There are several types of curtains that serve specific purposes on the stage other than a general side or back curtain. These include:

Muslin Drops: These are made of 100% cotton muslin treated to be FR. This is usually made to be flat (no pleats or fullness) with either a weighted bottom hem or a pocket in the bottom hem for a pipe weight. These are sometimes tied to an overhead pipe batten or sometimes operating on a track. Muslin comes in a variety of widths (9’0”, 12’0”, 16’5”, 20’0”, 25’0”, and 33’0”) so that curtains can be made seamless by railroading the fabric. For more economical curtains where the seams are not important, it can have horizontal seams, for example, by sewing together two 9’0” pieces to make an 18’0” high curtain. Sky Blue Muslin is called a “sky drop” and is usually behind the back curtain (the last curtain behind the back curtain) to represent the sky. The only exception to our statement that all curtains we finish are either FR or IFR is when natural Muslin curtains are purchased to be used as a paint curtain for FR paints. In that case, the curtain is supplied NFR (non flame-resistant) to avoid any interaction with the FR paints.

Sharktooth Scrim and Leno: These are limited purpose specialty curtains in FR cotton. Sharkstooth scrim resembles mosquito netting and is always flat (no fullness or pleats) with either a weighted bottom hem or a pipe pocket bottom hem (usually being tied to a pipe or on a track). Sharkstooth scrim comes in white, black, blue, gray, or natural and is usually placed mid-way on the stage. When lighted from the front with no lighting behind, it appears opaque. When the lighting is reversed (lit from behind only), it appears translucent so that the audience sees through it to the scene set behind the curtain. Sometimes called a “dream” or an “illusion” curtain, scrims require good, strong lighting on both sides of the curtain to make it work properly. These curtains are always seamless and require that the curtain be taut and unwrinkled, thus the need for a pipe in the bottom. Leno is the same as the Sharkstooth scrim, only with the openings filled in. While it cannot function the same way as scrim, it is usable for a cyclorama curtain, lighting curtain, or a bounce curtain to soften and reflect projected light. Leno comes in white or gray in 20’0” or 31’0” widths.

Scrim and Leno are also available in a limited size range of IFR fabric.