Curtain and Drapery Talk

Mini Blind Cord Safety  is an important issue that should be addressed if you have babies or young children in the home.  Thankfully, all blinds made after 2001 have safety features designed to reduce child injuries.   However, if you have mini blinds made before 2001, you need to examine the blinds for potential hazards.       If your blinds were made pre-2001, inspect your blinds for these possible hazards:

• Looped Pull Cords - Usually on horizontal blinds, pleated and cellular shades manufactured before 1995. 
• No Cord Stops - also on horizontal blinds, pleated and cellular shades made before 2001. 
• No Tie Downs - found on vertical blinds and traverse draperies made before 1997.

If you determine that the mini blinds are a potential hazard, you have 2 options: replace the blinds completely, or retrofit the blinds with replacement hardware.  If your mini blinds are showing their age, I recommend completely replacing them with newer ones. Replacing the blinds will not only give your home a good-looking, contemporary look, you will also be using industry-approved child safe mini blinds.   On the other hand, most mini blinds are very durable, and you may have some older ones in good condition that you love.  In this case, your best option is to retrofit.   If you decide to retrofit, free kits are available from the Window Covering Safety Council.  Retrofitting is easy.  It basically involved adding tassels, cord stops or permanent tie-downs to the blinds.  These improvements will reduce the chances of entanglement.  If you have any questions, contact the Window Covering Safety Council.

This is really important stuff and could save your childs life.

V Willis, Visit us at Linda’s Curtain Studio

When thinking of draperies, I’m often asked the question .  ”How do you measure for draperies?”  This article will simply explain, the best way to measure for draperies.
Before measuring your windows for pleated draperies you must first determine if you want a full view of the glass when your draperies are in an open position. If the answer is yes, and ideally draperies should clear the window, follow these instructions.
Step 1.   Measure for the width first.
Measure from the outside of the window frame (assuming there is a window frame) on the left to the outside of the window frame on the right. If there is no frame just measures the opening from left side to right to get the width of the window. Take this measurement and add 20% to what ever the measurement is. For example, if you measured 100 wide add 20 to that to totally 120.   Then add 12 more inches on to that for overlap (this is were the draperies will meet and overlap in the middle) and return ( this is were the draperies on each side comes to the end of the rod and  go back to the wall.  Take note of how much space is available on left beyond the frame, then on right beyond the frame. This is the area where your draperies will stack back when they are open.
Now, let’s get the measurement for the length of the drapery.
Step 2.  Measure from the top of the frame (if there is no frame, measure from the top of the window) to the floor. If you do not want you draperies to hang to the floor measure to 3″ below the window ceil.    This measurement will be the length of your draperies.
That’s it!  It’s as simple as that.   Please send me your questions and comments, or if you know a better way, let us know.
 Visit Us at Linda’s Curtain Studio for more tips and ideas.