It’s in the nature of most homeowners to make an individual style statement through the decorator choices they make. And although curtains are one item that’s increasingly limited by ‘off the rack’ manufacturing, the team at Country is happily going against the flow, with custom-made lined curtains that continue to offer the luxury of choice for homeowners who really care.
The area dedicated to lined curtain manufacture at Country’s Mount Barker factory is a hive of activity, and at every step of the manufacturing process you’ll spot skilled people giving the curtains they work on real attention to detail. In fact, the very first step is focused on quality control, as the fabric to be used is laid out over a light bed and checked for flaws before being cut to size. Seamstress Raelene says “While the fabric suppliers we work with produce superb quality, occasionally a small imperfection will show up, and of course it’s worth the time taken to check for these to make sure there’s no chance of them sneaking onto a completed curtain.”
Next comes the ‘lining’ process itself, and again, Country does this differently, with good reason. Mass production has come to see many people understand the term ‘lined’ itself to mean that the back of the curtain fabric is coated with a rubberised material. While this process is cheap and easy, the ‘lining’ tends not to be durable, the curtains don’t hang nearly as well and their thermal efficiency is poor compared to separately lined curtains. Custom made curtains by Country are fully lined, with a separate layer of lining fabric set behind the feature fabric. The extra weight creates curtains that hang beautifully, and the separate layers of fabric provide excellent insulation, keeping heat inside during the winter and blocking it out during summer. An added benefit is that separately lined curtains wash well, whereas the ‘coating’ on cheap curtains stands up poorly to washing.
Custom made curtains by Country are ‘blind hemmed’ so that stitch lines are invisible from the front of the curtain. Which brings us to headers and pleats…and choices. Where mass produced curtains limit homeowners to a couple pleated curtain styles or perhaps just one, the seamstresses at Country are ready to roll out as many as five, including single, double and triple pinch pleated curtains, reverse pinch pleated curtains and pencil pleated curtains. “Curtains are one area where homeowners can be very particular, so we cater for all tastes”, says seamstress Kaz. “After all, curtains are an investment, so choice is important. While we have a couple of pleat styles that are most popular, we’re capable of creating all sorts. It really makes customers smile when they find out that we can create pleat styles that simply aren’t available from most suppliers.”
The case for custom, lined curtains is a strong one. While some homeowners might not feel they have a need for ‘custom’ curtains, even the standard Country touches – like separate lining – make them a choice that offers plenty of advantages in quality and economy compared to ordinary, non-lined curtains. For instance, it’s always worth considering how much heating and cooling energy custom, lined curtains might save compared to the alternatives.
We’ve included a short video right here so that you can see what goes into the making of custom lined curtains by Country – simply click on the video to view, and if you’d like to know more, contact us today.
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