Re: Protecting Screen Porch Curtains

WB wrote:
I'm making some screen porch curtains which will stay up all year, thru a Wisconsin winter. The old ones got whipped to schreds. Short of taking them down in the winter and accepting the bare look, would like any suggestions on how to leave them up and protect them a little and keep them from blowing around in a blizzard.

I'm thinking of installing a thin muslin or outdoor fabric on the outside of the screens for winter; like my grandpa did years ago, using tack strips. Or maybe placing some small grommets on the hems of the curtains themselves and string them together with elastic to keep them from billowing out and whipping. I'll put some brass chain in the hems to weight them a little for the gentler summer breezes. I'm doing 12 windows, surrounding the entire porch.

Any ideas are appreciated. TIA JPBill

I have a screened porch - actually, has windows so it's not quite the same as yours. In the winter, I close the windows. But....some years ago I made "shades" for the windows from double-faced quilting fabric - the kind with a print on each side, batting in the middle. I went for very simple, and put a casing top and bottom, put 2 pair of cup hooks on the tops of the windows and put a dowel through each casing. So I can unroll the shade to cover the window - keeping out hot sun or cold air, and I can roll the shade up on the bottom dowel and pop the dowel into the second pair of cup hooks. (I bound the edges with bias tape.)

I hope you can follow this description.

The sun has faded the printed fabric, but the shades are still intact, and still in use for the same purpose.

--
Joanne
stitches @ singerlady.reno.nv.us.earth.alternate-universe
http://members.tripod.com/~bernardschopen/
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Window Blinds, Heat and Cold
    ... |>> On hot days we often pull the shades on windows to keep the sun out ... |>> night my wife pulled down all the shades to keep the heat in. ...
    (sci.physics)
  • Re: OT: Daylight Savings
    ... I keep my house cool enough with shades that I have not used my air ... I open up the windows and drapes at night to let the hot ...
    (rec.food.cooking)
  • Re: Alternate Sources For Fabrics
    ... back some outdoor shades. ... front of windows which get late-setting western sun, ... The goal, reduce sloar heat gain, thus reducing air-conditioning ... Next stop for interesting off-beat fabrics: ...
    (alt.sewing)
  • Re: Experience with Top/Down and Cordless Cellular Shades?
    ... in cellular shades? ... the family room (windows on south-west and casual dining). ... did when you first purchased the shades? ... I'd be inclined to go all cordless next time. ...
    (misc.consumers.house)
  • Re: Fluke 87V - any reason not to buy?
    ... The home is well insulated but the windows aren't. ... yesterday at the client I found that one of the engineers had just replaced it on his whole house with dual-pane. ... We close ours when the sun is on the north side of the house (15' x ... The highest latitude where the sun would be ...
    (sci.electronics.design)