Sometimes the curtains you want are just ridiculously expensive, you cannot seem to find a design you like or you just like the idea of having your curtains homemade. Painting your curtains yourself is a solution to all three and it is really easy to do.
What you will need to paint your curtains like a pro:
- Latex paint
- Small foam roller
- Fabric additive /medium
- Stencil
- Spray adhesive
- Painter’s cloth, plastic or tarp
Step 1
Iron your drop cloth panels. Your drop cloth should be wrinkle free if you want to get beautiful results. Ironing long drop cloths can be a headache so if you have a steamer you can steam them and you will get the wrinkles out.
Step 2
Get your stencil or design ready. You can buy a stencil or make one out of cardboard. If you are not using a stencil, you can use painter’s tape to create the markings for the design you want. When your stencil is ready, spray its back with some removable spray adhesive. The adhesive ensures that your stencil stays put on the cloth while you are painting and that paint does not bleed into areas it should not.
Step 3
Get your paint ready. Add the fabric medium to the paint. The medium makes the paint stick well to the cloth so that it does not wash out when you wash it and it also makes the fabric less stiff. You do not want curtains that hang stiffly to cover your windows.
Step 4
Once you are done with all these preparation steps, you can get painting. Apply the paint to the fabric using your foam roller. Be careful about the direction you paint in, paint from the corner of the stencil to the centre so that you are not pushing paint under the open edges of the stencil.
Step 5
Set your paint: After painting, find a good spot to hang up the panels so the paint can dry. When your paint is fully dry, iron the drop cloth in order to set the paint on the fabric.
Quick tips:
- When choosing your fabric, look out for the heavier and thicker ones as paint is less likely to soak through them.
- If you end up with thin fabric, you should place plastic, tarp or some other protection between the cloth and the surface you are painting on.
- When laying down your drop cloth, hold it down with tape- letting it extend all the way to the surface of the floor or whatever you are painting. This allows for stronger adhesion and ensuring that the fabric remains on the floor.
- If you are not good at sewing or do not have a sewing machine, use premade curtain panels so all you will have to do is the painting.
- You should use latex paint and not water based paint if you do not want your paint to wash off when you put the curtains in the wash.
