Merlin System (Pictured Top Right)

Merlin batons

• The Merlin straight baton comes in 36”, 48”, 60” and 72” lengths. 
• The batons are either white fiberglass or clear plastic.
• Merlin also has a copyrighted handicapped baton that is over 48” long and made of clear plastic. It is formed into a circle at the bottom so a handicapped person can put his hand through the circle to move the baton.

Merlin rod parts

• Master carriers – made of steel, and come left or right.  The arm of one side goes under, the other over. Holds the leading edge pin of the drapery and the pin of the first pleat.
• Slides carriers – made of plastic. Used where distance to slide is 48” or less. The friction of these will help hold the drapery closed.
• Ball bearing carriers – used where the slide has to move more than 48”(two-way rods over 96”). Carriers on these rods are usually half ball bearing and half slide.
• Return extender – an attachment to the rod end that is used to return the drapery to the wall. If you have a sheer rod and a lined drapery, the return extender is used on the sheer rod.  The last pin of the lined drapery is hung on the extender.
• End stop – used on end of the rod to keep the carriers from sliding off.
• Support Bracket – used to support the rod in the middle.

Kirsch System (Pictured Bottom Right)

• Master carriers – made of plastic, not steel.
• Baton attachment – a stiffener is sewn in the leading edge of the header and a grommet is inserted.  The baton attaches through this grommet to the master carrier. This leaves no room for mistakes in placement and cannot be changed once it is in.