April, 1 910 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



133 



An applique trimming 



dresses can also be applied to white muslin curtains, if the 

 corners are neatly mitred. Or, a linen lace insertion with 

 an edge to match may be the decoration. 



Short curtains to the sill are the most practical for the 

 bedroom, looped back or hanging straight as one prefers. 

 White cotton loops are sold at ten cents a pair, and these 

 are attached to a brass cup hook which is screwed to the 

 casement about half-way between side of the lower sash. 



In bedrooms that are poorly supplied with light, the mus- 

 lin must be given up for a net or lace. Filet net with its 

 square mesh, or bobbinet with the well-known round mesh, 

 is the sheerest fabric for meeting this condition, although a 

 grenadine or point d'esprit is also dainty. Nottingham nets 

 are inexpensive, and in the small, set patterns look well 

 when hung across the glass. The imitation filet net costs 

 double but gives a finer appearance. Where the woodwork 

 is painted white, the curtain material follows this color, and 

 with dark woodwork an ecru tone is given the preference, 

 a rule that applies also to the living-rooms. 



If an over curtain is desired for the bedroom there are 

 special materials in opaque or semi-opaque effects, cotton 

 crepe at thirty-five cents a yard, cretonne from twenty-five 

 cents upwards, linen at seventy-five, ninety and a dollar, 

 taffeta at the same price as linen and various novelties that 

 change from one season to another. The imported sun- 

 fast drapery materials are notably desirable for bedroom 

 windows and these come in plain colors, stripes and two tones. 



How to trim these materials may be left to the ingenuity 

 of the home maker, as there are countless ways and innum- 

 erable materials for this purpose. One of the late ideas in 

 this line is to buy a flowered stripe in cretonne or linen and 

 cut up the strips for bands of trimming. Or, the pattern 

 may be cut out and appliqued on the material. The illustra- 

 tion shows a curtain of this character. The same method 

 has also been adopted with net on which the cut-out border 

 of cretonne is carefully sewed. 



The variation -in the width of windows, even in one 



room, often makes it a problem as to the right amount re- 

 quired for fullness. Lace or muslin is usually put up with 

 two lengths each as wide as the curtain rod. Thicker fab- 

 rics exact less fullness, but no specific rule can be made, as 

 the weights of materials vary. 



Lace curtains for a parlor or formal room look best 

 when they are hung to the floor in straight lines without 

 looping back. In a city house where the outside aspect is 

 to be maintained, a short lace curtain to the sill is hung 

 across the glass at every front window. This curtain is 

 often hung in one length like a panel, with the bottom and 

 both sides trimmed with an edge of lace. 



A lace curtain ornamented with Cluny lace is always in 

 good taste, even when the fashion turns from Irish Point 

 to Arabe and from Arabe to imitation filet. Lace curtains 

 by the pair may always be bought ready for hanging, but 

 a more individual choice is often preferred and materials 

 and lace are then made up according to an original design. 



The Chantilly net with one-inch square in the pattern 

 (see illustration), costs fifty cents a yard, and combined 

 with insertion and edge can be had for six dollars a pair, 

 including the labor of making up the materials. 



Over curtains of light weight do not require a lining, 

 but a thin interlining of canton flannel and a sateen lining 

 give more dignity to a long curtain and preserve it from 

 the effect of dampness and sun. A plain silk hung at each 

 side of a window may be a means for emphasizing the color 

 note in a room. For instance, the wall may have a paper in 

 which yellow and white and green are combined. The fire- 

 place tiling may be of yellow tiles, and the rug may be a 

 mixture of colors. Over the thin curtains some yellow 

 Japanese silk hung at the sides will give an accent of color. 



Velvet and velour are standard textures for window cur- ^ 

 tains, costing from a dollar and a half to five dollars a 

 yard. Besides the plain colors there are new weavings that 

 give a shaded effect. A gold or silver braid adds very 

 much to the charm of a velvet curtain if it is rightly applied. 



Cretonne border applied to linen 



