78 
House & Garden 
HOW TO MEASURE FOR CURTAINS 
The Methods of Making Exact Figures on Heights and Widths 
Are Explained Here for the Home Decorator 
ADA LA HINES 
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T O the uninitiated’ cur¬ 
tain measuring may 
seem an unimportant 
item. But, after you have 
made your living room cur¬ 
tains a foot too short, or find 
the chintz in the guest room 
wrong side up or to your 
great dismay, discover one 
of those gorgeous birds on 
the chintz roller shades in 
the dining room has been 
decapitated and the other 
minus its tail-feathers, after 
such mistakes you will see 
the wisdom of knowing how 
to measure. Start with a 
folding 4' rule. 
For the purposes of this 
article, it is best to take as 
model a window where you 
will use three sets of cur¬ 
tains—glass curtains, silk 
curtains to draw at night, 
and overcurtains and val¬ 
ance which frame the win¬ 
dow. 
For the glass curtain, 
which may be of any soft, 
thin material such as net, 
muslin, or silk gauze, take 
the width measure closest to 
the glass, also the length to 
the sill. Determine where you are to place 
your brackets, and allow about fifty per 
cent fullness. These curtains should be 
made with a three-quarter-inch casing for 
your rod to run through and a heading the 
same size. See that they just escape the 
sill, because otherwise they may sweep up 
the dust from the sill. 
The silk draw curtains should be placed 
a little farther out from the glass. You 
will find a detail of molding on the casing 
which seems the logical place for them. 
Take your width measure first, and allow 
about fifty per cent fullness. These should 
just escape the sill also. Having your 
correct window measure, and having the 
width of your material, cut this down to 
the required fullness if necessary. It is 
better to part witli eight or ten inches of 
material than to crowd your window. 
The draw curtains should be finished 
with a 1 j/ 2 " hem on the fronts and lower 
edges, and weighted tape run in the lower 
hems to make them hang straight. After 
making a 3" heading, which should be 
double, pleat them into the rod measure¬ 
ment. Sew heavy wire rings to the back 
of the box pleats, every 5" or 6" apart. 
These will take your draw cords. 
Next let us take the measures for the 
Jit,. 
Portiefkl Width 
■ CTZA65 CURTAIN 
GLASb CURTAIN 
Portiere measurements are jairly simple. The height is the height of 
the door casing and the curtains are hung to within 1 " of the floor. 
The width is the width of the inside of the casing. Glass curtains 
depend upon the size of the glass 
-Vcdctoce VJidth 
The measurements indicated here are for 
three sets of curtains—glass curtains, draw 
curtains and over-curtains. The valance 
width is also shown 
over-curtains and valances. 
These will be of some heavier 
fabric, either a heavy printed 
linen or silk. They should 
hang to the floor in a formal 
room. We must also take 
into account the repeat of the 
design. The latter may seem 
formidable to one unaccus¬ 
tomed to measuring, but it is 
really not difficult. Let us 
suppose your window meas¬ 
ures 9' in height. The repeat 
in the design is found by 
measuring from a certain de¬ 
tail of design down to the 
next point exactly like it. 
Suppose this to be 2'. Then 
it is obvious that you must 
allow each cut of your ma¬ 
terial to be five repeats, or 
10', instead of 9', so as to 
have each length begin at the 
same point. Be sure to place 
at the bottoms of the curtains 
that part of the pattern which 
seems heaviest, both in color 
and design. These will be 
bound, if of printed linen, on 
the front and lower edges 
with a 2" taffeta band to 
harmonize. Line them in 
satine and sew them to the 
very top heavy rings. No pleats are 
necessary on over-curtains. Let them hang 
1” above the floor. Set the rods out on the 
casing as close to the outer edge as possible. 
When you take your valance measure, 
it is customary to use the width from the 
very outside of the trim, although in some 
cases, where the trim is extra heavy, the 
valance and curtains may be placed en¬ 
tirely within the inside line of the trim. 
'The valance width should be the same as 
the total width of the over-curtains, so that 
the vertical line on the outside of the cas¬ 
ing is not broken. It is preferable to make 
the valance with a tape stitched to the 
back at the very top, so that it may be 
tacked to a valance board. Allow a 3" 
return at each end to tack around the 
board. In depth the valance should never 
be more than one-fifth of the curtain length, 
and preferably much less. About 15" is 
a good depth for a plain shaped valance, 
although in the curves it may have to be 
more or less to take in the design nicely. 
Center the most important part of the de¬ 
sign, and if piecing is required, do so on 
the sides; never in the center. A box- 
pleated or gathered valance, which is 
straight on the lower edge, may be 12" to 
(Continued on page 112) 
