We just put curtains in our C27 to look something like the original ones, so we've been about where you are. We didn't exactly reproduce the colors but we did try for the style. We made our curtains in Sunbrella with a regular drapery lining. Hopefully, this will take the U/V for several years and we won't have to replace them often.
As for making the curtains, the trick was finding pleating tape at the fabric store. It's about four inches wide and perforated every four inches. Insert this into the top and bottom of the fabric rectangle between the "fashion" fabric and the lining. However, instead of pleating one perforation out and the next perforation in, pleat all the perforations in and press the outer crease. This will give you 2 inch deep pleats, which we found works very well. As far as measurements go, decide whether you want one long curtain on each side of the salon or two. We opted for two, but I might just go with one if I had it to do over again. The fore-to-aft measurement of your curtain rods is your basic width. Depending on how slack you want the curtains when they're closed, either add half again the measurement or a third again. the round either up or down to the closest number evenly divisible by four. Add three inches to that measurement. (That gives you your turnback plus a 1/2" seam over the lining.) If you're using two curtains per side, you'll easily get this width from 54 - 60" fabric. If you're going for one really wide curtain, you'll have to seam it in the middle, which means adding yet another inch to the width. As far as the depth, measure the depth between your curtain rods. I like about half an inch above and below the rods to hide them when the curtains are closed, so add an inch or so to the depth between the rods. This will be your finished depth. I like about a 1.5" header and footer of fashion fabric over the lining, but that's really up to you. Remember your 1/2" seam allowances top and bottom and that gives you the cutting depth. Cut the lining fabric, if you're using it to the same dimensions if you're not using a header and footer, or adjust the measurements accordingly if you are. After cutting the curtains and linings, I seamed the top and bottom fashion fabric to the linings, inserted the pleating tape, stitched it in place (although you don't have to as it has a thin line of fusing on it), turned the side seams back over the lining, stitched it in place, pressed in the pleats and then hand-sewed the runners into place. It sounds horribly complicated, but it's really simple sewing. Enjoy! Deb --- In [email protected], John Oppenheimer <k...@...> wrote: > > Need a favor of someone. My 1985 C27 came with the old curtain tracks, > that I want to continue to use, but no curtains. The little #7 carriers > are easy to find, and we are handy with a sewing machine. It would be > very helpful if we had a picture of what was there to begin with. > Closeup of the pleating and/or how the carriers were sewn into the > material is what I am most interested in. > > Or if you have a another good idea for adding a little nighttime privacy. > > John >
