Curtain

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For other uses, see Curtain (disambiguation).

A slight wind in the curtains

Theatre curtains on a small stage (Canberra Albert Hall, 2016)

A curtain is a piece of cloth intended to block or obscure light, or drafts, or (in the case

of a shower curtain) water.[1] A curtain is also the movable screen or drape in a theater
that separates the stage from the auditorium or that serves as a backdrop/background .
[1]

Curtains are often hung on the inside of a building's windows to block the passage of
light. For instance, at night to aid sleeping, or to stop light from escaping outside the
building (stopping people outside from being able to see inside, often for privacy
reasons). In this application, they are also known as "draperies". Curtains hung over
a doorway are known as portières.[2] Curtains come in a variety of shapes, materials,
sizes, colors and patterns. They often have their own sections within department stores,
while some shops are completely dedicated to selling curtains.
 Curtains vary according to cleanability, ultraviolet light deterioration, oil and dust
retention, noise absorption, fire resistance, and life span. Curtains may be operated by
hand, with cords, by press-button pads or remote-controlled computers. They are held
out of the way of the window by means of curtain tie-backs. Measuring curtain sizes
needed for each window varies greatly according to the type of curtain needed, window
size, and type and weight of curtain.
Curtains are a form of window treatment, and complete the overall appearance of the
interior of the house. Window treatment helps control the ambiance and flow of natural
light into the room. The effect of drapery or curtains is best seen in daylight, and with
proper indoor light positioning, can look attractive even at night. [3]

Contents

 1History
o 1.1England
 2Light control and insulation
 3Styles
 4Gallery
 5See also
 6References
 7External links

History[edit]
From evidence found in excavation sites at Olynthus, Pompeii and Herculaneum,
portieres, a curtain hung over a doorway, appear to have been used as room dividers in
classic antiquity. Mosaics from the 2nd to 6th century show curtains suspended from
rods spanning arches.[2]
England[edit]
In England, curtains began to replace wooden shutters towards the end of the 16th
century.[4] In Medieval England, the earliest form of window treatments were leather
panels threaded onto iron rods. These were eventually replaced with woven wool
panels. During the reign of Elizabeth I, ornately decorated Italian Renaissance fabrics,
including brocades, velvets, and damask, began to be imported. These ornate fabrics,
as well as fabrics decorated with crewel embroidery, were used in curtains during the
English Elizabethan and Jacobean periods. Solid wood shutters were used during cold
seasons.[5]

Light control and insulation[edit]

Translucent curtains hung on a window.

Curtains are manufactured from a variety of thick fabrics, each with a differing degree
of light absorption and heat insulating qualities. For maximum temperature control, the
curtain gap to the window should be small, with minimum convection drafts below or
above the curtain. Various architectural structures around the curtain can minimize
these air drafts, but usually they are just used for decoration and make rooms feel more
cozy.
A sheer or net curtain is one that is made from translucent fabric, such as a loosely
woven polyester voile or a cotton lace. Sheer curtains allow a majority of light to be
transmitted through the fabric, with the fabric weave providing a basic level of UV
protection while retaining maximum visibility outward through the curtain. Sheer curtains
are sometimes referred to as "privacy curtains" in reference to their screening abilities;
during the day most sheer fabrics will allow people inside the home to see the outside
view while preventing people outside the home from seeing directly into the home. Due
to the loose weave in sheer fabrics, these types of curtains offer very little in the way of
heat insulation.
Uncoated fabrics provide the next level of heat insulation and light absorption. Uncoated
fabrics constitute the vast majority of fabrics used in curtains, and are composed of a
tightly woven fabric, most typically a cotton/polyester blend, which is
mostly opaque when viewed in ambient light. Uncoated fabrics provide a reasonable
level of heat insulation due to the tight weave of the fabric. However, the fabric itself is
typically not thick enough to completely absorb strong light sources. As a result, when
curtains made from uncoated fabrics are closed in an attempt to block out direct
sunlight, light will still be visible through the curtain.
A roll-down curtain

Coated fabrics consist of a standard uncoated fabric with an opaque rubber backing

applied to the rear of the fabric to provide improved light absorption. To create a coated
fabric, a liquefied rubber polymer is applied in a single coat to an uncoated fabric and
subsequently fused dry by means of a heated roller, in much the same way that a laser
printer applies toner to a sheet of paper before fusing it dry. A fabric that has been
through the coating process once is considered a "1-pass-coated" fabric, anecdotally
referred to as "dim-out" or "blackout" because of the fabric's ability to absorb
approximately 50-70% of a direct light source. To improve the light absorption of a fabric
it is possible to re-coat a fabric up to a maximum of "3-pass-coated", which is
considered sufficient to block out 100% of a direct light source, hence such fabrics are
referred to as "blockout-coated".
Maximum light absorption and heat insulation in a curtain is created through
a lined curtain, which typically consists of an uncoated fabric at the front to provide the
look and feel of the curtain, with a separate coated fabric attached at the rear to provide
the insulative qualities. The coated fabric is typically referred to as a lining, which simply
refers to a coated fabric that does not have any particular color or pattern.
Curtains may be held back with tie-backs (a loop of cloth, cord, etc., placed around a
curtain to hold it open to one side; typically passed through a ring on a hook attached to
the wall, and fastened with a knot, button, or velcro; often adorned with tassels) or may
be closed and opened with sticks called draw-pulls (rods made of plastic, wood, or
metal that can be twisted and/or pulled) or curtain rods which are attached either to the
runner or to the first hook. On some curtain rails/poles, there is a pulley system for
opening and closing called a "corded curtain track". The knobs at the end of these cords
are called cord pulls or "acorns". A roll-down or drop-down curtain has its fabric rolled
around the curtain rod and is lowered down from above by a separate device (such as
pictured at right) or by pulling the fabric itself, with curtains using the latter mechanism
being called pull-down curtains.
A curtain hook stopper is a device used to stop the curtain from falling off the end of the
curtain rail.