Horizontal striped curtain DIY project

I have been obsessed (like so many of you) with horizontal striped curtains for a long, long time. I guess my obsession is stripes in general! I have painted them so many times and can't get enough of them. My mom already told me that I'm overdoing it a little. But anyway, I researched them all over the internet where I found a couple of different versions.
One of my favorites are "Little Green Notebooks" dark striped (but not painted) curtains and "High-Heeled Foot in the Door's" yellow painted stripe curtains. And I'm sure that if you have googled "horizontal stripe curtains" you crossed paths with those links just like I did.

And now Crate and Barrel is selling a pricey grey and ivory striped version. You pay $99.95 for the 50"Wx96"H panel...yup,  $100 for just one panel. My painted version is so much cheaper and looks the same!

I finally tried my version a year ago for our dining room and I loved them so much that I made a bunch more for our living room.

So, for my version I used the IKEA Merete curtains.

I was so glad that I had purchased about 10 packs of them when they were still $20 each. I knew that I was going to use them some day and had them stored away. My husband hates our attic due to my decor hoarding. I wish I'd have a lot more space! "Sigh Out loud"

For the paints I used textile medium mixed with acrylic paint. You have to play with different colors to get it just right. You don't actually have to purchase expensive fabric paint. The textile medium turns any acrylic paint into a washable fabric paint. I love it and the possibilities are endless. But you have to make sure to follow the instructions on your textile medium's label when mixing the paint with the medium.
On the medium that I used, Delta Cermacoat, the label read: " Delta Ceramcoat Textile Medium can be mixed with Delta Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint for a flexible, washable fabric paint. It penetrates fabric fiber for permanency and the paint won't run or bleed. It dries flexible on fabric with no cracking. Prewash fabric to remove sizing, do not use fabric softener, after painting with a 2:1 ratio of paint to Textile Medium mix, let dry 7 days and heat set. Machine wash with mild soap on gentle cycle and air dry. Water based for easy clean up, has a low odor and is non-toxic. 8 oz"
And that is exactly how I mixed my fabric paint.

You have to wash and iron the curtains before you start with the project.

Then I measured out my stripes and marked them on the curtains with my large ruler and pencil which was a little difficult because the fabric isn't completely straight. I taped the lines with frog tape and then used a small roller to paint the stripes.
Here is what I did a little different: I have a glass dining room table and I laid the curtains out on the table to paint. I used a spot light under the table to illuminate from below. The reason for the light is that when you paint fabric, it gets very uneven. You can't see the spots where the paint is thinner. The light under the table is similar to the sun shining through a window when the curtains are hanging up. My first attempt didn't look so good. I had a ton of uneven areas.  The light  really helped a lot and they look great now in bright sun shine.

This is a picture of an area that is blotchy and with the light it is visible.

The instructions on the textile mediums label require you to heat set the painted areas after drying time usually with an iron, but I put my curtains in the dryer on the highest setting for about 10 minutes to make sure all areas got covered. And then I ironed some of the wrinkles out! So far so good!

This is an old photo!

Here is a newer photo:

I love them!
Don't they make you want to go out and give it a try as well? Don't be scared!

Guten Tag fellow webbers and thanks for stopping by!