What’s The Best Fabric For Your Curtains?
Curtain Library’s advice when choosing between polyester, linen, and cotton, and which material is most suitable for your home.
Curtains are able to bring a versatile and dynamic look to the window that just completes the room. As experts of the finishing touch, we understand the allure of jumping straight into an almost Greek or Roman-inspired curtain set by using linen or cotton materials but choosing the best fabric for curtains is crucial. But some homeowners get expensive and difficult-to-maintain curtains without knowing much about the materials in question!
So, in this article, we’ll explore how you can properly maintain your linen or cotton curtains- and how you can still get a similar if not the same effect with polyester ones!
1. Linen
The airy, light-filtering, and luxe-living fabric for the elite.
This rare fabric is often the top choice amongst designers that really want to give a room an expensive look and is popularly used in luxury showroom units or high-end hotels. As seen in our Aira Residence project, they are best suited to be used as sheer curtains because of their soft and light-filtering qualities. Modern linen fabric can also come in thick and heavier weaves, however, they aren’t thick enough to be used as blackout curtains. Homeowners also like the non-allergenic quality of the material that helps keep the home comfy for family members with allergies.
Custom-made curtains and Roman blinds from our Aira Residence project that used double-stitched sheer linen curtains.
Here are some tips for homeowners in maintaining the soft and luxurious qualities of their linen curtains! They are DRY CLEAN only and should not be put through the washing machine. This small mistake can lead to you damaging the fibres of the fabric and make the surface rougher than it already is. To add to that, you should also note that you shouldn’t excessively steam or iron the material to remove wrinkles! Instead, leave it to experienced curtain cleaners to do the job for you.
Linen curtains really deserve the best treatment for how nicely they hang and complete the room. Curtain Library’s experts provide an exclusive curtain cleaning service to existing customers with old curtains in need of cleaning!
2. Cotton
The breathable, odour-repelling, and strong curtain fabric material
The cotton used in curtains is the same cotton used for clothing. While not the most common choice for households, cotton can have your curtains hang in crisp straight lines that match both traditional and modern aesthetics. This is thanks to the thick tightly woven weaves that make up the fabric. Unfortunately, cotton is still not thick enough to be used as blackout or dimout material.
Good quality blackout and dimout curtains are made with special fabrics and finishings. Read our article on the best types of blackout curtains for your home, business, or office.
Everything You Need To Know About Blackout Curtains
On top of being a strong and heavy fabric type, cotton is very breathable and keeps bad odours from sticking onto the surface, making it suitable for homes with pets. Still, homeowners should note that washing cotton curtains the wrong way can lead to shrinkage and fuzzy fibres to appear (a.k.a pilling).
Similarly with your cotton pants or shirts, your cotton curtains will pill if the washing machine was too rough during the spin cycle.
If you still want cotton curtains for your home, ask your consultant or sales personnel for proper curtain care tips- or get in touch with our Curtain Cleaning team for a professional and hotel-grade service!
3. Polyester
The modern solution that brings out the best qualities of fabric.
Conventional synthetic materials have been shut out by home decorators for years- but it’s time to get acquainted with what’s new in the textiles industry. Modern synthetic fabric is made to emulate the best qualities of natural fabrics. Polyester, for instance, is able to mimic the texture of linen, cotton, suede, tweed, silk, and even velvet. Unlike these natural materials, however, the man-made fabric is resistant to shrinkage, wrinkling, and stretching, on top of being mould-resistant and anti-bacterial! This makes them a popular material to be used for dividers in hospitals, clinics, and even homestays.
Heads up, if you have any old polyester curtains that you feel are still good for use, Curtain Library is more than happy to take them in as part of our RE.PURPOSE programme for schools, hospitals, and communities in need!
Just like natural fabrics, polyester is a sturdy material that holds a nice shape for your curtains when hung- without being heavy or difficult to take down on your own. They are also designed to withstand sun exposure without the need for additional lining materials! This is what really sets synthetic fabrics apart from natural ones, as both the front and backs of polyester curtains are able to hold designs without getting faded from the sun.
Polyester curtains come with the best qualities of natural fabric with an additional satin finish!
In contrast to linen and cotton, polyester can be made into both blackout and sheer curtains while still giving you an expensive look. In our past collaborations with hotels and designers, our clients have remarked how well Curtain Library’s curtains are able to give their rooms the texture they want as well as have a glittering satin finish.
Picking the right curtains for your home is more than just choosing patterns or colours, the type of material you use for your curtains also determines your long-term satisfaction with them. However, picking between a wide range of materials is a major headache when you do it alone.
That’s why Curtain Library streamlines the decision making process with our Helsinki 2021 Collection!
UPDATED
Our Helsinki Collection has won the Silver Award by the Malaysian Interior Industry Partners Award (MIIP) 2022! We are honoured to receive this acknowledgement for the outstanding fabric quality of Curtain Library’s Helsinki Collection – one of our best-selling curtains and also a top choice among many renowned clients like Jimmy Choo.
Our Helsinki 2021 collection is specially curated for homeowners that are looking for easy-to-maintain and beautiful curtain sets for their homes. They’re made of a modern polyester fabric that is able to serve as 95% dimout, and sheer curtains while coming in a wide variety of colours and patterns. They’re most suitable for households because of how lightweight and easy-to-maintain they are. We also want to highlight that every item in this collection is a favourite amongst interior designers and homeowners alike, as seen in our past projects.
Need a way to spice up your room? Look into getting dual-tone curtain sets!
2021 Modern Curtain Trends & Ideas by Curtain Library
Book an appointment with our consultants and we’ll guide you through the curtain customisation process!