Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
autiemom

Drop Cloth Curtains

autiemom
11 years ago

Hey everybody. Awhile back, someone on this forum suggested painters drop cloths as an inexpensive, pretty way to do curtains. Here are my questions:

1. Has anyone done these? Are they easy to make? I don't have access to a reliable sewing machine... Can they be done with glue, or pinned?

2. How do they hold up?

3. Has anyone tried embellishing them with ribbons or something?

Basically, I am looking for something to hold me over until I find the perfect curtains for my family room. I am on a tight budget, and am looking for something inexpensive to tide me over... Thanks!

Comments (11)

  • LuAnn_in_PA
    11 years ago

    Drop cloths are heavy.

    I would use sheets before I used drop cloths for a temporary fix.

  • tinam61
    11 years ago

    Do a google search. There are several blogs where they have featured dropcloth curtains.

    Hope this helps!

    tina

  • Sujafr
    11 years ago

    I bought the drop cloths about a month ago after cking out the blogs etc that tinam mentioned you should search for. The blogs made them look amazing for the money so I thought I'd try it.

    After spending time at the big box stores looking at pipe for rods and mounting hardware (I needed realllly long rods), I finally decided to just buy curtain rods--much easier. Then I brought home the cloths (which BTW, are not at all too heavy, at least not for me, since I prefer lined & interlined drapes). I hung the drop cloths with clips by folding down any extra length, so no sewing. The natural color and texture was ok, but they just were not structured enough for me, and the hems too wavy since they're very roughly sewn. Drop cloths also have little flecks of random things and even areas of threads that run a few feet of other colors, so they're fairly casual looking. If that look works for you, then you might like it.

    I decided to use the drop cloth as fabric to re-cover my dining chair seats. I can work around areas of the fabric I don't like, and I do like the natural color & texture.

  • krayers
    11 years ago

    I made floor to ceiling curtains for an entire wall at my daughter's house from drop cloths. I really like the casual look.

    There are a couple of things you should know. The cloths are not cut & hemmed all that great from the store. We prewashed them to allow for shrinkage. I would then tear them to create straight edges & re-hem them.

    In our room I folded over a 3 or 4 inch header & put grommets in. Rather than using curtain rods, we used metal pipes & brackets. Turned out great for their needs & was really inexpensive. Very easy straight sewing.

  • autiemom
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Where did you get your drop cloths? I have heard from some people that some places (Lowe's especially) have seams right down the middle....

  • noellabelle
    11 years ago

    Here's a picture of my drop cloth curtains. They've held up great for us. I just used 6x9 cloths, washed and bleached them, and then got new hardware with ring clips. I've been very happy with them.

  • krayers
    11 years ago

    We got them from the big box store but they are easy to find. Be careful when you buy, because the cloth does not always match. Some were a very textured fabric with small flecks of a darker color. Others were very uniform in color without much texture. We used both kinds, but they laundered very differently. Both worked well. The really large size sometimes does have a seam down the middle. Other sizes do not.

  • autiemom
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Noellabelle, love those! They are exactly what I am going for. Thanks everybody for the feedback!

  • 30something
    11 years ago

    I am in the process of making these right now, but I'm going to do back tabs (following the directions in the link I'm posting.)

    I'm using 6x9 size, and they're hard to find! I guess there are a lot of people doing this.

    I found that while I preferred the color and feel of the ones at Walmart, all of theirs had seams, as did the one pack I could find at Home Depot.

    Lowes had no seams, so that's what I'm using, although one of the packs did have a gray smudge near the crease...I just didn't buy that one. I'll post a photo when I'm done. :) Good luck!

    Here is a link that might be useful: Drop Cloth Curtains with back tabs

  • scrappy25
    11 years ago

    I love the look of these drop cloth curtains and actually bought and washed a set in preparation for making curtains but started worrying that they are not fire retardant. There are laws in some countries that curtains have to be fire retardant. So they are sitting folded in my linen closet and will probably be used eventually as, well, dropcloths.

  • Sujafr
    11 years ago

    I got my drop cloths at Home Depot...6x9, and they had no seams. The seam issue must vary depending on the location of the store. Just take them out of the package if you can't see through the plastic cover. I washed mine, but didn't bleach, and I like the color, but of course, I'm using mine to re-do my dining room chair seats instead of curtains. Good luck with your project!