de of the window, and the
curtain cover the frame and a part of the wall. This leaves all the
window for light and air. A valance connecting the side curtains and
covering the top of the net curtains will also make the window seem
broader. A group of three windows can be treated as one by using only
one pair of side curtains with a connecting ruffle, and a pair of net
curtains at each window. Curtains may hang in straight lines or be
simply looped back, but fancy festooning is not permissible. There is
another attractive method of dividing the curtains in halves, the upper
sections to hang so they just cover the brass rod for the lower
sections, which are pushed back at the sides. These lower sections may
have the rod on which they are run fastened to the window-sash if one
wishes. They will then go up with the window and of course keep clean
much longer, but to my mind it is not so alluring as a gently blowing
curtain on a hot day. I have seen a whole house curtained most
charmingly in this manner, with curtains of unbleached muslin edged with
a narrow little ruffle. They hung close to the glass and reached just to
the sill with the lower part pushed back at the sides. The outside view
was most attractive, and the inside curtains varied according to the
needs of each room.

[Illustration: A charming window treatment, in a room whose color scheme
is carried out in the garden, giving a unique and delightful touch.]

Casement windows should have the muslin curtains drawn back with a cord
or a muslin band, and the side curtains should hang straight, with a
little top ruffle; if the windows open into the room the curtains may be
hung on the frames. The muslin curtains may be left out entirely if one
wishes. Net curtains on French doors should be run on small brass rods
at top and bottom, and the heavy curtains that are drawn together at
night for privacy's sake should be so hung that they will not interfere
with the opening of the door. There should be plenty of room under all
ruffles or shaped valances where the curtains are to be drawn to allow
for easy working of the cords, otherwise tempers are liable to be
suddenly lost.

All windows over eighteen inches wide need two curtains, and the average
allowance of fullness is at least twice the width of the window for net
and any very soft material, while once and a half is usually enough for
material with more body. Great care must be taken to measure curtains
correctly an