Yes! Sorry everybody. Had to go teach classes for a
bit. I was in fact referring to a Venetian style
contour curtain.
@RonHebbard what you described makes a lot of sense. I definitely would want/need to be able to lock the position because the
lighting designer I'd be annoying would be myself. We do have plenty of our own
curtains but I wasn't planning on using our
house soft goods. Too heavy. I was planning to order fabric/curtain. Possibly make my own by sewing it all together. I was going to
pick up some lightweight, fabrics (
http://www.rosebrand.com/product517/118-Lurex-Sheer-IFR.aspx?tid=2&info=lurex) (something like that). Does anybody have more details on the hardware specifically used? I loved the tip about a little wooden
block to stop everything from jamming up! You all are wonderful. Thank you!
@James D Since you've come back, let's chat some more. No particular order here, just meandering in general.
When it comes to pulleys / sheaves, they can rarely be too good. At the bottom end are screw-eyes and then you work your way up in quality,
ease of rotation and price from there. Low friction is good. Less friction is better. One screw-eye forcing a 90 degree
bend is rarely a good thing. Two or three screw-eyes forcing a 90 degree
bend has less friction. Ball-bearing mountain climbing pulleys are better yet. "Rescue pulleys" may be even better since you can add them on lines already in place without having access to the ends of the lines. If you have a rock climbing store in your area you MAY find useful pulleys at reasonable prices.
In all cases, plated hardware is better than non-plated; resists rusting, leaves less oil and residue on your cloth, doesn't cost appreciably more than non-plated.
Washers can make effective weights. They can be easily and securely attached by threading lines through them without any need to sew them in place. They're available in a wide range of sizes, thicknesses and weights plus are somewhat useful after when used on temporary projects. If you're shopping big-box stores, look for quantity discounts. The last time I needed between 500 and 600 plated 1/2"
flat washers, it was ACTUALLY CHEAPER to buy a pack of 1,000 than it was to buy six packs of 100.
You'll need weights on the bottom of your lightweight curtain or it won't come all the way in. The weights will be necessary to overcome the friction of your lines running around pulleys regardless of the quality of your pulleys.
Be aware with your thin, light weight, fabric all of your lines and hardware may be visible through your fabric, even more so if lit from behind.
Don't worry too much about how to
pick up the various points in sequence. Think of it this way: When you decide upon the lengths of your lines, keep little slack in the
center line, or lines, that you want to lift first. If you can arrange to leave progressively more slack in your remaining lines without having them foul and tangle, you can actually be pulling them all up together and have the bottom hem rise in sequence as the slack in the various lines is taken up and they begin to take strain. It's always a question of how fancy you want to make it and your resources at
hand. Resources may include time, materials and ingenuity.
Have at it
@James D and please keep us in your loop.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.