Pretty and Easy Painted Curtains

Let me start by saying- I hate curtains. OK, well, maybe I don't hate them but I definitely hate shopping for them. I searched for curtains for my house for months and found that I only had two options:

1. Buy curtains I can afford that are either lame, ugly, or both
2. Spend $400 on draperies for one room and live to regret spending more on curtains than I did on my ipad.

Then I saw some little tidbit on pinterest about painting fabric and I thought- hey, I can do that! So, I made my very first set of curtains and it was easy and cheap (I spent less than $4 a panel!)!

What you'll need

1. Fabric- I used muslin because it's cheap and looks pretty in the sunlight. The amount depends on what type of curtains you're making (see the tutorial in step 1) You could also use plain curtain panels if you don't want to sew your own.
2. Acrylic Craft Paint
3. Good quality stencils if you don't want to freehand
4. Sponge brushes- they make expensive ones specifically for stenciling but I use the cheap ones and they work fine
5. Tintable Fabric Medium- I used Martha Stewart Brand from Joann Fabrics

Step 1
Sew your curtains. If you are using pre made panels skip this step.

There are about 20,000 ways to make curtains. I went with the good old rod and pocket style. Here's a great tutorial if you need one: http://www.adventuresindressmaking.com/2011/04/my-easy-curtain-method-tutorial.html#.UYqK5oJyBSs

Step 2
Now that you have you're lovely curtain panels ready you are ready to get painting! Lay down some plastic or a canvas tarp. This is really important because the paint will bleed through the fabric so you will want to protect the floor. Now lay out two panels making sure that the front side is facing you (facing up) and they are laying how they would hang on the window (note: I only did one panel at a time but only because my living room is teeny tiny and I couldn't lay out the set)

Step 3
Look at the panels and decide how you you want to do your design. If you need to you can pencil things a bit. I don't do that but it might work well for some. Once you have a good idea in head grab you paints and lets get started!

Step 4
Choose the colors you want to use and mix with the tintable medium. Use 2 parts paint and 1 part medium (example: 2 tbs paint + 1 tbs tintable medium). It goes a long way so I start with a little bit and mix more as I go. That also saves waste later :)

Step 5
Grab your stencils and start painting your design. This part took me a while because I went in several layers in different colors. If you are layering one color onto another you will need to let each layer dry a bit before painting over it.

 

Step 6

Once you are happy with your panels let them dry overnight. After 24 hours toss them in the dryer. Don't worry the paint won't effect your dryer. This step makes them more durable and sets the paint.

Step 7

Hang 'em up! Go get yourself a glass of wine and sit back and admire your awesome one-of-a-kind curtains!