The difference between Austrian and French curtains is that French ones always retain wavy folds throughout their length, both when raised and lowered, whereas Austrian ones are a straight fabric, where soft folds are retained only on the lower edge of a curtain.
Horizontal bars are not used for Austrian curtains, due to which the lower edge is puckered up in puffs – nice-looking rounded forms. This is done with the help of a cord braid set at the underside of the fabric, through rows of loops or sewn on rings. They can also be raised up, like Venetian blinds; then the system is fitted with a lifting mechanism.
