Stenciled Drapes!

Remember the little sneak peek I gave you of this project?!  Well, here's the story.  I've been making some changes in the family room lately.  One of the big changes I wanted to make was to switch out the velvet drapes for something a bit lighter.

These brown velvet drapes by Fieldcrest from Target worked for the Fall/Winter (especially at their under $20/panel price) but with Spring attempting to make it's appearance I thought something a little lighter and possibly brighter would be more fun!  Am I the only one that likes to change the way my windows are dressed, or in this case doors, with the seasons?  Weird, I guess.  This is the only room where I plan to do this.  Anyhow, because I didn't want to spend too much for drapes that will only be up for half of the year, I decided to go the drop cloth route like so many other bloggers before me :)  I also decided to use my free Ikat stencil from Olive Leaf Stencils.

I received this little freebie with the stencil that I purchased to use in my dining room!   (Thank you Olive Leaf!)

I bought 2 drop cloths from Lowe's ($9.99 each).  Then I washed and dried them.  Then ironed and cut them.

I wanted them to puddle on the floor just a little (it's a personal preference), so I cut them at 88 inches which is a little longer than the 84 inch drapes they'd be replacing.  I used stitch witchery to hem the three unfinished sides.    For this non-sewing chick that stuff makes life saweet!  I added a little grosgrain ribbon trim to the edge with a little of the same amazing no-sew stuff!  First a navy then I layered over with a Greek key ribbon.

How awesome is that Greek key ribbon that I found at JoAnn's?!  Love it!

Once they were "sewn" and "trimmed", it was time to get my stencil on.

I learned a thing or two about how to paint on fabric during the summer between 7th and 8th grade because I sort of started a t-shirt painting business in order to raise money for my 8th grade trip to Washington D.C.  :)  Ah, to be a kid again!  I learned about this stuff that transforms acrylic craft paint into fabric paint.  It's called Textile Medium.

Why is this important?!  Well, if you've ever bought actual fabric paint then you know it typically comes in very small bottles, and it's much more expensive than your regular old acrylic craft paint.  In addition, fabric paint typically doesn't offer a wide range of colors to choose from in most craft stores.  Regular acrylic craft paint comes in every imaginable color under the sun!  Textile Medium gives you more options at a better price!  The product itself runs between $4-$6 for an 8 oz. bottle.  It lasts a long time because you don't need to use much.  What does it mean to transform acrylic paint into fabric paint? Basically, it means it makes the paint washable.  So, if you're painting fabric that you never plan to wash (like ever) then you don't need to use Textile Medium.  If however, you want to be able to wash your painted fabric; and you don't want to be limited and forced into buying fabric paint then Textile Medium is your best friend!  You can add it to any color acrylic craft paint.  You can paint t-shirts (: or pillowcases, hand towels, drapes, whatever, and you'll be able to wash your finished product!

Following the directions on the back of the bottle, I just mixed 2 parts paint to 1 part medium.  A random chopstick helped to mix it all up just fine ;)

I used a sponge-dabber-applicator-thing to apply the paint.

I dabbed a little paint off on a paper towel before applying it to the stencil.  I chose this color called Phthalo blue.  I loooooove this color blue.  I've been adding in some deep blue accents to the family room so this color was perfect!  I used a piece of cardboard underneath the fabric in case there was any bleed through, which there was just a little.

I just laid the stencil down with a little scotch tape and sponged on the paint.  You don't have to wait for the paint to dry to lift the stencil.  I worked in rows.  Top to bottom then back to the top again.  I didn't measure a single thing; just eye-balled it and it seemed to work out just fine.

Once the stenciling was done and the paint was dry, I used the iron to heat set the paint.  Just iron the back side to set the paint and you're painted fabric will be completely washable.

I will probably only hand wash these because of the ribbon trim.  Here's the finished product!

I love them!  I used drapery rings to hang them using my favorite pinch and clip method.  I love them so much that I may leave them up all year!  I love, love, love this stencil!  Drop cloths are pretty heavy and you'd think that the paint would make them really stiff, but they really aren't too stiff at all.  For any curious peeps out there, I have lots of left over paint.  I used about 3/4 of the bottle of blue paint and a little less than half of the medium.  I may have to start up the old t-shirt painting business to use up the remaining medium :)   Or maybe the kids and I will have a little pillowcase painting party!

I hope to have more pics (hopefully on a sunny day - if the sun ever decides to shine again!) of the changes I've been making in this room by the end of the week.  So, tell the truth, had you ever heard of Textile Medium before?  Anyone else in the t-shirt painting business in the early 90's?  :)


*****Update:  Since this post I have added more fabric to the bottom to hang the panels higher and have removed the ribbon trim.

We have also had the doors replaced with sliding doors and painted them black.

The family/living room now looks like this.