You mean that people stand staring at roller blinds? And, if they do, does it need to be stiff?
Unbleached linen comes in lots of weights, it's not always stiff. I know, I use it but not for blinds.
But that's by the by. I just wonder why roller blinds need to be stiffened. As I've said, we used a thin cotton fabric without stiffening and it works perfectly well and looks good too.
Mary
I would suspect that the stiffer cotton material you are talking of using has much greater quantity of "dressing"(water soluble glue!) applied to the cotton. this is a common method of making a cheap low grade material feel similar to a quality grade. The "dressing" normally largely washes out the first time that you put the material through a wash cycle. If you keep it dry, it retains it's shape-flat! Hence the saying-" looks and feels like an old dishcloth" as cotton which is heavily washed becomes very soft and shapeless. Dressmakers are very expert in detecting the quality of a cloth from the look and feel. Their customers tend to complain loudly if the product isn't good enough, so their quality control is very good!
Regards Capitol
Well you have answered this question in your last sentence when you say 'looks good too' Of course the appearance of the blind is important if its a question of dressing a window which is what a lot of them are about. It is not hard to see how the fall of a blind, the way it hangs etc is affected or even effected by the material being used.
There was a cheap alternative once available of blinds made from paper. Looked fine from across the street until they got torn ;-(
I didn't actually say it was very stiff because it was unbleached linen.
snip
Paul Mc Cann
Yes, ours does look good - and it's not stiffened in any way.
Ours hangs well and looks good too :-)
I think that people expect blinds to be stiff because that's how the commercial ones are. They've never tried them not being stiff ...
Mary
the difference escapes me.
PVA is the usual thing.
Regards, NT
I thinks people buy stiff blinds because they want stiff blinds. (Besides they aren't really that stiff.)
Paul Mc Cann
er - really all WHAT stiff?
But you've proved my point. They expect them to be stiff because the commercial ones are stiff.
Mary
Capitol Do you happen to have any contact details for this company ?? Stuart
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Well the blind material wouldn't stand on it's owm.
No. I don't think so. I am saying I think people buy stiff blinds because thats what they want. If they wanted non-stiff blinds they would merely ask for them. The concept of making blinds from non stiff material is hardly a new one, after all Roman blinds are made from non stiffened material.
SWMBO (who make all her own curtains and has made Roman blinds) was greatly bemused when I mooted the concept of blinds from non stiffened material.
Paul Mc Cann
Does it not make it easier for the blind to roll up and down if the material is stiffened . Stuart
Probably would. Which would also account for Roman blinds not using it as they are requited to assume decorative ruches/ruffles whatever when opened.
Many years ago I attempted to make up a roller blind with black-out material for a temporary dark room I used. One of the problems was getting it to roll up correctly. I gave up in the finish.
Paul Mc Cann
Roller blind material needs to have the fibres in the warp and weft fixed together in order to ensure that the blind will not skew when it is rewound onto the roller. ( Particularly noticeable with narrow 2' x 7' drop blinds) This is why it feels stiff. A heavily dressed fabric will have the same performance as long as it does not get too wet.
I've copied this from someone's earlier post to give you the details:-
They're actually called Alban Blinds. They don't have a website, according to their ad in the Yellow Pages, but can be contacted on 01727
844822 or 01234 824440. They have a stall in the Snorbens Market (Wednesdays and Saturdays). We bought the awning on our office window (faces SW) from them 7 or 8 years ago and are very happy with it.Hope this helps
Regards Capitol
Thx for the details . I called them and they said they stopped selling mail order because of damage ( doesnt seem to have stopped plenty of other companies ) but he suggested contacting Vantana Blinds in Livingston ,Nr Edinburgh as he buys from them .I'm waiting on a reply to me e-mail but I'm not hopeful . The impression I am getting is that blind companies are operating a sort of closed shop to prevent people making their own and keeping their prices high . I paid £116 for two blinds recently 32" wide and 95" drop. I can buy the roller mechanism kits for about £10-£11 each which appear to be almost identical to those used so how much extra would material be . Stuart
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