Lining: Your Draperies Undergarments

By: Linda RuffJust like undergarments can make your outer garments look superb so it is that drapery lining can enhance the look of your draperies. After finally finding the perfect outfit you begin your search for the perfect undergarments and so it is with drapery as well. A bad bra can make any beautiful bodice have that “ What was she thinking look”. The same is with drapery: the right undergarments can make your outer wear look great or, well, not so great. With over 100 different drapery lining products to choose from, finding the right one may not be simple, but certainly not impossible.

Lining can not only enhance the appearance of your drapery and make them hang better but it also provides a sacrificial layer to protect your clients investment when expensive drapery fabric is used. The lining takes all of the damage that the sun can dish out. Not only should you think in terms of lining but also when choosing your fabric and treatment, consider whether or not an interlining is needed.

Interlining is the Under Armour© for your drapery. It enhances the performance of the drapery by improving its insulating value as well as improving the appearance of the drapery fabric itself by adding body and helping them to hang better. An interlining such as an English Bump Cloth will not only insulate but will give a thinner fabric a full body look, and will give your drapery the rich and elegant appearance you desire.

Does your client need to block out that racket made by a local train, a neighbor's little drummer or heavy plane traffic? Interlining not only insulates but also aides in blocking out sounds. Does it provide a sound proof room? No, but it certainly can help.

A few other things to think about when lining a window treatment is the lining color.

Color choice is often chosen to blend with the appearance of the outside of the home.

While neutral is usually the desired choice, it is not always “let’s do white”. There are a number of neutrals to choose from, instead of white, possibly ivory or even a putty color may be a better choice for the look from the outside. Sometimes we have to pin or tape those undergarments to our outer garments . To prevent your lining, especially the heavier black outs from flaring, make sure the corners are weighted and that the lining is tacked in a few places at the hem to the face fabric.

Did you know your Black out linings could be designated as a 2 pass or a 3 pass?

Passes are equal to layers, so 2 pass is 2 layers of acrylic foam and 3 pass is 3 layers of acrylic foam. Usually the bottom layer is black and the top is white or beige. With 3 layers or passes, the top and bottom are neutral while the inner layer is black. The 3 pass will provide more sound blocking and blackout qualities than the 2 pass due to the extra layer.

Your undergarments for your drapery are important to the appearance, stability and durability of your finished product. Don’t be scared or overwhelmed, but do take the time to choose your lining, finding the suitable lining for your fabric and the environment in which the drapery will be living in. If your outer fabric is Cotton than you may want to choose a cotton lining, Using a Cotton Sateen lining will add both weight and stability to your treatment, making it a good choice for swag treatments and it will help them to maintain their shape.

What's your Momme, or should I say what is a Momme?

By: Wendy Khalil

The other day, I was talking with our interns on what gives value to a fabric and why some fabrics are $29.00 per yard versus $200.00 per yard. When I was getting my presentation ready I found a sample on our floor that was $1,100.00 per yard retail. As I did my research on the ranges in pricing, I found another fabric that retailed for $1,700.00 per yard. They both happened to be silks, very beautiful silks.  As I proceeded to show everyone these silks a really good question came up: What decides the price of a silk? I did some research and came up with some very valuable information. I hope it helps you to sell silks and the value of silk to your client.

Momme (pronounced moe me) is the quality determination for silk, just like thread count is to cotton or worst count is to wool. Silk is measured by weight either by grams or by momme. 28 grams equals 1 ounce, or 8 momme equals 1 ounce.

Any silk with a momme under 20 is considered light weight. Medium weight is 20-28 momme and any silk above 28 is considered heavyweight. The more weight to the silk the longer lasting it will be. The price of silk is not only determined by the weight but by the type of silk as well. There are two types of silk: cultivated and wild.  

The cultivated is going to be the more expensive of the two types. It is more glassy and translucent and it will show more of a prismatic rainbow effect. The silk filaments are anywhere from 500-1000 meters long in one cocoon. Several of these silk filaments are grouped together in unraveling of the cocoon to make one continuous silk yarn. The wild silk, on the other hand, is essentially woven with short or broken threads. This silk is found inside of the cocoon.  It is rough to the touch, has a lower luster, and wears very quickly.

The more body weight to the silk, the longer lasting it will be. When the weight of the silk goes up, the price and durability do as well. If a silk feels stiff to the touch it is because a finish has been applied. The finish gives it an artificial hand. If you wash a silk that has had a finish applied, you wash the finish away. Did I say wash a silk? Generally all silks can be washed. The heavier ones can be washed repeatedly and will still maintain their hand and original beauty.

The largest suppliers of silk are China, India and Japan respectively. These three suppliers may be the largest but the finest silk fabrics come from Italy and France. I don’t think that comes as a surprise!

This is just a small amount of information on silks. I hope you find it useful. When you present a beautiful, expensive silk to your clients - the information above should help you justify the price to your client.