15 DIY Curtain Makeovers
Flight of fancy [1]
Applique butterflies and flowers sweeten sheers for a little girl’s room.
Clip-on pattern [4]
A pair of $4 cloth napkins gains new purpose as cafe curtains when hung from a tension rod. Switch them out throughout the year for a quick refresh.
Get it straight [7]
Dyed lines jazz up plain cotton curtains. Use a ruler to ensure straight lines; then apply dye with a squirt bottle.
Graduated look [10]
Shaded ombré is a popular color treatment. Apply it to curtains by dipping the cotton fabric in a bucket of dye, slowly lifting it out (the lower portions are in the dye the longest, so turn darkest).
Simple mechanics [13]
Washers knotted on with textured yarn or thread link the brown curtains to the industrial-look valance.
Romantic add-on [16]
Gather your curtains at whatever height you want with the addition of a ribbon in a pretty accent color.
Sew easy [19]
Sewing on cording in a coordinating theme adds texture. Here, we added cording between two fabrics to finish the nautical look. Blue cording woud stand out even more.
Capital idea [22]
Many sewing machines can be programmed to monogram fabric. Use that function to add a formal note to your curtains.
Fresh outlook [25]
Hot-glue on a bouquet of handcrafted rosettes, leaves and yarn stems.
Romantic ruffles [28]
Use an extra curtain panel in the same or contrasting fabric to create ruffles on the bottom of two straight panels.
Key borders [31]
Sew on a border of contrasting fabric to finish the look. Here, a Greek key pattern adds geometry next to florals.
Lacy look [34]
Using a doily as a stencil, apply paint for an airy look.
Simple stamps [37]
Floral stamps finish the sunny look on these yellow-striped curtains. Stamps come in thousands of patterns, so there is bound to be one to suit your decor.
Marble-ous effect [40]
Make a bold statement by marbling white curtains.
Simple geometry [43]
Mark off any geometric shape with painter’s tape on your Roman shade. Fill in with latex paint in a hue you like.
Spell it out [46]
Trace letters onto curtains; then straight-stitch a simple message of affection or inspiration.