Colorado Springs resident Ora Leavitt installed insulated window coverings in her home 18 years ago to cut cold winter drafts.
Now that her son is grown up with children of his own, Leavitt, 65, recently helped him outfit windows in his house with covers so that her grandchildren’s basement bedrooms will stay toasty warm.
“He remembered how well they worked, and he wanted some,” said Leavitt, who also works at a Hancock Fabrics store where such window treatments are sold.
Leavitt’s son is just one of a rising number of customers flocking to Colorado fabric and craft stores this fall who want to cut their heating costs.
At least one store ran out of insulating window fabric because of the demand, said LeAnn Privett, a Hancock store manager.
Xcel Energy is forecasting that the average residential heating bill this winter will increase by an estimated $44 a month from last year, reflecting the increased cost of natural gas.
At the JoAnn Fabrics store at Colorado Boulevard and Yale Avenue, customers this year are more willing to spend money on relatively expensive window treatments, said Kelley Kujala, soft lines supervisor.
“We’ve had a lot of requests,” Kujala said. “It can be a little pricey at $15-$20 per yard, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about it from people.”
Customers usually pay up to $300 for enough batting material and a metallic silver fabric to cover windows in a one-story, two-bedroom, two-bath house, said Pat Guist, Hancock Fabrics store manager in Littleton.
She estimates it blocks out about 90 percent of the cold.
The insulation fits behind existing curtains.
With a little sewing, craft-store fabrics can be made into a “roman blind” style of window covering, Guist and Kujala said. Some fabric stores carry pre-made coverings.
Up to 15 percent of a home’s heat can escape through unprotected windows, said Xcel spokesman Tom Henley.
Xcel recommends its customers keep curtains open during the day to let the sun’s heat in, but close them as soon as the sun goes down.
Guist said customers also buy fleece fabrics to make into bed coverings and pullovers, rather than turning up thermostats.
“They say they’re going to bundle up. Fleece is quite warm and not as heavy as covering yourself with blankets,” Guist said.
Staff writer Beth Potter can be reached at 303-820-1503 or bpotter@denverpost.com.
