Curtain fabric - linen, cotton, viscose, polyester

[thisisme]

Any advice on which fabric or a blend of materials is the best for drapes/curtains?

I would prefer for them not to crinkle easily, so I guess I would need to stay away from linen blends?

What about care? Are some easier to care for and keep clean than others?

Are they all the same when it comes to blocking out the sun etc?

[dmplus3]

B, I was just talking to my curtain man (yep, I've got a curtain man now!), who steered me away from cotton, as it is more prone to shrinking and fading. His clear winner was polyester, as a more durable fabric.

I am interested to know what alice_oro's view is on this... No pressure!!

[thisisme]

Thanks M

[alice_oro]

Any natural fibres (silk, linen, cotton etc) will crinkle easy, fade and require special care however I love natural silks and cottons. Polyesters are definitely the easiest.

Whatever fabric you choose make sure that they are preshrunk even if it's polyester just to be safe. I think you are making your own curtains so wash the fabric before cutting it to ensure it shrinks.

[thisisme]

Thanks so much for the washing before cutting tip alice_oro!!!!

[verychic]

Silk especially dupion creates the most luxurious look for curtain drapes however it could be costly unless you source the fabric and make it yourself. The main problems though is you can't wash silk with water so over time, if it gets dirty, you need to dry clean them everytime which again can be costly as opposed to non-silk materials

As far as blocking out sun is concern, whichever materials you end up using, you still need to line it with the block out fabric.

[thisisme]

Thank you verychic