Curtain Trims for your desirable home

Curtain trims or passementerie is high quality decorative textile bands, which are an easy way to provide detail and smarten up a simple curtain or drapery. They range from tassels to cords, lace, velvet and ribbons. The most important thing to remember is to keep the scale, weight and proportion in keeping with the dimensions of the curtain.

To follow are a few types that are available, most come in natural fibers and synthetic fibers, the luxury end of trims are often made from silk or linen. Often rayon or viscose is added to cotton or wool to provide sheen to them.

Braid

Is a woven ornamental trimming that has two finished edges, it is a flat border. It was popular for placing over finished edges of upholstery on chairs.

Gimp

This has looped or scalloped edges and is a narrow type of braid. It is often used to cover over upholstery tacks on chairs.

Piping

Piping Is a product that can be stitched into the seam of a curtain. It is a fabric-covered cord in a pipe like fold over cord with a narrow flange. It provides a subtle detail to drapery and is a good way of introducing a highlight color. It is used extensively with cushions and not as popular with curtains because it is labor intensive to make.

 

Buttons

Buttons can be covered in fabric or selected off the shelf, they are used to pull two pieces of fabric together for example a cushion pulled in the center, or create a design – the back of a chair can be buttoned creating a padded look i.e. Chesterfield.

With curtains they can be used with French Pleats to hold the pleat together at the base and create a stunning look if used in a contrasting color. They are often used on tiebacks, and are a decorative feature on valances when used to hold tassels.

Cord

This comes in almost any fiber imaginable and multiple colors, is usually thick and twisted rope, generally used as a tieback, it can be used as a simple trim. It can be one color or several colors twisted together. It is used for tiebacks and tassels.

Jacquard Border

A flat braid that has been woven on a jacquard loom.

Tassel Fringe

This is a looped fringe with a tassel skirting. It creates an effective finish to the leading edge of a curtain, the bottom edge of a blind and is frequently used on the lower edge of scarf drapery and sometimes decorative valances.

Frog

Loops of silk covered wire or wrapped cords of oriental decent.