French curtains are lush folds and draperies that fall. They are divided into sections. The folds run along the entire length and width of the curtains. A room decorated with such curtains immediately acquires a luxurious, majestic look.
Content
- History of these curtains
- Specific elements to know
- Fabrics from which these curtains are sewn.
- French curtains in the living room
- French curtains in the nursery
- Awnings in the bedroom
- French curtains in the kitchen
- How to sew these curtains with your own hands
- The easiest way to sew French curtains with your own hands
- Caring for French Curtains
- VIDEO: Sewing French curtains with your own hands.
- 50 options for French curtains in the interior:
History of these curtains
Each thing has a history of creation, a country where the product was first manufactured. French curtains also have their own history of creation. It is believed that such curtains were first manufactured in France during the reign of Louis XIV. The 17th century is the era of classicism and baroque. Therefore, these curtains were widespread. French curtains hung on the windows in the houses of all rich French kings, nobles, aristocrats, etc. But to this day they have not lost their popularity.
Specific elements to know
Main types of French curtains:
- Lifting. The most common option. They are easy to lift and lower, using modern systems and mechanisms. This allows you to easily open and close the opening without damaging the curtains. When lifted, such curtains form beautiful and elegant lush folds. (Their length and width are strictly according to the size of the window opening!)
- Fixed. They permanently close the window. They cannot be raised, lowered, moved left or right. These are curtains whose folds are fixed.
Types of French curtains by size:
- Long. Quite a popular option for decorating a window and a room in general. Beautiful, lush draperies add a bit of chic and luxury to the room.
Important! This is a great option for large rooms. Such curtains will emphasize the free space and will become an elegant component of the room.
- Short. Basically, curtains of this length are chosen because of a sofa standing near the window or when the window sill goes straight into the tabletop, etc. In these cases, short and convenient French curtains are hung.
Note! This is a great option for small rooms. Visually, such curtains will expand the already small space. Short French curtains are also often hung in the kitchen. This emphasizes the coziness and elegance of the room.
Fabrics from which these curtains are sewn.
- Linen. This is an environmentally friendly material. Linen curtains are completely hypoallergenic. They look beautiful and elegant. Pleasant to the touch. After washing, they do not settle and do not lose their original appearance. Only curtains made of this material are difficult to iron.
- Velvet. This material is especially pleasant to the touch. Its depth of color looks especially luxurious. And because of the dense pile, such curtains have a beautiful play of light and shadow.
- Veil. The material used for curtains adds tenderness and romance to the room. Veil looks great both on its own and in combination with thicker curtains. French curtains made of veil look light, airy and relaxed. Therefore, such curtains will look great in the bedroom interior.
- Silk. French silk curtains shimmer beautifully in the light. They have an excellent play of colors when the sun's rays fall on them from different angles. This material is shiny, thin, but at the same time durable.
- Organza. Curtains of this type made of organza will complement any interior. They look light, feminine, gentle, elegant, but at the same time simple and interesting. Easy to care for, like linen curtains.
- Satin. Satin awnings (another name for French curtains) are very durable, with an incredibly smooth surface (sometimes this can turn against you, since snags often form on the smooth surface).
French curtains in the living room
The living room is a room for receiving guests, so it is important to pay special attention to the choice of all parts of the interior in this room. French curtains add notes of tenderness and sophistication to the living room. And such curtains can decorate both a simple room and a room with a luxurious interior.
French curtains in the nursery
Awnings will be an excellent, original and beautiful decoration of a child's room. These curtains are best suited for a girl's room. Especially if the entire interior of the room is in the classical and baroque style. But such curtains may not be the best option, because they collect a lot of dust.
Awnings in the bedroom
Such curtains will add chic, tenderness, romance and magnificence to the bedroom. With their simple and delicate design, the curtains will complement any style in the bedroom. You will be pleased to be in such a room. After all, French curtains set your body up for rest and sleep.
