Curtains?

[Jem]

Hello,

I have just bought my first doll house to makeover and have a really basic query: do the curtains at the front of the house have to be double-sided print so that they look right internally and externally? Is it just personal taste?

Also I've noticed in curtain discussions that spraying with starch and using a pleating board is often referred to. I like the idea of being able to remove my curtains and wash them like in a normal house but if you did it the starched way you'd have to do the process again. I was thinking of just making them and ironing them out flat or just iron pleats in??

Many thanks!

Edited September 7, 2017 by Jem

[KathieB]

5 hours ago, Jem said:

Hello,

I have just bought my first doll house to makeover and have a really basic query: do the curtains at the front of the house have to be double-sided print so that they look right internally and externally? Is it just personal taste?

Also I've noticed in curtain discussions that spraying with starch and using a pleating board is often referred to. I like the idea of being able to remove my curtains and wash them like in a normal house but if you did it the starched way you'd have to do the process again. I was thinking of just making them and ironing them out flat or just iron pleats in??

Many thanks!

Hi, Jem, and welcome to the forum. The thing about dollhouses is that you can do anything you like and it won't be wrong. How do you want it to look? Do whatever you need to do to get the look you want. 

As for washing the curtains, the little people who live in the house are not going to dirty the curtains enough to warrant washing. Dusting with a soft brush, blasting with canned air or using a tiny vacuum will be adequate to keep the curtains looking fresh. 

What house are you making over?

[havanaholly]

I agonized over curtains, among many things, for my first couple of builds.  Then I started paying attention to 1:1 (full size) houses and I noticed things like the curtains from outside, if they showed at all, were the linings, the sheers underneath, or the back side of the fabric.  I don't use a pleater, I baste the folds on a panel together and iron them; if I want sharp pleats I spray them with starch, otherwise I add the tiebacks and glue them in place.  I sometimes put them on rods, if that's the look I want.

When you have a few minutes, please post an introduction in the section for new members, and you can tell us which house you're building first.

[WyckedWood]

This is a great book for curtain how-tos 

Dolls House Do-it-Yourself - Curtains https://www.amazon.com/dp/0715318527/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_FquSzbMP3WZ17

If that link doesn't work ...Sue Heaser is the author, available on amazon. 

 

[Thimble Hall]

My  biggest problem wouldn't be washing them it would be getting the right fabric. I absolutely hate miniature fabrics that are not accurate for design size but more importantly thickness of fabric. Having made mini clothes for dolls for years I wanted fabrics that were not stiff, I preferred them to be soft so they would drape gently and I found finger creasing was enough. I agree with not washing them, I have dolls that have had the same clothes on for 40 years and they are still clean ..

[havanaholly]

I use old silk clothes from thrift stores.

[KathieB]

3 hours ago, Jeannine said:

but more importantly thickness of fabric

Quilting cotton works well. I've also used silk and wide lace. 

[Thimble Hall]

I am a quilter and I find the quilting cottons far too thick, some of the cheaper cottons are thinner but I prefer silk and for cotton I use Nelona or Bearisima . Some of the French pure cotton laces are Ok if well washed first  to take the sizing out but I find most of them have a pattern that is too big for me. I find it a very annoying problem. I have a big srath of silks but am always searching to get that even finer one.