There are several options for lining your curtains and drapes, but before we describe each, it is important to understand why lining is even necessary.  You can buy curtains online without lining and save a few dollars.  We would never recommend any customer consider this short term advantage.  The primary reason for curtain and drape lining is to protect the designer fabric from the sun’s damaging UV rays.  Direct sunlight is the most harmful, but indirect sunlight will eventually cause the same damage.  Adding lining to the curtains and drapes will dramatically cut down or even completely stop the damaging effects.

Standard curtain and drape lining is typically a cotton or a cotton blend fabric.  It will do a very good job of blocking the UV rays and protecting the designer fabric.  Light will still filter through the curtains and drapes.  Many people like the subtle light filtering of standard lining.

Thermal or Premium curtain and drape lining can be a 100% cotton or a blend.  It is a thicker and more dense fabric with excellent UV blocking properties.  Light will still filter through, but to a lessor degree.  This lining also has better thermal properties helping reduce cold drafts in the winter months and the sun’s heat in the summer.

Blackout curtain and drape lining does exactly as the name implies.  The lining is a “sandwich” of materials that completely blocks all penetration of sunlight.  There is no light filtering.  Blackout provides the best protection from the sun.

Drape and curtain interlining is a third layer of fabric that is added between your designer fabric and the lining.  Interlining is a technique designers use to give a curtain and drape “extra body”.  Although silk fabrics are very expensive, they are very lightweight by nature.  Adding interlining to silk drapes gives the finished product a very nice hanging property.  Interlining also add another layer to the fabric protection, but its primary purpose it to give the finished product a beautiful appearance.

Today there are a variety of different bed style, mattress thicknesses and frames that boggle the mind.   Just visit a top mattress website and you will see dozens of options.  You might wonder how you are going to mount your new upholstered headboard with all the variables.

Approximately 85% of our customers mount their headboard to the bed frame using the legs that are supplied with the headboard.  The legs are constructed with flexibility in mind that allows for easy installation on most standard bed frames.  Installation takes just a few minutes with common household tools.

A wall mounted headboard is the other option available for installation.  It is a fairly simple installation as well.  We recommend using cabinet hanging brackets pictured here (available here) to wall mount your upholstered headboard.  Half of the bracket mounts to the headboard and the other half mounts to the wall.  Gravity and the weight of the upholstered headboard locks the two brackets together for a secure installation.

Upholstered headboards have become very popular in the nicer hotels.  They are comfortable, beautiful and can add a special pop of color and texture you can’t get with any other type of headboard.  Hotels wall mount headboards for easy room cleaning.  The cleaning crew can easily roll the bed away from the wall to clean dust and more easily change sheets.  The upholstered headboard stays attached to the wall.  You will have this same advantage with your wall mounted headboard.   Now isn’t that worth it?

We get so many calls from hotels, restaurants and other commercial spaces wanting to have their custom made window treatments and custom bedding  made with fabric that is fire retardant.  While all commercial spaces need to meet strict fire codes, homeowners don’t have such restrictions.  However, we do get the occasional call from a homeowner who wants fire retardant fabrics.

Until recently, fire rated fabrics were “commercial” looking.  Frankly speaking they were just plain ugly.  You’ve seen the fabrics probably a million times when you stayed at any of the many roadside motels.  You’d never put that stuff in your home or commercial space if you had a choice.  In the past, if you wanted a nice fabric and pattern, you would have to pay to have the fabric sent out for a fire retardant treating.  It can be expensive and time consuming.

At Fabricworkroom.com, we now offer a great selection of fire retardant fabrics that are beautiful.  You would hesitate to put these fabrics in your home or commercial space.  No extra cost, no extra time and most of all – not ugly!

While many of our customers are looking for fire retardant fabrics for churches, schools, restaurants, bed and breakfasts and hotels, you just may want to consider them for your home.  With the holidays around the corner, your fireplaces will start getting some use and many parents feel safer having their draperies, bedding, pillows and table covers in safe fire retardant fabrics.

You can easily browse a fire retardant fabric on our site by typing in the search box, “fire retardant”.   You can order a free sample of the fabric to see how it looks in your home.

Wooden down legs are added to board mounted window treatments to make the side rigid.  You need to add a minimum of 2″ to the window casing’s outside width so that the legs clear the casing on both sides.

On a shower curtain, we use grommets or sewn button hole.  A shower curtain button hole is made by a machine that applies a heavy amount of thread around the button hole opening.  The extra thread strengthens the hole and gives it a nice finished look.

Self Lining uses the same face fabric as the lining material.  Self lined window treatments are used when parts of the back side of the window treatment is exposed into the room or it is determined to simply look better on that particular product.

Self Lining is also a common term used in bedding and pillows.

Fabric on most products runs north to south (top to bottom).  Railroaded fabric runs east to west (left to right).  On specific products  like this railroaded fabric cornice and fabrics such as solids, the workroom will railroad the fabric to eliminate seams. On flat valances and window treatments if you can have the fabric railroaded it is the way to go.  Remember that this only applies for valances that over 45″ wide.  If you are under 45″ you will not have to worry about vertical seams since fabric is generally 54″ wide off the bolt.

Drapes can be used strictly for decorative purposes or for privacy.  You will need to decide if you want privacy or decorative drapes and we will explain it to you.

If you want to close the drapes for privacy, you need to measure the window from end of casing to end of casing.  We recommend adding 8-10″ on each side if you have a slider or larger window for stacking.  Please enter that final measurement when you place your order.

If you want decorative panels that you are not planning on closing, you should order approximately 48″ wide for a standard size window.  Each panel would measure 24″ wide when pleated.

When drape measuring, there are a couple of ways to go.  In the drapery industry we refer to “On the flat” measuring as a simple concept.  When you take a gathered rod pocket drape or valance and lie it flat on a table you will be measuring the flat width.  If the flat measurement is 50″, you will typically get 25″ of window coverage when installed on the rod at 2 to 1 fullness.  Fullness is how much you gather the window treatment on the rod.  In our Budget custom department all sizes are “on the flat” sizes.  In our full custom and tradtional custom departments, the draperies are finished sizes so if you get a 25″ panel, that will be the finished width.

When making a valance that is mounted on a board, you will have to take into consideration the thickness of the actual board under the fabric.  The window treatment is made with wood “legs” on the sides.  The wood legs make the inside measurement approximately 2″ narrower than the face width. When Valance measuring, please refer to picture below.  This is very important if you are tight on room around your casing.

Please add a minimum of 2″ to your ordered width so that your legs easily clear the window casing (molding) when installed.