Care of Home Sewn Furnishings
Many homemakers will want to decorate their own room, coordinating the drape, valance, and bedspread. In doing this, there are numerous factors that must be considered before even attempting. First of all, know the fabric and weave characteristics. Highly twisted yarns wear differently than low twist, open woven fabrics and/or knits. Is the fabric preshrunk to the care procedure you want to use. If not, the article should be dry cleaned and/or washed and tumble dry before any attempt is made.
It is advisable to do some cursory testing for colorfastness with the agents that you are going to use in the care process. If the article is to be dry cleaned, take a small sample of the material and send it to your dry cleaner and ask him to dry clean it two or three times and then compare it with the original fabric. Also, check the shrinkage potential in it. Do the same with a small sample by washing it and tumbling it dry several times.
Some cases, just briskly rubbing the surface of the fabric with another material and observe whether or not the surface yarns start to break or pill. This could give you some idea as to the tendency of the fabric to start to pill from abrasion use plus the later tumbling effects of a care procedure. Here again, the low twist open weave and knits are sometimes more likely to show pilling than the highly twisted, tightly woven fabrics. Think about where the drape is to be used. Is it going to be exposed to a lot of sunlight; if so, select sun resistant dyes or prints or protect the fabric with the appropriate lining. There are numerous heavy linings, reflective linings or thermo-linings that can be used for this purpose.
If you are buying ready-made drapes, these same factors must be taken into consideration. Ask for all the information you can possibly get at the time of purchase. Of major concern - is the fabric preshrunk and colorfast, especially if you are considering wall to ceiling drapes. Remember, just 2% shrinkage in a 90 inch drape could almost show up as 2 inches shorter once it is washed.
This could be even more objectionable if the article contained a lining that was preshrunk and now hangs below the drapery material. Most cleaners can dry clean the small drapes, but the larger ones should be sent to a dry cleaner who specializes in drapes. Some cleaners have specialized equipment which will almost guarantee returning the drape to the original size. When the article is sent to the cleaner, it is carefully measured and put on special equipment. Realize that this procedure is often more expensive than the other conventional methods of cleaning and finishing drapes and the length is not guaranteed.
Before you take a large drape to the cleaner, mark the position of the drapery hook with a lead pencil so the hooks can be put back in the same place when the item is returned to you.
Norman Oehlke, International Fabricare Institute, June, 1990.
Contact for questions
 |
to Jan Scholl's home page |
Updated 8/19/05