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Sustainability and the link to second-hand curtains

sustainability and the link to second-hand curtains

Almost every day finds us reading about or listening to a news item about sustainability, carbon footprint and net zero. It is reaching the stage where nothing else seems to matter never mind the huge cost involved in achieving it.

Fortunately there is one way in which we can save money and contribute positively to the future of our planet!  Yes, of course, it's by buying and loving fabulous second-hand curtains! When I think of the cost of new curtains, often running into many thousands of pounds, why bother when there are some beautiful second-hand curtains around.

Recently we have taken in huge swathes of fine, often vintage, second-hand curtains and all of them want to be re-loved again. For example the five pairs of antique silk damask interlined curtains that came from a very large country estate in Northern Ireland. These all went off to a large cliff-top ex-hotel now massive house overlooking Cardigan Way in West Wales.

Then how can we forget the 5 antique red silk panels that once hung in a palace south-east of Madrid. They were looted in the latter stages of the Spanish Civil War in 1936/7. These disappeared until they turned up in the Famous El Rastro Flea Market in Madrid some 30 years ago. They were bought by clients of ours and were hanging in their Swiss house till they came to the UK.   The curtains came to us and 72 hours later they were on their way to a new life in a moated castle in southern Holland!

We have loads of clients in Scotland who have large draughty houses and buy second-hand curtains from us. Lots of the curtains they buy from us have actually come from other old draughty houses somewhere in Scotland.

Essentially the thing about sustainability and second-hand curtains is that all these beautiful curtains deserve to be re-loved again!

Antique Silk Curtain Panel from Spanish Palace - Picture 1"
Antique Silk Curtain Panel from Spanish Palace - Picture 2"
Antique Silk Curtain Panel from Spanish Palace - Picture 3"
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How to hang pinch pleat or goblet pleat second-hand curtains

How to hang pinch or goblet pleat second-hand curtains

When you buy pinch pleat or goblet pleat second-hand curtains from us there is some ‘stuff’ you need to know. The first thing is to buy curtains that are wider than you need if you want them to look great. This is because stretching the curtains to meet when you close them is not a good look. It is much better if the curtains have additional width so they look more relaxed when drawn closed. On each of our listings involving pinch pleat or goblet pleat curtains we use the term ‘BEST WIDTH’ but in the trade it’s known as ‘spring back’ because when you stretch the header of the curtains they will spring back into a more comfortable width.

However when you receive your curtains the next tricky step is to insert the hooks that we send you with the curtains. These hooks are evil monsters that need to be treated a bit carefully! Each hook resembles a squashed ‘s’ shape with a blunt end and a very sharp end. The sharp end is what you need to insert into the back of the pinch pleat or goblet pleat header. In order to do this grab a pleat in one hand and insert the hook up into the pleat at the back.

Tracks and Poles for second-hand curtains

Make sure all the hooks are at the same height or the curtains will look odd when you hang them. The height at which you insert the hooks depends on whether you are using a track or pole. If you are using a pole then do you want to see the pole above the curtains or not. If the answer is yes then insert the hook near the top of the pleat or further down if you want the pole to be hidden.

Getting this right will add greatly to your sense of enjoyment of your ‘new’ second-hand curtains. The hooks aren’t really evil monsters, they just look like it when you open the jiffy bag! Treat them with care and all will be well and so will your curtains.

If you think further reading would help then where better than this great article in House & Garden magazine.

If you have any questions relating to this guide or anything else please contact us on 07976 945697. Alternatively please use the Contact Us Form to send us a message.

Alternatively if you would like us to sell curtains for you just click here to find about how we do this.

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The ‘Best Width’ for Pinch or Goblet Pleat curtains

Second-hand curtains that have either pinch pleats or goblet pleats have a definable fixed width. If you measure the top width of one curtain and double it that is the maximum width that pair of curtains will fit on a track or pole. Now imagine if you lay one of your curtains out on a table and stretch the top to determine the full width. Now let go of one end and that end of the curtain will ‘spring back’ into a relaxed position. This curtain maker expression of ‘spring back’ is explained by us in the term the ‘Best Width’ which we use where curtains look far better because they are more ‘relaxed’.

If you have a window that is 180 cms wide you should not be looking for a pair of curtains of the same width. This means the curtains will have to be stretched tight to be fully closed which is not a good look. Far better to have some give in the drawn curtains as they look relaxed and therefore hang much better.

In addition, most customers buying second-hand curtains would want their curtains to hang beyond the window to not take away light. This means that your track or pole should probably be at least 20 cms wider each side of the window. In the example above of the 180 cms window this means that the track or pole should be approximately 220+ cms.

The introduction of the Best Width for second-hand curtains

When we advertise second-hand curtains on our site we don’t talk about window size. Instead we talk about the width of the track/pole that you would need. For curtains with pinch pleats, goblet pleats or fixed tape pencil pleats, we therefore came up with the idea of giving you a ‘best width’ for the curtains and decided on reducing the total width measurements by 15 cms less to allow for a better look. So for the example above where the width of the track or pole is 220 cms you would be looking for curtains at least 235 cms wide. This is why we give you the ‘best width’ and the total width.

This concept does not apply to normal pencil pleat curtains as we measure the ungathered bottom width of one curtain. This measurement then translates to the maximum width the pair will fit as one ungathered curtain approximately equates to two gathered curtains.

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Second-Hand Curtain Categories and their differences

Second-Hand Curtain Categories and their differences

The Divinely Vintage website contains several second-hand curtain categories and their differences are important to understand. The 3 main categories are curtains between 230 and 300 cms long, extra-long curtains 300 cms and longer and extra-wide second-hand curtains which are wider than 325 cms.

We have customers with lots of different requirements and sourcing curtains for them sometimes takes quite a bit of time. We therefore thought we would share information about the most popular second-hand curtain categories and their differences.

Curtains between 230 cms and 300 cms long

This product category is for all our second-hand curtains which have a length/drop between 230 and 300 cms. We do not take in curtains which have a drop of less than 230 cms as they are much more difficult to sell.

Curtains in this category are, much like curtains in the other categories,  sometimes in pretty much perfect condition. However we also take in curtains which are less than perfect but still deserve to  be loved by someone else.

If we describe them as ‘vintage’ curtains they are over 20 years old. Country House is an indication that the curtains have probably been in a large country house for many a year. They might well not be looking their best now, for instance silk curtains will often have frayed leading edges. However this can  be remedied and these curtains still deserve another life with customers who will love them.

Extra Long Second-Hand Curtains 300 cms and longer

This category is for all our extra long second-hand curtains which have drops of at least 300 cms. This category is the most popular because of the number of curtains we get from big country houses and estates. It has to be said that most of these we sell are going off to a new life in another old country house. However curtains also get re-modelled so their finished length is often somewhat shorter.

Extra Wide Second-Hand Curtains

This category is for all our curtains which have a total width of more than 125 ins or 325 cms.  Many of these curtains will be vintage or country house standard so may be less than perfect. However this does not stop them from being immensely popular with our client base.

Curtains in this category and mainly pinch or goblet pleat or pencil pleat. The difference to us is that for pinch or goblet pleat curtains we measure the top fixed header of one curtain and then double it for the pair. However we then take off 6 ins or 15 cms from the maximum width to create a Best Width which created a more relaxed look to the curtains when closed. We should make it clear that we give both the 'best width' and the maximum width the curtains will fit in all our listings.