US2827959A - Corner support for draperies - Google Patents

Description

March 25, 1958 o. soLow ETAL coRNER SUPPORT FOR DRAPERIES Filed Sept. 27, 1954 vif ATTORNEY United States Patent O CORNER SUPPORT FOR DRAPERIES Oscar Solow, Norfolk, and Bertha Korman, Bayside, Va.

Application September 27, 1954, Serial No. 458,383

2 Claims. (Cl. i60-330) The present invention relates to a stitening or reinforcing element adapted to be mounted in the heading of a lined or unlined drape in order to prevent sagging or twisting of the corner portion of the drapery.

lt is the practice to support curtains or drapes along the top portion thereof on a bar or curtain rod and the drapes are often supported at spaced intervals by means of hooks or the like carried by the drape which engage over the curtain rod or extend into elements which travel along a track provided by the curtain rod. The corner of such drape often sags and bends from the plane of the drape. Such an unsightly condition is usually more apparent at the upper corner of the free edge of the curtain.

An object of the present invention is to provide means for imparting rigidity to an upper corner of a drape or curtain and to provide a stitfening member which may be readily attached to the drape in a concealed manner so as to support the fabric from which the drape is made and to avoid the unsightly drooping or turning of the upper corner of the drape from the normal plane of the curtain.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stiffening or reinforcing element for the corner of a drape which may be readily mounted therein and removed when the drape or curtain is cleaned and conveniently reinserted in place to hold the corner tirm and in proper position when the drapes are rehung.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent as the present disclosure proceeds and upon consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawing wherein an exemplary embodiment of the invention is disclosed.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a reinforcing member exhibiting the invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the upper corner portion of an unlined drape taken from the inside thereof illustrating the mounting of the reinforcing member.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the front of the drape showing the manner in which the member is concealed therein.

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of the upper corner portion of a lined drape taken from the inside showing the reinforcing member in place.

Referring to the drawing a portion of an unlined drape is shown at which may be made of any suitable fabric. The side edge of the curtain is folded over and stitched at 11 to define one side edge 12 of the curtain. A top portion of the fabric is folded downwardly to lie along the inner face 14 of the curtain to provide a heading 16. A strip of stilfening fabric 17 such as buckram or the like is secured to the header hem by means of stitching 18. The upper edge 19 (Fig. 3) of the stilfening fabric may be secured to the material which ICC forms the header hem or remain unattached. The fabric which forms the heading 16 is attached by means of stitching (not shown) to the side edge 12 of the curtain.

The material from which the drape is formed including the stilfening cloth 17 and the header hem 16 is gathered to form pleats 22. A series of such pleats are formed along the top portion of the curtain in a well known manner. A pocket 23 is provided in the corner of the curtain betwen the inner face of the drape 10 and the inner face of the stiffening layer 17 for receiving an element for imparting rigidity to the corner of the curtain. The stitening or reinforcing element may be formed of any suitable light weight material such as metal, plastic or the like. The reinforcing and supporting member includes two arms 26 and 27 arranged substantially at right angles to each other. The element includes a third arm 28 which extends from the confluence of the two arms 26 and 27 and at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees. The arms and the entire element is preferably formed of sheet material having a thickness of one sixteenth to about three thirtyseconds of an inch so as to tit within the pocket 23 without any noticeable increase in the thickness of the drape in this area. A hole 31 is provided in the end of each arm.

The reinforcing member has sufficient rigidity so that all three arms remain in the same plane during normal conditions of supporting the corner of the curtain or drape. The reinforcing device may be readily positioned in the pocket 23 and secured therein by means of stitching 32 which extends through the material forming the header hem 16 and the stiffening fabric 17. The corner 33 of the support member ts within the upper corner of the pocket. The arm 26 occupies a horizontal position and the upper edge is arranged along the upper boundary of the pocket 23. The arm 27 is normally in a vertical position and the outer edge extends along the vertical edge of the pocket. The intermediate arm 28 assists in preventing sagging of the corner portion of the drape. The stitchings 32 at the ends of the arms secures the reinforcing member in position. These stitches may be cut when the curtain is to be cleaned so that the reinforcing member may be removed from the pocket 23.

The reinforcing device may also be applied to lined drapes and fits within the corner thereof in a manner shown in Fig. 5. In such a curtain the lining 36 extends to the lower portion of the drape. The lining is stitched at 37 to an inwardly folded portion 38 of the drape which defines a side edge of the curtain. A strip of stiffening fabric such as buckram 39 is mounted between the lining 36 and front fabric of the drape and terminates at its lower edge at 40. The horizontal arm 26 of the reinforcing member is stitched at 32 to the lining 36 and the stiffening layer 39. The vertical arm 27 is concealed between the side fold 38 and the fabric at the front of the curtain. The arm 28 is provided with an opening 3l and stitched to the lining 36 and the buckram 39. In both the lined and unlined curtain the stitching 32 does not show at the front face of the drape.

The reinforcing device may be made of any suitable dimensions in that the arms may be of greater or shorter length than that illustrated. The reinforcing member may be applied to other types of drapes in order to prevent sagging or twisting of the corner of the drapery. Such changes and others may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is.'

1. An unsupported upper free corner portion of a drapery reinforced to prevent drooping and bending of the corner portion from the general plane of the remainder of the drapery comprising, fabric means forming an outer element of the drapery, inner fabric means depending from a horizontal top edge of the first fabric means along an inner face thereof, means closing said fabric means along a vertical free edge of the drapery, said fabric means and closure means forming a pocket within the upper free corner of the drapery, a reinforcing member within said pocket, said reinforcing member including one sheet-like arm having a straight upper edge extending horizontally along the upward boundary of the pocket terminating in the corner of the pocket, a second sheet-like arm forming a part of said reinforcing member extending substantially at right angles from the irst arm with an edge of the second arm depending from the end of the rst arm and from the corner of the pocket vertically along the closed edge of said pocket, a third sheet-like arm extending from the juncture of the rst and second arms in a direction substantially bisecting the angle between the rst and second arms, all of said arms being in a common plane, and means attaching the end of each of said arms to the inner fabric means.

2. A sheet-like device for fitting within and reinforcing an upper free unsupported corner of a drape consisting of, an L-shaped member including two sheet-like arms arranged substantially at right angles to each other with outer edges of said arms being arranged at right angles to each other, a third sheet-like arm extending from the juncture of the rst two arms substantially along a bisector of the angle between said irst two arms, all of said arms being arranged in a common plane with a portion of the third arm in the vicinity of the juncture of the first two arms enlarging the area of continuous sheet material of the corner of the device, and each arm having a hole in the free end portion thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Grornes Mar. 28, 1939 Tendrich et al Apr. 22, 1941 Swatford Aug. 3, 1954

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