Mr Sheraton's pelmet

[JoceAndChris]

I'm embarking on 28 Regency style dongly danglers! (for want of a better word)

The half oval bits at the bottom of the pelmet:

I wonder how those hold backs work? They seem to have permanently trapped the curtain. It's very tempting to have a go at making those as well.

Chris has agreed to make the wooden structure that lies behind the draperies of the pelmet. It will end up looking very different as it's for the porch window, which is 2.85 across, and angled in three sections.

What should he make it out of? Plywood?

I'm planning to steal Nigel's idea of the Velcro for the attachment of cloth to board.

 

[biffvernon]

Do they have function as well as form?

 

[Gareth Hughes]

The holdbacks may have been fairly rigid metal loops that almost completely encircled the gathered curtains, or (to judge from some of the illustrations on this page), they just may not be very well drawn in that plate:
http://www.janeausten.co.uk/magazine/page.ihtml?pid=814&step=4

 

[JoceAndChris]

What astonishing curtain porn! Oh, I want to make all of them. Thanks Gareth. The top one would be perfect in the dining room.

I have just got to improve my curtain making skills, as I can't see anyone round these parts stitching stuff like that.

Do they have function as well as form?

Mine will.

 

[CatherineB]

I'm probably teaching my (merely metaphorical) grandmother to suck eggs here, but...

With reference to the comments on light on Gareth's link - I think it is important for your track, pelmet etc, to extend reasonably far beyond the edge of the window itself on either side, or your glorious curtains will end up mostly obscuring the view and light from your window, even when open.

 

[Penners]

What should he make it out of? Plywood?

The horizontal "shelf" component can be anything he likes - softwood, plywood, MDF, etc. Any of those will be easy to cut with radiussed ends, using a jigsaw.

But assuming that you also want a vertical pelmet board with the ends radiussed, like those in your picture above, he'll need to use a bendy sheet material for that component. Here's an idea: http://www.wickes.co.uk/MDF-Flexi-Board/invt/190139

 

[Moo]

I've used that bendy board, Joce. It's excellent!

 

[middi]

......" dongly danglers"......" curtain porn"......

I am totally confused here

Middi

 

[Gareth Hughes]

It's girl stuff, Middi, I don't think we're expected to understand :roll:

 

[JoceAndChris]

Certainly not! :lol:

But poor Middi, I'm trying to think of the name for dongly dangler in Italian and finding it escapes me - but surely that glorious country of flourishes and curlicues would understand about the excitement of curtains?

Thanks very much for the recommendation of the flexi board, that sounds perfect - and Catherine, thank you also, it's difficult balancing the need for light with such elaborate designs. I am ending up obscuring a good deal of the glass, but as it is a glass fronted porch it doesn't matter too much - there's far too much glass there in my opinion.

 

[Nigel Watts]

This might help:
http://www.merrick-day.com/acatalog/The_Encyclopaedia_of_Curtains.html

I love the boldness of the colours in those illustrations - blue with orange and purple with yellow.

You should think carefully about scale. What might look good in a large room with a 15 or 20 foot ceiling could become over fussy in a smaller room.

 

[Penners]

that glorious country of flourishes and curlicues

I thought that curlicues only happened on pension day outside post offices, after the ladies have all been for a perm.

 

[JoceAndChris]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

This might help:
http://www.merrick-day.com/acatalog/The_Encyclopaedia_of_Curtains.html

I love the boldness of the colours in those illustrations - blue with orange and purple with yellow.

You should think carefully about scale. What might look good in a large room with a 15 or 20 foot ceiling could become over fussy in a smaller room.

I must buy that book.

The pelmet is for here (the ceiling is immediately above the top of the curtains), so, yes, the point about scaling it down is a good one.

The first stumbling blcok of this little project is that after having made a prototype I think the colour scheme -black trim on the same gold cloth - is too assertive - so I'm now looking for rope trim and tassels in that soft blue grey, but not having any luck as yet.

 

[JoceAndChris]

Does anyone know anything about piping?
I've spent the last 2 months looking for the right trim and have come to the conclusion I'm going to have to make it.

My understanding is that I have to buy some of this: http://www.merrick-day.com/acatalog/Merrick___Day_Piping_Cord_52.html and cover it in strips of this to get the colour/texture I want
http://www.thesilkroute.co.uk/section.php/56/1/ha_2_smoke_blue_indian_silk_dupion
Anyone done piping? Mum said I'll have to cut on the diagonal. So difficult to work out how much grey to buy - each Regency style dongly dangler requires 25 cm of piping. There are 26. 25 x 26 = 650cm 650cm = 6.5 metres.
The width of the cloth is 112cm.
The width of each diagonal ribbon will be around 8cm.
If I didn't have to cut on the diagonal I could divide 112 by 8 maybe??
But I do have to cut on the diagonal.
Maybe I should go on a sewing course. :?

 

[jocelyn plummer]

Yes, you do have o cut it on the diagonal-- :shock: :shock: that's why I can never get ,my head around doing piping, miles of it!

 

[JoceAndChris]

This might help:
http://www.merrick-day.com/acatalog/The_Encyclopaedia_of_Curtains.html

I love the boldness of the colours in those illustrations - blue with orange and purple with yellow.

You should think carefully about scale. What might look good in a large room with a 15 or 20 foot ceiling could become over fussy in a smaller room.

I've just bought it - at last! Thanks xx

 

[JoceAndChris]

Yes, you do have o cut it on the diagonal-- :shock: :shock: that's why I can never get ,my head around doing piping, miles of it!

It will be masses and masses of work. Oh well, keep me out of mischief for a while. Thanks Joss.

 

[Schoolmarm]

:shock: All that work. What about finding an uphosterers and asking them top make your piping? I bet they have a special fitment for the machines.

 

[Moo]

Oh dear. I do wish we lived nearer to one another, Joce. I could teach you how to do piping, but it's beyond my capabilities to describe the process in words, or even with diagrams.

One bit of advice I can give you, though, is to do with joining the strips:

Assuming that you're cutting them (at an exact 45 degrees) from a rectangular piece of cloth, you will end up with strips with slanting ends. It's very important that you join them, right sides together, following that 45 degree slant. DO NOT, ON ANY ACCOUNT, BE TEMPTED TO CUT THEM SQUARE.
I suggest that you practise first with some scrap material (an old hankie or tea-towel?) to get used to the idea, and to work out how to do the joins.

You'll find out that bias-cut strips are quite elastic, so your piping will bend round curves without any puckering. Cut a strip on the straight grain and you'll see what I mean.

ps If you're not in too much of a hurry, I'll be staying in Grantham for a golfing weekend some time next month, and could pop round for a hands-on lesson....

 

[Penners]

Does anyone know anything about piping?

Well, I flatter myself that I can handle piping without too much trouble.

Here's a little video that might help you: http://www.ehow.com/how_2307724_install-pipe-from-sink-drain.html