Friday, November 30, 2012

DIY Dropcloth Curtains

***Welcome Pinners!! Thanks for showing some interest and pinning this! If you decided to try out this project for your home, please email me a picture or leave a link to your blog in the comments, I'd love to see it! Also, if you're interested in purchasing a set of panels like these, I'm interested in making them for you. :) Click on the "Comments & Contact" tab and shoot me an email! Thanks for dropping by!***

Before anything happens, let's address the yellow elephant in the room.

Horrible pictures. 

I know, I know. I'm like a bad picture menace.  And those that are in this post are particularly awful.  I'm so sorry.  I am a big Apple fan...but an iPhone camera can only do so much. If you stick with me for, oh, nine or ten years, I'll be able to afford a nice DSLR camera and provide you with decent quality photos.  As for now, please just accept my most sincere apologies, and know that the quality of my pictures are as embarrassing to me as they must be disappointing to you. *Sigh.* 


Moving on. Don't you wish there really were a yellow elephant in your room? Me too. 

Moving on again. When Dan and I first moved into this house with all of its big beautiful beautiful windows...I immediately felt a desperate desire to cover them up.  I blame that on my mother.  There are two things that can always be expected of her: 1.) She will always turn down the music and, 2.) she will always close the curtains.  I can't blame her.  She values both her ability to hear and her privacy.  What are you gonna do? 

Either way, we had all of these big beautiful windows and were in need of some curtains.  For months, we settled for screws in the walls that held up several of Dan's old curtains from his apartment.  It looked awful. I don't have any pictures, but just believe me.  The curtains weren't so bad in and of themselves, but they were pretty much the exact color of the couches and so the whole living room was like this big den of dusty blue.  For a girl that thrives on contrast, it made me sad. 

And so I made myself some new curtains. Out of a dropcloth. Hoo-ray. 


This isn't a full-blown tutorial, but I thought I would just show a little bit about how it was done.  I bought a 9'x12' canvas dropcloth from Wal-Mart for just under $20, and it provided me with three panels that are wide enough to cover my 8' wide window set.  That works itself out to being just under $7 a panel, which, if you've done any browsing at World Market or Bed Bath & Beyond, is basically a steal. (Yes. I enjoy these as much as those I've seen at those stores. You might not. I'm okay with that.) 

I decorated the dropcloth before I divided it into panels and sewed the hems.  I love the simple yet striking look of text, especially in a forum that doesn't require that it be read, so I decided that was the look for the curtains.  I rearranged some furniture, stretched the dropcloth across my floor, and got to work with some watered down acrylic paint. 


I wavered back and forth between choosing a text from a favorite book or text or with just going with something generic, like "Lorem ipsum."  I hesitated from quoting something because of the fact that I might be compelled to get out that favorite book or Bible every time we had visitors.  I also hesitated from things that were too generic because...well, don't get me started on the whole "Live, Love, Laugh" decorating debacle. So I decided to do something original, a repetitive text that said something that was true of me but that wouldn't beg to be inspected too specifically.  What I wrote were hopes for my home, and what it might be filled with.  I think the result is nice. Sentimental, but not too gushy. I don't know. I like it. 

Anyway, once I was finished (it took me the better part of two days), I sliced it into three equal parts, hooked it to ring clips and hung it up. 



And there you have it.  

I really love them. The text is a lot larger than I originally planned, but I'm happy with how they turned out...especially when I think about how long it would have taken me to paint these curtains if the text had been any smaller. 

I hope you like them, too! Have a happy Friday!


9 comments:

  1. Love it my dear...
    Signed...the one who values "private" "quiet" ;)

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  2. As far as selecting the text, I think you did just what you set out to do. No "live-laugh-love-and-be-trite-and-inane." I agree that a quote might've elicited very repetitive questions from guests, and that would've gotten old. People can look at that and read it and figure out for themselves what the intended meaning is. Also, it's like a gloriously simple poem on three pieces of burlap. Beautifully done, friend.

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  3. i like you alot and your curtains are cool too! you also happen to be at least a bagillion times better than my home work, wanna come hang out?

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  4. Amazing! I love them. And seriously, for that price I love them even more.

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