Modern decorative thought has been directed to almost every article in
the equipment of a house with more or less artistic result; but with
few exceptions the articles on the market for the purpose of excluding
the sun or shutting out the vision have been plain and ordinary in
the extreme, despite the fact that the treatment of the windows as
presented to view from the exterior has much to do with the general
appearance of a house.
From the day when the housewife made her own shades out of green paper
or white cotton up to the present, the chief requirements seem to have
been opacity and the faculty of being easily rolled, folded, or in some
way put easily out of sight when not in use. One of the oldest methods,
still recommended and manufactured for this purpose, is the rolling
shade, made of thin slats of wood, laced together with twine to form a
flat flexible curtain or shade, rolled from the bottom by means of a
cord passed over a pulley.
For public institutions, offices or verandas, where usefulness and
efficiency may be desired more than decorative value, they serve the
purpose very well; but it can never be claimed that they tend to
beautify the room in which they are used.
The tilting slat blind, which gathers from the bottom, and tilts with
a touch of the hand as a child’s Jacob’s ladder, is also used for the
same purpose, with the same limitations.
The sliding or folding inside shutter, illustrated in figures 79 and
80, came near to accomplishing the purpose, but had such a knack of
getting out of order, and presented such a jail-like, uninhabited
appearance, that they, too, have been almost altogether discarded.
In rare cases we find them still in use, and where adverse criticism
would not be well received it is best for the decorator to adjust
his schemes so as to include them, and, if possible, hide their
unsightliness.
Figures 79 and 80 illustrate how this may be accomplished by using a
lace-trimmed shade between them and the glass, while sash curtains of
almost any kind are equally effective for outside appearance.
Where the shutters are so constructed that they open into the room, as
Figure 79, the curtain pole must be projected forward from the frame a
sufficient distance to allow the shutter to swing clear of the curtain
without interfering, and if the curtain is looped or caught up with
a rosette at the side, the point where it is tied must be projected
forward in a similar manner.
These blinds, so far as their manufacture and installation are
concerned, rest perhaps more with the carpenter than with the
decorator, and will, therefore, interest him little except as to their
after treatment.
The rolling shade, made of painted cotton or glazed linen, as
illustrated in Figure 79, is perhaps most commonly known of all
expedients for seclusion and sun protection, and the ease with which
these shades can be made to order in any size is so well known that
nearly every upholstery shop is equipped with a cutting table and the
necessary material for their manufacture.
The table illustrated in Figure 81 will be found to possess a
combination of many good points in cutting tables for this purpose,
although one less elaborately planned and constructed may serve for
a small shade-order business. The top is made of clear white wood,
and is six feet wide by twelve feet long. At one end is a half round,
trough-like receptacle, the bottom of it composed of two-inch rollers
with pin heads (see Figure 81 A for detail); these rest in iron
brackets, and revolve when necessary with the action of rolling or
unrolling shade cloth.
A flat steel plate about one inch wide and a quarter of an inch thick
(or slightly thinner if more convenient) is fastened to one edge of the
table to form a solid straight-cutting edge. It should be all in one
piece and free from any irregularities, and a similar plate is fastened
to the end on which the bracket is attached. Saw-cuts about one-eighth
of an inch deep run across the table, perfectly true and at right
angles to the side of the table, dividing it into feet from end to end.
At the bracket end, and included in the first twelve inches, a six-inch
strip of hardwood is let into the top, flush with the rest, and has
saw-cuts (as illustrated in Figure 81 A) one-half inch, two and a half
inches, three inches, three and a half, four and four and a half inches
from the outside edges of the steel plate.
These are scoring lines for marking the hems, and should be half an
inch deep and about one-eighth inch wide. The cuts marked one to eleven
are filled in smoothly with dark putty, and are for measuring purposes,
while cuts A to F are cut with a fine-tooth saw and left as cut. In
addition to the lines every twelve inches it is necessary to have the
inches between these spaces.
[Illustration:
Fig 79
Fig 80
Fig 80 A
Fig 81
Fig 81 A
END of TABLE
right hand of above
Fig 93
93 A
Fig 82
Fig 83
Fig 84
Fig 85
Fig 83
Fig 86
Fig 87
Fig 88
Fig 89
SHADE KNIFE
Fig 96
Fig 90
Fig 92
Fig 91
Fig 98
Fig 99
Fig 94
Fig 96 A
Fig 96 B]
A convenient way of providing these is a flat steel rule about
one-eighth inch thick, three inches wide and eighteen inches long,
marked with inches from one to twelve, and with a small button at the
end for convenience in moving it. This will be heavy enough to lie
where placed, and by placing it at the side of the table between the
lines, as in Figure 82, the measurement of a piece of cloth can be
accurately gauged.
The other sections of the table and their purposes can be readily
understood from the illustration, the shelves being used for rollers,
drawers one, two, three and four for shade hardware and accessories,
and drawer five for tools.
The trough at the right end of Figure 82 is made so as to slide in
out of the way when not required, and is used when cutting the ends
off rollers. It is marked in inches along its entire length, and the
cutting end is faced with metal, or has a true saw-cut a short distance
back as a guide for the saw. In the latter case it should be made of
hardwood, and the saw-teeth should have very little set.
The table should be placed so that the operator faces the light, and
his stock of materials should be as convenient as possible to the
cutting table.
Having gauged the length of the shade with the small steel rule, as
Figure 82, place the roll of cloth with the end of the material resting
at the mark. Weight it with a small weight and unroll the cloth until
the roll reaches the receptacle at the end; a touch of the hand will
tighten the slack by revolving the roll; adjust it evenly and run the
knife along the steel edge, severing the piece from the roll. If more
than one shade of the same length are to be cut from the same roll,
allow this length to lie as cut and unroll over it as many more pieces
as you need, cutting each one as you get the cloth adjusted evenly.
