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Curtains

Sheer and Block Out Curtains

Curtains are manufactured from a variety of fabrics, each with a different degree of light absorption and heat / insulating qualities. For maximum temperature control, the curtain gap to the window should be small, with minimum convection drafts below or above the curtain.
Various architectural structures around the curtain can minimize these air drafts, but usually they are just used for decoration and make rooms feel more comfortable.

Fullness

A sheer curtain is one that is made from translucent fabric, such as a loosely woven polyester voile. Sheer curtains allow a majority of light to be transmitted through the fabric, with the fabric weave providing a basic level of UV protection while retaining maximum visibility outward through the curtain. Sheer curtains are sometimes referred to as “privacy curtains” in reference to their screening abilities; during the day most sheer fabrics will allow people inside the home to see the outside view while preventing people outside the home from seeing directly into the home. Due to the loose weave in sheer fabrics, these types of curtains offer very little in the way of heat insulation or privacy during the night

Uncoated fabrics provide the next level of heat insulation and light absorption. Uncoated fabrics constitute the vast majority of fabrics used in curtains, and are composed of a tightly woven fabric, most typically a cotton/polyester blend, which is mostly opaque when viewed in ambient light. Uncoated fabrics provide a reasonable level of heat insulation due to the tight weave of the fabric. However, the fabric itself is typically not thick enough to completely absorb strong light sources. As a result, when curtains made from uncoated fabrics are closed in an attempt to block out direct sunlight, light will still be visible through the curtain.

Coated fabrics consist of a standard uncoated fabric with an opaque rubber backing applied to the rear of the fabric to provide improved light absorption. To create a coated fabric, a liquefied rubber polymer is applied in a single coat to an uncoated fabric and subsequently fused dry by means of a heated roller. A fabric that has been through the coating process once is considered a “1-pass-coated” fabric, referred to as a blockout because of the fabric’s ability to absorb approximately 50-70% of a direct light source.

Maximum light absorption and heat insulation in a curtain is created through a lined curtain, which typically consists of an uncoated fabric at the front to provide the look and feel of the curtain, with a separate coated fabric attached at the rear to provide the insulated qualities. The coated fabric is typically referred to as a lining, which simply refers to a coated fabric that does not have any particular colour or pattern.

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