It seems that I am fixated on window treatments and Italian stringing, but what is it, exactly?
Last week it was pelmets, parapluies, etc. and this week it’s Italian stringing. Perhaps I’m drawn to the subject because of a trip to Sicily and Malta planned for next year. Or it may be my inner self telling me to change existing window treatments which have been in place longer than I care to divulge. Or it could be a post on the subject by My Notting Hill. Whatever the reason, it’s a great method for retaining drapes without using tiebacks. In my case, it is just about the only solution for a series of windows with varying heights that follow an abbreviated A- shaped roof line.
Here’s what the backside looks like with a cord threaded through a series of rings. The cord can then be pulled and tightened to the desired tightness then tied.
The fabric is then held back in a gathered or pleated fashion.
“Italian strung” is also commonly know as “Reefed curtains.” I understand that is a reference to reefing a sail on a boat. I’ve been on boats and watched others toil with the sails and recall seeing that string and ring mechanism. Thistle Hill Weavers adds that reefed curtains were a type of festoon used often in 19th-century interiors. Well, my Italian strung or reefed curtains haven’t been up quite that long, but you may understand from the picture below why I haven’t been eager to change them!
If it wasn’t for the fact that these windows face west and the summer sun beats in, they would have been history years ago but the Italian stringing detail is on the way out this weekend! The blessing is that they are in a loft area that only sees use as a cozy place to curl up and read a book during the winter.
– Lorre Lei
Wassup, outstanding webpage yet unfortunately slightly slow the minute I visit it, it is probably my net connection, I’m not sure. Cheers