PRIMITIVE REED CURTAINS
THESE pretty rustic hangings can be made very easily and quickly. They
are light in weight and the general tone of coloring, when the reeds
have been carefully dried at home, is a pleasing soft gray green, with
suggestions here and there of gray browns, reds, and yellows. The
curtains may be either of these reeds or fresh green cat-tails, and even
of the silvered gray stalks left standing from last season. The cost in
actual outlay of money for several curtains need be only a few cents for
cord, staple-tacks or nails, and screw-eyes, but, like the early savage
whose method of work you are imitating, you must collect the
Raw Material
out in the open. So away to the spot where the finest cat-tails grow,
gather a lot of them, cutting the stalks off clean and smooth at the
base, that the cat-tails may not be bent or split, for as reeds in your
curtain they must be as near perfect as possible. Cut the velvety brown
head off from each one, making all of the stalks the same in length;
then, with several long leaves twisted together for string, tie the
stalks into a bundle and march home with the treasure.
[Illustration: Fig. 49.--Beginning a primitive curtain.]
[Illustration: Fig. 50.--Centre of twine tied on long stick.]
An old bamboo fishing-rod, a length of handle from a long-handled
dusting or window brush, or any kind of a long, slender, smooth, round
stick will do for the top curtain-pole from which to hang the reeds. Lay
the pole across a table in front of and parallel to you; then tie the
centres of four pieces of cord of even lengths on it at equal distances
from each other (Fig. 49). Detail of the work is given in Fig. 50. Place
a cat-tail reed up against the four ties, allowing one string from each
tie to come over and the other under the cat-tail (Fig. 51). Cross the
two lengths of each cord over the last cat-tail, bringing the lower
string up and the upper string down (Fig. 52); then lay another reed up
against the crossed strings, carrying the strings in turn over this reed
(Fig. 53). Again bring the lower strings up and the upper down before
placing in another cat-tail, and always alternate the large and small
ends of the reeds as in Fig. 54, in order to have them equally balanced
and to avoid bringing all the small ends on one side and the large ones
on the other side of the curtain.
[Illustration: Fig. 51.--Allow one string to come over and the other
under the cat-tail.]
[Illustration: Fig. 52.--Cross the two lengths of twine.]
[Illustration: Fig. 53.--Lay another cat-tail up against the crossed
strings.]
[Illustration: Fig. 54.--Alternate large and small ends of reeds.]
[Illustration: Fig. 55--Primitive curtain of reeds and twine stitch.]
[Illustration: Fig. 56.--Staple nail in top pole of curtain.]
[Illustration: Fig. 57.--Cord fastened on top pole for rolling up
curtain.]
Continue Crossing the Cord
and adding cat-tails until the curtain is of the desired length. Tie the
ends of the string on each line securely together and tuck them under
the weave, hiding the ends on the wrong side of the curtain (Fig. 55).
At equal short distances from the tips of the head-pole fasten in a
screw-eye large enough to pass readily over the two hooks immediately
above the window where the curtain is to hang (Fig. 55, A, A). On the
centre of the space along the upper side of the top pole, between the
first and second cord and the third and fourth cord, drive in a
staple-nail (Fig. 49, B, B), shown more plainly in Fig. 56. These
staple-nails are for holding in place the long cord used in rolling up
the curtain (Fig. 57, B, B, and Fig. 58, B, B). Thread one end of a
long piece of cord from the back of the curtain through one staple-nail
and the other end through the other staple-nail. Bring both ends of the
cord down over the front of the curtain around the bottom and up over
the back; then tie the ends on the pole (Fig. 57, C, C). Dotted lines
show how the cord runs along the back of the curtain. Have the cord
sufficiently long to allow of the stretch between the two staple-nails B
and B (Figs. 57 and 58), to hang down over the back and extend in a
loop below the bottom edge of the curtain (Fig. 57, D). When you wish to
raise the curtain, pull the bottom loop and up will go the curtain (Fig.
58). These primitive hangings are just the thing for outing cottages on
the sea-shore or log-houses in the mountains. You can have fun weaving
them while at your summer home and in place of the old-fashioned
quilting-bee you might give a
Curtain-Bee Frolic.
The girls and boys could readily make a number of hangings in one
afternoon, and while weaving the reeds together they would weave into
the work all sorts of bright speeches and gay laughter, so that ever
after the curtains would be filled with delightful associations of the
charming summer afternoon. Reed curtains can be fashioned in any width.
If very narrow hangings are in demand, cut your reeds to measure the
length needed for the curtain-width and weave them together with the
same twine cross-weave used in Fig. 55.
[Illustration: Fig. 58.--Cat-tail curtain raised by loop from bottom.]
[Illustration: Fig. 59.--Small end of one cat-tail.]
[Illustration: Fig. 60.--Large end of another.]
[Illustration: Fig. 61.--Wide curtain, each reed of two cat-tails
joined.]
Doorway-Screens
hung on a swinging, armlike rod extending, when open, at right angles
with the doorway, and easily moved forward or backward, are attractive
when of woven reeds, especially if dull, green-colored cord is used in
the manufacture in place of ordinary twine. For very wide out-of-door
veranda-shades, select the strongest cat-tails and dig out about two
inches of pith from the large end of one cat-tail very cautiously to
avoid breaking the sides; then push the small end of another cat-tail
into the opening (Figs. 59, 60, 61); weave these long pieces together as
you wove the single reeds in the first curtain, using extra lines of
weave. If you cannot obtain cat-tails, take other reeds; or cut some
straight, slender poles from shrubs or trees, and weave them into
curtains with colored cord of reds or browns. Such pole-hangings would
be excellent for the open front of your mountain shack or lean-to, and
they could do service in screening the sunlight, when too strong, from
the central open way of your saddle-bag log-house.
[Illustration: Sitting in the orchard]