It is not difficult to imagine a prehistoric cave or hut with a flap of animal skin serving as a curtain to cover the entrance. As there were no windows then, this layer of hide was not really a curtain yet still kept the elements out and the warmth in.



As people became sedintary, identifiabe architectural elements of homes emerged eventually giving rise to the fabric curtain. A well-prepared hut might have a small opening allowing light to enter the dwelling. As villages grew, dust and privacy became an issue and fabric curtains were the solution. In crowded places such as Rome, a length of wet cloth was draped over an open wiondow giving us our first real fabric curtain. We also know that fabric curtains, in the modern sense, were used in Roman theaterical productions.

Yet at this time the vast majority of homes were stricly functional and few outside of the royal palaces gave much thought to the style or design of their fabric curtains, if they had them.

Fast-forward to the Middle Ages as the Silk Road linked Eastern and Western civilizations and Crusading armies brought back fabric weaving techniques from the Levant. Fabric was still far too exspensive to be widiely used for curtains. Regardless, windows themseleves were rare and those that existed were small and did not call for an expensive fabric curtain but were rather covered with boards or blinds if they could be afforded. In contrast, fabrics were typically used on walls as tapestries or served as a type of fabric wall to divide rooms. A famous piece of fabric from this time is the Bayeux Tapestry (a 70 meter woven wool of fabric chronicling the 1066 Norman invasion of England).

During this time fine fabrics, used either for clothing or window curtains, were stricly for the upper classes. It was in the environment of the upper class home where the modern version of the fabric curtain or window blinds was born.

In the 1700s and 1800s changes in technology and developments in society brought us the modern version of the fabric curtain. During this time, many European nations established long distance trade empires linking the foreign sources of raw materials to new domestic production centers. Due to technological developments like Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin (1794) and John Kay's Flying Shuttle (1733), fabric could be produced easily and cheaply. The development of the textile trade in the Industrial Era rapidily drove fabric prices down making fabric curtains available to most people.

At the same time, homes were developing architecturally. As glass making had come a long way, homes were now equppied with large panes of window glass requiring fabric curtains or wooden blinds. Additionally, technological developments in agricultural production caused many to leave their farms for jobs in the cities. This urbanization created a demand for fabric window curtains and blinds as the new city dwellers sought comfortable homes.

Additionally, advances in fabric prodcution greatly increased the availibility of fabric curtains and thus reduced their price. The result was the possibility for average people to be able to afford to buy fabric and use it as curtains to cover their large windows.

Therefore, by the turn of the centruy the social and technological development of the fabric curtain was nearly complete. Further technological advances in fabric production and chemical engineering allowed for the production of various fabric types such as Rayon and prints while curtain and blind hardware could be cheaply produced.

More recently, following China's ?Open Door Policy? in 1979 where China opened itself to international markets, the centers of fabric production shifted from Northern Europe to Asia. Due to its large labour force and low wages, China quickly grew to dominate the global fabric market. Today China is the world's largest fabric producer boasting a global market share between %30 and %40.

Yet more recently new fabric production centers, with even more competitive labour prices, such as Sri Lanka or Vietnam have emerged as competitors. Considering the current economic crisis, the future landscape of the curtain fabric and blind industry could be set to change once again.