Painted Curtains

Have you seen all those awesome striped curtains on Pinterest? I had pinned a few of them and wanted my own very badly! One I looked at took white and black tablecloths and sewed them together. Another blog painted drop cloths as curtains. I liked this idea a little better. 

I decided to sew my own curtains although I am TERRIBLE at sewing!  I didn't want to spend alot of money on the fabric and ended up buying drapery lining - enough that I needed for about $30. It is heavy enough that light doesn't get through very easily and has the linen-y look without having it be too  heavy to sew. The back side of the fabric is soft. 

I wanted four panels of floor length curtains  - two curtains for the kitchen/dining and two for the adjoining family room. I cut each piece 100'' long then hemmed the top and sides on all the pieces. Let me just say again that I have a sewing machine and try hard, but can't sew a straight line to save my life! 

Next, I hung the curtain rods. I bought these awesome curtain rods with clips from Menards a few years ago.  

After the rest of the curtain was hemmed on the top and sides, I hung a panel up on each window. I then pinned where I would want to hem the bottom. I did each window just in case they measured different based on the flooring. 

Next, I pinned the panels for each window together so I could have their hem match, and then hemmed each of them. When all the sewing was done and all the sides were hemmed, it was time to tape and paint. 

The taping was the next part and took some time to do. I wanted 12 inch stripes and wanted the top of the curtain to be a white stripe. I measured 12 inches from the top of the curtain to the bottom of the tape since the part underneath the tape would be white when pulled up. I moved the ruler down the curtain, making sure there was twelve inches between the top of the curtain and the bottom of the tape and get a straight line. 

To make the black stripe, I measured 12 inches from the bottom of the tape to the top of tape. This whole area needed to be painted black. Again, I moved the ruler down the curtain, making sure there was twelve inches between the bottom of the curtain and the top of the tape to ensure the line would be straight. I followed this pattern until I was at the end of the curtain. 

I marked which stripes were supposed to be black with a piece of tape. 

In order to paint on fabric, you need to use a textile medium paint. I bought one bottle of textile medium and two bottles of black acrylic paint. I used one bottle of black acrylic paint and half a bottle of textile medium on each set of curtains. 

I mixed the two paints together really well. 

I used a foam roller to paint onto the curtains. 

I only did one coat. They could have maybe used another, but I like that they don't look as saturated. I took off the tape when I was done painting. 

All done!!

On the dining room/ kitchen windows... 

On the family room windows...