First home studio, how is muslin hung / used correctly?

[Eggwhite]

Title says it all... I'm trying to setup my first home studio. I want to experiment with portraits and still life studio setting and controlled lighting.

I've purchased background stands and 3 muslins BLACK, WHITE, GREEN. These are 10x13 and wow these are bigger than I was expecting.

What is the correct way to hang these for portrait work? Should they have "bunched pleats" (like room dividers an conventions) or should they be drawn tight with slack collected at one end of the bar? Should the extra at the floor be pulled forward or tucked behind?

Is it really true that these should be balled up in a bag for storage?

I searched for help on this but couldn't find a thread that had the basics.
Much thanks to those who share their knowledge.

Ed

[Lori Putman]

It is more about how you want the backdrop to look. I have been practicing head and shoulder shots recently so I just threw my muslin over the top of the bar and don't even care about the bottom. When I progress to 3/4 length or full body, I intend to have the muslin tight and the excess forward in the front.