Glossary

When you go to pick out treatments for your home, you may think your salesperson or designer is bilingual but they are merely using common names for window dressings. Many of the words are European and have survived for centuries. Swags or festoons are probably the most favored of all top window treatments. In nearly every historic period, they have graced windows to a lesser or greater degree of formality. Swags can be accomplished with a single length of fabric draped over a rod or constructed with neat precise folds. Jabots usually accompany swags. They are the folded fabric pieces used between swags or festoons that cascade down. They can be short, long, or any length in between depending on the desired finished look. Chintz is a plain tightly woven cotton fabric with fine yarns and processed with a glazed finish. Chintz can be use as a plain dyed fabric or a printed fabric. Passementerie is a category of trimmings that includes braid, gimp, fringe, tassels, and small glass beads. These trimmings add richness and formality to a window. Puddles and Pools are fabrics that flow onto the floor. Historically, puddles signified the wealth of the owner, particularly when silk or very fine damask or brocade was used. Today, nearly any fabrics can puddle onto the floor. Gimp is a cord narrow braid used as trimming. It falls into the Passementerie category.