When the lengths are all cut, if care has been taken to have the cloth
running true with the edges of the table, the cut ends will have been
trimmed square by the action of severing them from the roll. Adjust the
edges nearest the cutting side of the table so that they lie even and
project about a half inch over the edge of the table, as Figure 82,
and the cut ends lying true and even with the table end, the cloth is
securely weighted at each end and the projecting edges trimmed true by
running the knife along the cutting guide, as illustrated.
[Illustration]
The knife should be held perfectly true with the flat of the steel
edge, allowing no play sideways, and with the handle slightly slanting
toward the shoulder of the operator (Figure 82).
While the weights are still in position measure with a six-foot rule
the width the cloth is to be cut, measuring from the trimmed edge, and
mark it at each end as x x (Figure 82). Now remove the weights, and
without allowing the trimmed edges to shift, change the cloth end for
end on the table, bringing the pencil marks at each end directly above
the side cutting edge of the table, and with the ends of the cloth
projecting sufficiently beyond the end cutting edge; weight as before,
and trim the surplus off end and side.
It is more difficult to trim a number of pieces than to trim one, but
with a little practice it can be done quite easily and considerable
time saved thereby.
As the cloth now lies it should be even with the steel edges at end
and side, the left hand ends lying over the scoring lines, and as they
lie one or more may be scored at once, according to the weight of
the cloth. Roll back the rest a sufficient distance, and holding the
rounded corner of the back of the knife in the position indicated by
Figure 83, draw it across the first score line A; do not bear too heavy
on the knife, but make sufficient indentation so that it can be folded
over without trouble.
If the shade is to have the regulation two-inch hem score also at the
second line B, if for a two and a half-inch hem score A and C, for
three-inch A and D, and so on according to the width you desire to make
the hem. All ordinary shades have a two-inch hem, but special cases
require a variation from the rule.
Fold the hem over as illustrated in Figure 84, and press it flat with
the side of the knife; it is then ready for stitching.
While almost any sewing machine will stitch a window shade, perfect
results are only obtained by using a special shade-stitching machine.
Care must be exercised in stitching the hem so that it does not slide
or pucker, but lies flat and even, with the line of the stitching as
straight as possible.
If lace is to be applied to the bottom of the shade, as Figure 79, the
knife is run over the bottom of the hem after stitching it to press it
flat, and then passed through it, as Figure 85, and the lace inserted
between the edges and stitched, as Figure 86.
[Illustration]
If insertion is used without lace, as Figure 87, the top edge of the
insertion is placed between the cut open edges of the hem, as above
described for lace, and a separate hem (A--A, Figure 87) scored, folded
and sewn on, as illustrated. If both lace and insertion are to be
applied the bottom of the separate hem (A, Figure 87) is split and the
lace inserted and sewn in, as above.
This separate hem is made the same width as the ordinary hem for
shades, but need not have the little turn in indicated by arrow in
Figure 84.
When cutting lace or insertion measure it so that the pattern will
balance nicely, and if both lace and insertion are used be careful to
have the pattern of the insertion in line with the lace. After these
trimmings have been cut the size of the shades, the cut ends are
bound by sewing them between the edges of a piece of the same cloth
as the shades, say half an inch wide, folded in the middle, and for
convenience a number of the ends can be stitched into the same piece
of binding, as illustrated in Figure 88, and afterwards separated by
cutting the binding.
Motif patterns, as Figure 90, are applied to the shade by a double
row of stitching, about one-quarter of an inch apart, all around the
outside edge of the motif, after which the cloth is carefully cut away
from the back, just below the stitches and following the outline.
Should the pattern prove too large to work beneath the arm of the
sewing machine, pin it carefully in place on the shade and sew it on by
hand, passing the needle down and back as neatly as possible. This is
a tedious job, and should only be resorted to when no other way seems
possible. Applique lace edges, as Figure 91, are sewn on in the same
manner, and the cloth cut away from the scallops behind.
The shade illustrated in Figure 80 is a combination of the bonne
femme and motif shade, and is constructed like the foregoing Figure
91, having in addition a frill eight or ten inches deep, composed of
étamine, madras, mull, muslin or net, and trimmed with a lace. This
is applied to the scalloped edge of the motif, and has usually an
allowance of as much again for fullness (two feet of unshirred frilling
to one foot of space), or if very fine a little more.
When applying the shirred frill to the scallops, have the greatest
fullness between the points B and C (Figure 80 A), and decrease the
fullness from B to A, for as the material follows the curve up into the
angle at point A, it will be found that the bottom edge of the frill
becomes more full according to the elevation of point A above point C.
Lace motif and scalloped bottom shades may be made with a hem and slat,
as illustrated in Figure 80, or the slat may be dispensed with and the
shade operated by a cord which passes through a screw eye at A (Figure
90), and winds around the roller, which is left long enough for the
purpose. The cord is wound around the roller the same number of times
as the shade and attached by a fair-sized tack. The roller need not be
provided with a spool unless the shade is extra long, as the screw eye
at A will guide the winding and confine it to a small space. Figure 90
shows the cord and ball pull attached to the left end of the roller;
but the tack which fastens the cord would be likely to penetrate to the
spring on that side, and it would be best to attach it to the right end
of the roller.
The shade is operated by pulling the cord, and works the same as with
the tassel in the regular way, as Figure 92.
[Illustration]
WINDOW SHADES AND BLINDS