French curtains in the kitchen
The kitchen is such a cozy place where you can talk with family and friends over a cup of hot tea. It is best to hang short awnings in this room. French curtains in the kitchen will add pomp and at the same time lightness.
How to sew these curtains with your own hands
Materials required:
- sewing machine;
- pins;
- scissors;
- soap or chalk;
- textile;
- threads to match the color of the fabric.
But before buying fabric, you need to measure the window. The resulting width needs to be multiplied by one and a half, and the length by two. This result indicates how much fabric is needed. But you still need to make allowances for seams (2-3 cm).
Work order:
- First, you need to process the edges of the fabric. Spread the fabric on a smooth, flat surface (on a table or on the floor), make double folds (about 1 cm wide) on the sides and stitch them.
- Along the bottom edge, you also need to make a double fold, but this time 1.5 cm wide. Then stitch.
- The next step is to mark the scallops. Important! They need to be placed at an equal distance from each other across the entire width of the panel. (If you look at the table above, you can see that the width of the scallops directly depends on the width of the fabric. Therefore, make the markings based on the table).
- Then, use the pre-prepared fabric to decorate the curtain drawstrings. To do this, sew these pieces of fabric to the marking area (folding them 2-3 cm).
Elegant, accordion-style drapes will fit perfectly into any interior style. - Special cords (a braid, ribbon or decorative rope to match the color of the curtains) need to be threaded into the finished drawstrings. Later, when the curtains are ready, you can use this cord to adjust the length of the curtains.
- Also, if you buy special rings, you can hang festoons on them. The rings are attached to the fabric at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other along the entire length of the canvas.
- The cord should allow easy adjustment of the height of the curtain. When raised, the festoons should form light and airy semicircular folds. A thick tape should be sewn to the upper edge of the curtains. To use it to attach the curtains to the rod.
- After fixing the curtains on the rod/curtain pole, adjust the length of the curtains.
French curtains will add celebration, style, sophistication, elegance and magnificence to the interior.
That's it! Luxurious French curtains made by yourself at home are ready!
The easiest way to sew French curtains with your own hands
Step-by-step instructions.
- You need to measure the window. The resulting width needs to be multiplied by one and a half, and the length by two. This result indicates how much fabric you will need. But you still need to make allowances for the seams (2-3 cm).
- The purchased fabric should be soaked in warm water, wrung out, allowed to dry and ironed. All these procedures must be performed so that the fabric does not shrink in the future.
- Then you need to make a double fold (1-1.5 cm) and stitch all edges.
- Mark the drawstrings so that there are equal intervals between them. Then, from the front side, you need to sew a special tape for French curtains (but if you don’t have one, you can use regular fabric 3 cm wide).
- A decorative cord/string, ribbon or tape must be inserted into the side seams. Then the drawstrings are formed. The cords are secured at the top (they can be stitched), and the ends are left free at the bottom. The cord can be used to adjust the height of the curtains.
- To keep the curtains in a vertical position, you can sew in special weights.
And that's it! This is the easiest way to create French curtains with your own hands!
Caring for French Curtains
Of course, sewing such curtains with your own hands is only half the battle. The main thing is to take care of them properly. Then French curtains will serve you for a long time. Awnings are really beautiful curtains. They add luxury, wealth, tenderness, and romance to the room. They have many advantages. But there are also disadvantages. The main and only disadvantage of such curtains is that a lot of dust often accumulates in the numerous folds.
- Small stains on curtains can be removed with a damp cloth.
- You can clean the folds of the curtains from dust with a vacuum cleaner. Just be very careful!
- French curtains made of tulle and organza can be machine washed in the “delicate wash” mode.
- Velvet curtains should be dry cleaned.
- You can't iron such curtains. It's better to hang them slightly damp and they will take the desired shape themselves.
VIDEO: Sewing French curtains with your own hands.
50 options for French curtains in the interior:
