know that grain direction is vital for clothing, as you always want the warp running up and down for proper drape. How important is that in home decorating?
Martha: Most cotton or poly/cotton blends can be used either way. We railroad fabrics (run selvage top and bottom) for many treatments if the pattern on the fabric allows it. Also on swags, we cut on the bias to give them a better flow.
Martha: On valances that have lots of pieces, such as Empire swags, we like to railroad the lining. This also reduces the bulk in the seams and makes them lay nicer
Lois: So the selvage runs horizontally in those cases?
Martha: Yes, but if you are doing long drapes and a top treatment, you would want to run it all the same way, with the selvage running vertical.
Lois: Ah, I see.
Judy: How far below the window sill should curtains fall?
Judy: Or, rephrased, how do you decide how long to make them?
Martha: If you have an apron, usually a few inches below that. This also helps keep the cold out.
Martha: If the windows are close to the floor, say only 10" - 12", I like to make them floor length. If you get too close to the floor, but not quite there, it looks like you ran out of fabric or the drapery shrunk.
Judy: An apron?
Martha: The apron is the piece of molding under the sill.
Judy: Oh. My windows are tall enough that I can stand up in them and have room to spare.
Martha : If you don't have molding, then usually about 4-5" below the window.
Martha: I like to have them long enough so the hem line doesn't show from the outside.
.Martha.: And mounted high enough so the pleats or rod pocket doesn't show either.
Martha: Also, if just doing valances, and you have the room, mount them on the wall space above the window. This will allow you to make a deeper valance, making it appear the window is longer, but not blocking much actual window.
Judy: I used 5 yards of fabric for each window. I currently have them hanging on other windows that are much smaller though.
Martha: Are there panels?
Judy: All I did was cut the fabric in half lengthwise, so each piece was 2 1/2 yards long and hemmed them.
Lois: Wow! Those are long windows!
Judy: I also discovered that normal rods look funny in 3" pockets.
Judy: I said I could stand up in them.
Martha: You have regular rods up?
Judy:Yes.
Martha: But you made a 3" pocket?
Judy: I bought the rods years after I made the curtains.
Martha: Take a heavy piece of cardboard, duct tape this around your normal rod, you have a wide rod.
Martha: Forgot to tell you to cut it to 2 1/2".
Judy: Two sets are now hanging in the kids' rooms, which have normal size windows, and the other set is split up, acting as doors for doorless closets.
Judy: The only problem with the ones in the kids' rooms are that they also cover the heater baseboard now.
Judy:Thanks.
:Lois: What about running a line of stitching between the bottom of the pocket and the top edge, to make the pocket smaller?
Martha: You could do that too, but on longer drapes, a deeper pocket looks better
Judy: Is there a difference between drapes and curtains?
Martha: Not really. Usually professionals call them drapes, hobbyists and home sewers call them curtains.
Martha: When you think of "draperies". that would be pinch-pleated styles. Curtains are more for the rod pocket, short style.
Lois: I always think of drapes as more structured, pinch pleats, linings, all that stuff.
Judy:Me, too.
Martha: Well Lois, that's what I just said!! Great minds think alike!
Judy: I also tend to think of richer fabrics, like brocade or velvet.
Martha: I think of Country Curtains when hearing curtains.
Lois: Martha, any final thoughts on home decorating inspirations?
Martha: Final thoughts - Let your creative juices flow. A window without treatments, is like a face without a smile!
Lois: Thank you, for coming in tonight, Martha.
Judy: Thank you, Martha, for answering our questions.
Martha: Anytime Lois. Had fun!
Lois: I look forward to having you as a guest again.
Martha: Maybe we can do this again sometime.
Lois: I was thinking maybe we could do this sort of thing once a month?
Martha: If you get any questions throughout the week, just let me know.
Martha: Good night Lois and Judy
Lois: Bye!