adding curtains to benchwork

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I have build most of my benchwork (a combination of L-girder and Sievers etc.) I am baffled by the question of adding the dark curtains that would clearly do a lot to enhance the overall look of the room. I haven't used a sewing machine in 30 years and would like to know if there's a minimalist way of making nice curtains. I would also like to know what kind of material to buy; dropping hundreds of dollars on dark curtain material seems like kind of waste, what with all these new GG-1's coming out. There is not much help in the Westcott Benchwork book; does anyone know where to get explicit advice about this?

Will

[dknelson]

I can only tell you what three of my friends did. They found a seamstress in the phone book, her price was cheap for the relatively simple hemming that is involved, and velcro was used to attach the curtains to the benchwork. Obviously height measurement is of importance but apart from that, they used cheap black cloth -- in fact I think the seamstress helped them find the cloth too. It was not that expensive all things considered.
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

For temporay relief, party stores have cheap plastic table curtains with an adhesive tape backing. They surely are not as nice as cloth, and are not weighted to hang s well, but it can be a start. Godd luck.

[Anonymous]

I posted this in another thread on this web page, but I used black plastic on the D&J Railroad. I got it at a local home and garden store. It comes in rolls of 50 feet or so and is stapled to the edge of the bench work. I left a few inches of the plastic above the staples to fold down over them. Its easy to cut off at the floor level.

Ken, D&J Railroad, Stafford, VA

[douginut]

A simple way of doing this is to buy heat activated hemming tape.
1. find a cloth you like at a fabric store. I lean toward buying a 60" or 54" wide washable cotton or blend (so i can wash it)cloth and using a scissors slit it down the middle giving you a 30 or 27" wide blank. using the good old ironing board just fold over a one or two inch hem at each end and laying the hem tape into the fold press the fold and it will make a very permanent and neat finished edge.
2. to attach this you can either staple this to the wooden side of your layout or stick it on with pressure sensative Velcro.
No sewing and a good looking.
Did I use this method? No, I own a sewing business and did our entire N-Track club's curtains/skirts in half an hour with high speed machines. the employees cracked up to see the boss sewing for the first time in memory.
Doug, in Utah.