Burlap Curtains

I am reaching back a bit with this post.  In the warmer months of 2012 I made curtains for my office/craft/media room.  I had high expectations that I could whip this room into shape and give you a complete beginning to end post, so I held off talking about the curtains.  If I wait any longer they will be out of vogue and no longer a pertinent post.

Purple burlap?  Not in the beginning.

I started with about 14 yards of burlap from JoAnn's. (purchased with a 40% off coupon, of course.)

I taped off large horizontal stripes that were reduced by an inch or two as they progressed towards the top. (somehow I came to the conclusion this was a good way to divide the height measurement...too long ago now to remember my reasoning.)  I used a roller to speed things up and keep from getting a dry edge and overlapping.

I let one stripe dry before moving on to the next section.  Unless you have a really large surface to lay out the entire piece, it requires some care to keep the paint from smearing onto parts you don't intend to paint.  Because the paint bleeds through, I changed the paper every time I started a new stripe. (naturally you can reuse some of the same paper on the next length of fabric when the paint on the paper has dried.)

No hem is required if you have a painted section at the bottom.  The paint stiffens the fabric and a crease is enough to hold a hem.  To get the curtains to roll into vertical folds, I tied them at intervals from top to bottom.   Again, the painted burlap is malleable and will hold it's shape.

I used clip on rings to attach the material to the rods.  I folded down about 10" of unpainted fabric for a valance and pulled a few threads from the edge to create a little fringe.

There is a small learning curve with this process as with anything.  After a couple trys to measure the width of a stripe, pin, and then tape, I realized that measuring one edge and pulling a thread of the burlap completely out was my quickest and most accurate measurement.  It is noticeable on one section of my drapes that one of my stripes is not perfectly level.  Considering that burlap is a far cry from silk I'm ok with that.  This window trim is meant to be casual and a couple unusual bends in the draping of the fabric just add to the uniqueness.

I'm still tweaking the room so no wide angle shots in this post.  Soon though...really soon I hope.  (Yes, those are scrabble letters in the seashell.  I am making it a habit to spell out something I am grateful for...to be changed every few days.)

I found an ottoman for $5 at value village.  I also have the fabric for reupholstering.  As soon as that is finished I should be able to give you a 360 of the room.  I am also working on organizing the closets and drawers.  That is a post in itself.

I am linking to:  No Minimalist Here
                            Domestically Speaking
                            Be Inspired Friday
                            Fox Hollow Cottagehttp://foxhollowcottage.com/2013/08/ten-terrific-diy-burlap-ideas-and-a-link-party-too.html