Stage Curtains & Custom Sewing

Sewing is at the heart of what we do.

We at Gerriets have sewing workshops all over the world and decades of experience sewing custom curtains and draperies for clients large and small. We can manufacture custom drapes from any of our over 600 different fabrics. We have sewn custom draperies for clients ranging from the grand drape at the Metropolitan Opera in NYC, to custom lobby curtains for Chazen Museum of Art in Wisconsin, from a large seamless sharkstooth scrim for the Adele World Tour to acoustic curtains for the Law Offices of Miller Thomson LLP in Canada.

Take a look at the links below for information on how custom draperies are manufactured and what information you need to request a quote. If you are ready for a quote or need additional help in regards to your curtain project, call us at 800-369-3695 or email us here to get in contact with one of our sewing service experts.

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Layout of the Stage

When deciding to get a quote for a theater curtain, first you must know what the purpose of the curtain will be on stage. Is it used to block sightlines to backstage? Does it need to open and close? Will it be used to make lighting effects upstage? There are many moving parts to the modern stage, among them are various types of theatrical drapery, backdrops, scrims and projection screens. Click show more to learn about the different types of soft goods that are typically used on stage.

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Stage Curtain Opening Styles

For a theater, the main curtain is the most important soft good in terms of audience experience. It is typically, the first thing the audience sees when they arrive, and one of the last things they see before they leave, making it both the first and last impression of the stage. Gerriets has decades worth of experience in manufacturing these impressive works of art in theaters and opera houses around the world. How the curtain functions play a part in the design of the curtain. It can either simply rise up into the fly loft, or be pulled up to drape elegantly above the stage or possibly pulled off into the wings, click show more to learn more about the different types of openings for stage drapes.

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Top Finishes and Fullness: Webbing

Webbing is heavy-duty material, such as linen or polypropylene, that reinforces the top edge of drapery. The webbing is sewn on to the drapery and typically has grommets/eyelets or other attachment hardware fastened to it. Tie line is the basic method for connecting the curtain to the pipe or batten. This allows quick and easy installation as well as height adjustability at each connection location to accommodate uneven flooring or other on-site issues.

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Top Finishes and Fullness: Drapery Tape

Drapery tape serves the same function as webbing, but it is more flexible. Depending on the number and placement of curtain hooks along the tape, various pleating styles can be achieved (click show more to see). Drapery tape is intended for lightweight curtains and drapery only.

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Side Edges for Drapes

Most drapes only require a standard hem, but other options include webbing reinforcement, hook and loop tape, or serged edges.

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Bottom Finishes for Drapery

Options for bottom finishes include weighted hems, pipe pockets, and skirts, each has a specific purpose and are an important aspect to achieve the desired look of a curtain. 

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Curtain Seams

Most fabrics are not wide enough to make a whole drape out of one width of the fabric. To make larger curtains fabric panels are seamed together along the edges. Typically the fabric panels run vertically on the drape, this takes pressure off the seams and makes them easier to hide in the fullness of the curtain. Click here to find out about the different type of seams Gerriets uses in curtain construction. 

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Curtain Attachment Hardware

An important decision when buying a custom curtain is how to hang it. In the theatre, typically that means either tieing the drape to a pipe batten or hooking it onto runners for a curtain track system. Click show more to find out about some of the most common curtain attachment methods.